The Works

La Vie Velominatus. It is the life we, as Velominati, lead. It is life as a disciple of cycling, of the greater meaning the bike holds and the lessons it teaches us. Along the path, one of our great duties is the wholesale consumption of the great Works related to our sport. From periodicals to books to films, herin lies the list of works considered to be necessary reading and viewing for any Velominatus who wishes to further understand our craft.

All works in this list have been read or viewed by The Keepers or have been recommended by one of our community members; if it is included herein, you can be certain that The Work speaks to the greater meaning of La Vie Velominatus that we pursue. Please feel free to add your own recommendations and we will make sure to update the list as we become aware of more great Works.

The Texts

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Rouleur (Periodical)

While pricey by periodical standards, Rouleur is also immaculately curated and written; the entire Rouleur project is founded on everything that makes a velominatus what we are. From guest articles by the likes of Robert Millar, to interviews with Chris Boardman on the selection of Royce hubs for his Hour Record attempt, to a two-part series on how to properly select and mount your tubular tires.

Rouleur is an absolute must-read for any Velominatus.

http://www.rouleur.cc/

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Tomorrow, We Ride
Jean Bobet

Perhaps the single most inspirational work on what it means to love the bicycle, Jean Bobet takes us on a journey of life as a scholar and professional cyclist alongside his famous brother, Louison, who won the Tour de France three times. It is a book about his life as a cyclist and a passion for cycling that goes beyond careers and racing results. In some places historical, in others touching, while in others is downright funny. But mostly, it’s about a love for a cycling life.

Paperback: 179 pages, Publisher: Mousehold Press (September 3, 2008), ISBN-10: 187473951X, ISBN-13: 978-1874739517

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We Were Young and Carefree
Laurent Fignon

The late and honored Professeur writes an amazing memoir of his life as a professional cyclist. Unapologetic and brutally honest, this book takes us through the highest high and lowest lows of a career better remembered for losing the Tour by eight seconds than he is for winning it twice. The pages are lined with unforgettable anecdotes, from racing bikes alongside The Badger and Greg LeMond, to mentoring the great Gianni Bugno, to the befuddlement of the Old Guard as EPO entered the peloton in the early nineties.

Paperback: 304 pages, Publisher: Yellow Jersey Press (July 5, 2010), Language: English, ISBN-10: 0224083198, ISBN-13: 978-0224083195

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Le Metier
Michael Barry

Le Métier (the craft) is something just this side of an addiction. Barry beautifully describes the struggle and agony inherent in professional cycling; he portrays a miserable existence, saved only by the fact that these select few are permitted to make a living doing something they love, even if le métier is a far cry from what drew them to the sport in the first place.
*Synopsis by Steampunk.

Hardcover: 204 pages, Publisher: Rouleur Ltd (April 2010), Language: English, ISBN: TBD

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A Dog in a Hat
Joe Parkin

While it covers the same subject matter as Rough Ride – of a young neo-pro learning the ropes of the peloton, including the dark depths of drug use – A Dog in a Hat is an uplifting tale by a rider clearly in love with the sport and everything that comes with it. With none of the bitterness of the story of Rough Ride, Joe Parkin acquaints us with life as a professional in Belgium with grace, humor, and, above all, honesty.

Paperback: 205 pages, Publisher: VeloPress (September 1, 2008), Language: English, ISBN-10: 1934030260, ISBN-13: 978-1934030264

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The Rider
Tim Krabbe

Lauded Dutch writer Krabbe intimately captures the essence of the road racer, his hardship, pain and joy, laid bare on the roads of the Tour du Mont Aigual.

“To say that the race is the metaphor for life is to miss the point. The race is everything. It obliterates whatever isn’t racing. Life is the metaphor for the race.”

Paperback: 160 pages, Publisher: Bloomsbury USA (June 12, 2003), Language: English, ISBN-10: 1582342903, ISBN-13: 978-1582342900

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Need for the Bike
Paul Fournel

While the cover and the pages within contain various Rule violations, the passion and attention to the little things that make a Velominatus can’t be ignored. The book consists of short passages, each discussing a different, fundamental aspect of cycling. Not about racing, this book is about passion for the sport at a recreational level.

