Book description
A rip-roaring narrative celebration of the 21st century's great
transport success story: the bicycle. Millions of us now cycle, some
obsessively, and this glorious concoction of history, anecdote,
adventure and lycra-clad pedalling is the perfect read for two-wheelers
of all kinds.
'At last - a bicycle book for the rest of us…. A book for the sort of
cyclist who likes cycling and reading and stories.' Guardian
Two wheels. A frame. Two pedals. What could be simpler than a bicycle?
And yet the bike continues to inspire a passionate following. Since the
millennium its use in Britain has doubled, and then doubled again.
Thousands now cycle to work, with more and more taking it up every day.
Acclaimed author Bella Bathurst takes us on a journey through cycling's
best stories and strangest incarnations, from the bicycle as a weapon of
warfare to the secret life of couriers and the alchemy of framebuilding.
With a cast of characters including the woman who watercycled across the
Channel, the man who raced India's Deccan Queen train and several of
today's top cyclists, she offers us a brilliantly engaging portrait of
cycling's past, present and world-conquering future. 'At last - a
bicycle book for the rest of us… a book for the sort of cyclist who
likes cycling and reading and stories…' Guardian
“As this beautifully written and gently erudite work easily proves,
cycling is ideal for many things, and will doubtless draw more converts
to agree that 'there's no lovelier form of transport'.” Sunday Times
'Four wheels not bad, two wheels much better…' Bella Bathurst is a
devoted two-wheeler through urban and country landscapes. This is a
lovely, lively, anecdotal anthology of good stories about cycling for
the millions more who have taken it up for sport, fun, health and wealth
since the turn of the century. Favourites here must be the free-wheeling
interviews with bicycle couriers, feral cycling and - for those unable
to walk on water - the art of water cycling.' The Times
'[Bella's] joyful freewheel through the world of bicycles and the
people who ride them not only affirms her as an elegant chronicler of
quirky subjects, but fills a gap in a pantheon of cycling literature…
The Bicycle Book is unique in appealing to both cycling nuts and those
of us who mean to dust off the flat-tyred two-wheeler' Economist
A Sunday Times Must Read - 'Everything you ever wanted to know about
the bike, its history and uses'
The bicycle is the most popular form of transport on the planet… With
The Bicycle Book, Bathurst adds her voice to the call that we are now at
the dawn of a new golden age of this versatile machine.' Observer
'The freewheeling exhilaration of this jaunty compendium of adventures
for cycling obsessives will convert any irreverence for ancient bicycles
into respect for modern pedal-power.' SAGA Magazine Bella Bathurst is
a writer and photographer. Her first book, 'The Lighthouse Stevensons:
The Extraordinary Story of the Building of the Scottish Lighthouses by
the Ancestors of Robert Louis Stevenson', was shortlisted for the
Guardian First Book Award and won the Somerset Maugham Prize. Her novel
'Special' was published in 2002 to wide acclaim, and her most recent
book, 'The Wreckers', was shortlisted for the Crime Writers' Association
Gold Dagger Award. She has written for the Observer, Telegraph, Sunday
Telegraph and Guardian, among many others.
