UKC

What would folk recommend for most enjoyable ride? There seems to be a wide choice at the moment,

In reply to kevin stephens:

Not long finished Slaying the Badger, I'd recommend that.

The best cycling book I've read in ages is this: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1357542.One_More_Kilometre_and_We_re_In_...

In reply to Removed User:

I'd suggest;

1 Laurent Fignon's
2 Chris Froomes
3 Sean Kellys
4 Stephen Roches
5 Bradley Wiggins

in order of my enjoyment.

In reply to kevin stephens: Nicole Cooke's, seriously.

In reply to Juicefree:
Perhaps, certainly the best of the list.
I managed to like him by page 330, unfortunately there was a further 100 to go so, by the end, I had learnt to loathe him again.
Really? Marred by major omissions, I feel.
So bad that for most of it I thought that he must have written it himself.
I refuse to read his whinging.

In reply to kevin stephens:

I quite liked The Flying Scotsman by Graham Obree

In reply to kevin stephens:
I thought The Hour by Michael Hutchinson was a really entertaining, fascinating read. An autobiographical account of his attempt on the hour record, rather than strictly an autobiography.

In reply to kevin stephens:

I enjoyed David Millar's "Racing Through the Dark".

In reply to kevin stephens:

Tyler Hamilton's by a country mile. It's a great book full-stop, no matter the genre.

Still to read Charlie Wegelius's, meant to be excellent. In Search of Robert Millar is fascinating; David Millar's auto starts well then disappoints; Big George's auto is pretty dull, to be kind; Cycle of Lies, about Lance, isn't bad; not a bio, but Richard Moore's recent Étape shines light on some of cycling more obscure chapters.

In reply to wilkesley:
Another vote for 'Racing through the Dark'

In reply to kevin stephens:

It's Not About The Bike: My Journey Back to Life Lance Armstrong

In reply to blurty:

And another

In reply to kevin stephens:

Racing Through the Dark was definitely thought provoking, eye opening and superbly written.

I've read a lot - didn't really get on with Charly Wegelius's. Reckon reading Tyler Hamilton's in conjunction with David Millar's was properly interesting, although his was somehow less intimate.

In reply to kevin stephens:

12 replies and nobody has suggested Lance Armstrong?

I'll get my coat.

In reply to kevin stephens:

In no particular order:

Matt Rendell's Pantani biography is a really good read and focuses on the fragility of his character as much as anything else. Lots of EPO science too if that is your thing.

I enjoyed Racing Through the Dark a lot. Millar's career pretty much spans the period I've been following cycling seriously so interesting from that perspective

Charly Wegelius - a different view on the peloton than the usual list of yellow jersey wearers. Didn't warm to him at all points and finishes on a kind of bitter note, but well worth it for being different.

Daniel Friebe's Eddy Mercx is also a great read. I knew a bit about the legend and some of the headline stats but this really opened up that bit of cycling history for me.

Not an auto-biog but Sky's the Limit was an enjoyable and easy read. I think I went through it in a long weekend.

In reply to kevin stephens:

I really enjoyed the David Millar book.

I also enjoyed the book about Tommy Simpson. 'Put me back on my bike' by William Fotheringham. Obviously not an autobiography but then again I suspect that the likes of Chris Froome and Bradley Wiggins would be too busy actually cycling than writing a book anyway. I do wonder how much input these active cyclists actually have into their books.

The Armstrong books were the best in the fiction category.

In reply to kevin stephens:

I read one of Armstrong's books, after the event. I paid 50p for it on a charity book stall, which seemed acceptable. Holding on to supper proved difficult, but I did finish the book. It wasn't in the same league as Millar's book, which does have a photo of Armstrong giving Millar 'the evils' at somne dinner when the latter accosted him.

In reply to kevin stephens:

I enjoyed Millar's book, particularly the bits where you read in between the lines about his opinions on Armstrong.

Tyler Hamilton's book is a real page turner.

Half-man, Half-Bike (the biography of Eddy Merckz) was okay, though I feel that it gave him an easy ride on the drugs thing.

Cav's first book I found very boring.

Nico Roche's Inside the Peloton is basically an anthology of his TdF diaries for an Irish paper, but it had me turning the pages.

In reply to Mike Highbury:

You are spot on with every comment.

I also read Finding Robert Millar, only to be disappointed at the end.

Same (co)author as Tyler Hamilton's book (Dan Coyle), Lance Armstrong: Tour de Force is a good read even in retrospect. Particularly as it contains a few other brief bios with chapters on Ullrich, Landis, Hamilton, Mayo, and Vino.

Very much agree on The Hour by Michael Hutchinson. The Race Against Time by Edward Pickering, which someone mentioned in a recent thread on Jens attempt, is very good on both Obree and Boardman.

Quite good but perhaps wouldn't read again - Shadows on the Road by Michael Barry, The Climb by Froome, and Racing through the Dark.