Paperback: 150 pages, Publisher: Bison Books (September 1, 2003), Language: English, ISBN-10: 0803269099, ISBN-13: 978-0803269095

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Slaying the Badger

Richard Moore

The easy-going, trusting, and entitled personality of Greg LeMond clashed with the brash, take-what-you-can, aggressive personality of Bernard Hinault during the 1986 Tour de France, resulting in one of the greatest editions of the race. The race was fought not only on the roads of France, but through a psychological battle that was sparked not just in 1985 as is widely accepted, but the day the two met on the Renault team in the winter of 1980/1981.

Paperback: 304 pages, Publisher: Yellow Jersey Press (May 26, 2011), Language: English, ISBN-10: 9780224082907, ISBN-13: 0224082906

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Paris-Roubaix, A Journey Through Hell
Philippe Bouvet

Simply stunning is this book. If you have a soft spot for L’Enfer du Nord, you must own this. You can almost taste the mud in your teeth and feel the pain in your bones as the riders rattle over the stones. As much a great history of the race as it is visually striking. A tribute fit for the Queen.

Hardcover: 223 pages, Publisher: VeloPress (September 1, 2007), Language: English, ISBN-10: 1934030090, ISBN-13: 978-1934030097

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Intimate Portrait of the Tour De France: Masters and Slaves of the Road
Philippe Brunel

The photos in this book will draw you in, but eventually you’re bound to discover that the pages of this immaculate work are filled with reverent prose  that can be read and re-read. The book covers many of the greatest legends of our sport both on and off the bike and contains some of the most recognizable photos of our sport. It appears out of print, but is still available on the second-hand market.

Paperback: 156 pages, Publisher: Buonpane Pubns, Language: English, ISBN-10: 0964983508, ISBN-13: 978-0964983502

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Tour de France: The 75th anniversary cycle race
Robin Magowan

This what happens when you put a real writer in a following car. Robin Magowan is an excellent writer of prose and poetry and he records one Tour de France from the road, not from a press room. This is the Tour of Thevenet and Maertens, it’s the post-Merckx era. I have a copy to loan but owning this would be a wise investment. It’s excellent.

Hardcover: 203 pages, Publisher: Stanley Paul, London, (1979), Velopress 2nd edition (May 1996), Language: English, ISBN-10: 1884737137, ISBN-13: 978-1884737138

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The Death of Marco Pantani
Matt Rendell

Fans of Il Pirata may have a hard time reading this studiously researched and compelling biography of one of the legends of our sport. It paints no pretty pictures and dons no kid gloves as it chronicles Marco’s life in detail. Nor does it serve as a muckraking exposé into the rise and fall of this great athlete. Rendell’s work serves as, what The Independent aptly called, an ambivalent tribute. From his upbringing in Cesenatico, to his first races as a promising youth rider, to his storied 1998 season, to his descent into addiction and self-loathing, Rendell captures the passion, athleticism, and complexities of Pantani’s too-short life. If you’re a fan of Il Pirata who is hesitant to read this book for fear of your Pantani bubble being burst, we challenge you to read it anyway. The Keeper who wrote this review came away with an even deeper appreciation, respect, and compassion for the man in spite of having to read about some of the darkest places a Cyclist can go.

Copyright 2006, 323 pages, Phoenix Publishing

ISBN: 978-0-7538-2203-6

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Rouleur Photography Annuals

There is no more photogenic sport than cycling. A big call, yes, but one that is supported by the consistently stunning examples offered every year by Rouleur Magazine’s Photo Annual. And of course, their fine writers aren’t entirely forgotten, with typically verbose text accompanying each photographer’s contibution.

Publisher: Rouleur Ltd. ISBN: 9780956423306 Hard or Soft cover available.

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The Escape Artist

Matt Seaton

“A beautifully written book which depicts the struggle between a fulfilling home life and a satisfying bike life. Seaton manages to describe the skill, drama, speed and pain of cycle racing as well as giving the book a very personal feel.”    *Synopsis by Dexter.

