KingstonWheelers.com

[nickhussey]

I just bought Laurent Fignon's autobiography We Were Young and Carefree, which has finally been translated by William Fotheringham. I was excited before it came, as I'm a huge Fignon fan. Having flicked through it and read odd pages (bad habit) before I start for real, I can tell it's going to be brilliant. He just gets stuck right in, no bull.
If you grew up with 80's cycling you'll particularly love it.
Hopefully the whole book will come up to expectations.
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Hello, I hope you are enjoying whatever brand of cycling tickles your fancy. Cycling is very nice.

[Ben Cousins]

I read the whole thing, it's good but I'm a bit bored of cycling biographies and autobiographies. They are all the same.

- I come from an ordinary background
- I was introduced to cycling and it took over my life
- I was groomed by a nice old man
- Everything fell into my lap
- I didn't dope/I did dope but not much/There is no doping in cycling/I don't want to talk about doping/I died from doping
- Excuses about why I didn't win that race people expected me to
- I stopped cycling and it all went a bit pear-shaped.

However there is a chance I have read too many cycling books. I think I've got about thirty.

[nickhussey]

Ha ha, yes, bang on.
I suspect that's most autobiographies, though I only read cycling ones.
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Hello, I hope you are enjoying whatever brand of cycling tickles your fancy. Cycling is very nice.

[Dominic]

[Ben Cousins]

Yep, I've got that one too

[James B]

The Fignon book is a bit better. I read the original in French and it's a better read. It is jointly written by Fignon and a biographer, as compared to the more normal ghost-written template. I don't know how the translation worked out as some of the phrases and idioms don't easily go into English.

One interesting part is that he says in the book something like he knew he was popular but he hardly got people into cycling. I'd love to meet him and tell him that it was his great riding in 1989 that got me into cycling and ultimately means I'm typing this message!

If you want some alternative cycling books, there's "The Rider" by Tim Krabbé which I'm sure many of you have read. If you race and you haven't read it yet, you're missing something. Best read in one go, like a long haul flight, a big train journey or a day on the sofa or in a hammock. Pack two energy bars and a water bottle.

Paul Fournel's "Need for the Bike" is good too and look out for "Tomorrow We Ride" by Jean Bobet. Anyone interested in pro racing can also look out for Benjo Maso's "Sweat of God" which explains the commercial history of the sport and how all the myths and legends were fabricated / relayed to the public.

[Alan Sherman]

i recently read michael hutchinson's "the hour". Recommended, especially if you time trial.