Pages: 192  ISBN 13: 9781841151045  ISBN 10: 1941151041

Publisher: Harper Collins  Date: 2/06 2003  Sub-title of Text:  Life From The Saddle

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Road Racing Technique and Training
Bernard Hinault and Claude Genzling

Many of us had our first introduction to The Craft through Greg LeMond’s Complete Book of Cycling. But where did LeMan acquire his wisdom? Possibly from The Badger himself. Bernard gives the fundamentals on how to destroy opponents as well as properly adjust the seatpost.

Beautifully translated from French, the Cyclist is frequently referred to as “the organism”. Sadly, there is no chapter on punching out French protesters who dare to block a race course.
*Synopsis by @fignon’s barber.

Paperback: 208 pages, Publisher: Vitesse Press (31 Dec 1994), Language: English, ISBN-10: 0941950131, ISBN-13: 978-0941950138

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The Films

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Road to Roubaix
Masterlink Films

This film holds an important place in every Velominatus’ Roubaix Sunday Ritual, which should include riding over the worst roads in your neighborhood, watching the race, and watching this movie.

This film is not a race video; this film is a tribute to everything that is beautiful and brutal about the Spring Classics. The incredible cinematography is paired to rider interviews so intimate, you simultaneously worship and pity these hard men. An absolute must-see for any rider who loves the classics.

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Stars and Watercarriers/The Impossible Hour
Jørgen Leth

This is a double-feature DVD containing two classics, Stars and Watercarriers and The Impossible Hour. Both narrated by the Dane Jørgen Leth, these films are an entirely unique take on this amazing sport of ours. The scenes of the riders carrying out their work and preparing for races are the stuff that inspire us to enter La Vie Velominatus. Stars and Watercarriers takes us through the Giro d’Italia where Merckx dominates the race, and The Impossible Hour covers Ole Ritter’s attempt to reclaim the Hour held by Merckx.

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La Course en Tete/The Greatest Show on Earth
Joel Santoni

La Course en Tete is perhaps the most iconic cycling film of all time; anyone wishing to better know The Cannibal is obliged to start here. Following him at the height of his career, this film reflects the man training, at the table with his family, and dominating races. No other rider compares to The Prophet, and no other film is a more suitable reflection of his career.

The Greatest Show on Earth shows us why the Giro is better than the Tour, as we follow Merckx through the ’74 edition, which he struggled to win by a mere 12 seconds.

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A Sunday in Hell
Jørgen Leth

Another classic Leth work, this film moves at a pace that dramatically contrasts the chaos of the race itself. A Sunday in Hell documents what it takes to race the hardest of the classics by following the hardest of the hardmen during the golden era of the race: Merckx, de Vlaeminck, and Marten.

Only Leth would include the scenes for the Velominatus such as the one at the neutralized zone where Merckx borrows a rival team’s spanner to adjust his saddle a trifle.

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Breaking Away
Peter Yates

This is easily one of the greatest ‘Hollywood’ films featuring cycling. Even other cyclists who may not have heard of the 1979 Oscar winner for Best Screenplay seem perplexed and unable to grasp the concept of a teen coming-of-age film featuring that rarity of Hollywood filmdom, a *gasp* cyclist.

And that’s all that Breaking Away is. It’s not a cycling film, not a fly-on-the-wall doco like A Sunday In Hell or Hell On Wheels. In fact it’s completely bereft of hell in any form. It’s heaven, sometimes on wheels, sometimes in Mike’s Buick, sometimes in the swimming hole at the old abandoned limestone quarry.

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The Flying Scotsman
Douglas Mackinnon

Graeme Obree holds a hallowed place in cycling, this film puts into sharp relief what kind of personality it takes to turn the entire world of cycling on it’s head and claim one of the most honored and difficult records in our sport.

This film is based on Obree’s autobiography. Unlike most other films made from books; Obree himself was involved in this project and even built a replica of his the bike he had built to carry his inventive aerodynamic position. This tale is tragic and triumphant all at once. It also demonstrates that Scottish is basically it’s own language; American’s will need to pour themselves an ale in order to have any hope of understanding the dialog.

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Overcoming (2005)

Directed by Tomas Gislason

“Unlike the recent HTC-Columbia feature-length advert, Overcoming truly gives the feeling of life in a Pro Team. It’s also the only film (of a genre) where the extras are as good as the movie, and it only serves to make us love Jens even more (if that were possible!).”

*(Synopsis by Jake Scott)




572 Replies to “The Works”

  4. Which probably means it can be found right freaking now in fine Scottish book stores.

  7. have any of you attended an artcrank exhibit?  feedback/impressions?  they are rolling into boston this weekend

  8. I’m about an hour into this:

    So far, it’s a lot better than I thought it was going to be; it’s not the tabloid, formulaic blow-by-blow recounting with a few anecdotal nuggets thrown in for good measure I feared it was going to be. I’m actually rather enjoying it.

  9. I’m surprised not any airtime for Allan Peiper’s “A Peiper’s Tale”.  I read it a couple years ago and it is probably one of the most interesting cycling autobiogs I’ve come across. Great 80’s talk, life stories, and even training tips that work ( when doing intense training, only think in the moment, not a second before or after). Th guy seems like he’s had a tough life and I was glad to give him my $15.

  11. @frank

    Yeah, I finished that a few months ago.  It’s an interesting read in that it gives some context about how the press dealt with the omerta around Lance’s time.  Gets a bit less compelling at the end but still well worth a read.

  12. @mouse

    @frank

    Yeah, I finished that a few months ago. It’s an interesting read in that it gives some context about how the press dealt with the omerta around Lance’s time. Gets a bit less compelling at the end but still well worth a read.

    Ive got it on the shelf in the queue to read..

  13. @frank

    Just picked this up; I’ve never seen a David Walsh book published stateside before.

    Actually this brings a question or two to mind.  I have taken a little break from cycling books (too many in a row) but am in the mood to return and blast through a few.  I have this one, Riding through the Dark and the The Secret Race all on the shelf begging to be read.   Question:

    Is there any merit in reading these in a certain order.  Is there a natural order that would avoid the inevitable repetition that is likely to occur or would it be better to have a bit of a break in between each one and read something else.  I am guessing this one should be read last of the 3?

  14. @Deakus

    logically, you’d suggest chronological order based on when the events took place.  That said though, I read secret race first..

    They are both stellar books. I guarantee you won’t feel fatigued by reading them both in short order.  They definitely paint an interesting picture of the times and certainly make me feel far less critical than some about characters such as O’Grady and Zabel.

  15. @mouse

    @Deakus

    logically, you’d suggest chronological order based on when the events took place. That said though, I read secret race first..

    They are both stellar books. I guarantee you won’t feel fatigued by reading them both in short order. They definitely paint an interesting picture of the times and certainly make me feel far less critical than some about characters such as O’Grady and Zabel.

    Going on boys road trip with sons (aged 14 and 12) with bikes up to the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland for 10 days on Monday with bikes so there will be plenty of evening down time to work my way through them…..post V of course.

    It is a stunning place but I have to say I am viewing the coastal cross winds with some trepidation….it is going to be difficult forming an echelon with one son who weighs about 65kgs!

  16. @Deakus I read Riding through the Dark, The Secret Race and then Seven Deadly Sins. There was quite a gap between Millar’s book and Hamilton’s but I think that order worked quite well.

    Millar’s book is very much the story of his own path through doping, the damage it did to him, his subsequent efforts re-enter the peloton clean and as an anti-doper (if that is how you view him).

    Hamilton’s is similar but in the context of being Armstrong’s team-mate. Both share common theme of being warts and all “I did this to myself” confessions.

    Walsh’s book completes the picture by not only setting out the case against Armstrong but how complicit the establishment was in maintaining the lie. 

    @mouse is right, it’s very hard to be as critical of the riders or view doping in black and white terms of good v evil but it does reinforce the belief that McQuaid and Verbruggen (as well as Hubschmid) cannot be allowed to have anything to do with cycling.

     

  17. @Deakus Those coastal cross winds are a godsend, without them you’d spend the entire ride suffocating on midges (a much slower death than chewing on wasps).

    I’m heading off to France for a couple of weeks. The eldest have (ebay) new bikes and are keen to get out on the road and into the Pyrenees. After that I think there’s going to be lot of pressure for autumn/winter camping trips to Wales for the mountain biking.

  18. @Deakus

    @mouse

    @Deakus

    logically, you’d suggest chronological order based on when the events took place. That said though, I read secret race first..

    They are both stellar books. I guarantee you won’t feel fatigued by reading them both in short order. They definitely paint an interesting picture of the times and certainly make me feel far less critical than some about characters such as O’Grady and Zabel.

    Going on boys road trip with sons (aged 14 and 12) with bikes up to the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland for 10 days on Monday with bikes so there will be plenty of evening down time to work my way through them…..post V of course.

    It is a stunning place but I have to say I am viewing the coastal cross winds with some trepidation….it is going to be difficult forming an echelon with one son who weighs about 65kgs!

    Astonishingly I’m in the process of booking a trip to Lewis for the 20th – day trip only in a suit but coincidence? I think not.

  19. @Deakus Consider In Search of Robert Millar, (as you’ll be in Scotland).  I’m nearly finished it and have found it to be unputdownable.

  20. @snoov

    @Deakus Consider In Search of Robert Millar, (as you’ll be in Scotland). I’m nearly finished it and have found it to be unputdownable.

    Read it.  It was fantastic and actually very well balanced…

  21. @the Engine

    @Deakus

    @mouse

    @Deakus

    logically, you’d suggest chronological order based on when the events took place. That said though, I read secret race first..

    They are both stellar books. I guarantee you won’t feel fatigued by reading them both in short order. They definitely paint an interesting picture of the times and certainly make me feel far less critical than some about characters such as O’Grady and Zabel.

    Going on boys road trip with sons (aged 14 and 12) with bikes up to the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland for 10 days on Monday with bikes so there will be plenty of evening down time to work my way through them…..post V of course.

    It is a stunning place but I have to say I am viewing the coastal cross winds with some trepidation….it is going to be difficult forming an echelon with one son who weighs about 65kgs!

    Astonishingly I’m in the process of booking a trip to Lewis for the 20th – day trip only in a suit but coincidence? I think not.

    I am guessing you are over to Stornoway then?  We will be over the other side of the island in UIG (Breanish which is basically the end of the road on the SW corner before Harris).  The main concern of the cyclist there is not midges (it is too windy) but more likely whisky soaked elderly locals and cross winds that would strike terror in to even the hardiest peloton….Family is from around Breanish and Ardroil…

  23. @Deakus

    @snoov

    @Deakus Consider In Search of Robert Millar, (as you’ll be in Scotland). I’m nearly finished it and have found it to be unputdownable.

    Read it. It was fantastic and actually very well balanced…

    Great book, now I instinctively reach for the bolt cutters every time I come to a toll booth.

  27. More sleazy revelations of McQuaid and Verbruggen’s attempt to drag the sport to even greater depths than Lance could have imagined.

    Cookson is putting up a strong fight for the presidency but there is a risk that Fat Pat’s exit will be the result of an arrest warrant rather than a vote.

  30. “Cycling is an excruciating sport””a rider’s power is only as great as his capacity to endure pain””and it is often remarked that the best cyclists experience their physical agonies as a relief from private torments. The bike gives suffering a purpose.”
    – The New Yorker on Team Rwanda

  34. These will be great knowledge I can collect to further educate myself and other on the cyclist way of life

  35. 1909 Tour de France, PARIS (1 August): “Faber has outdone even Petit-Breton. In atrocious conditions, he equalled him by palying the protagonist’s role in thirteen of the Tour’s fourteen stages, and surpassed him by winning in five consecutive stages, and, let it be added, in the five rightly considered the most demanding of the event. Indeed, Faber proved himself superior to Petit-Breton, and at least equal to the much lamented Pottier. His merit is all the greater in that Faber, as a routier, represents a remarkable exception to the norm. It is scarcely comprehensible how a man standing 1.78 m and carrying 91 kg at the start of a race like the Tour de France could accomplish what he has. This constitution would suit him perfectly to sprinting at the highest levels, but meets none of the demands made by road racing. Yet the astonishing facts say otherwise and demonstrate quite clearly that we’re in the presence of a phenomenon.”

    Routier!

    –from pg. 44 The Official Tour de France Centennial, 1903-2003

  36. Does anyone happen to have Rouleur issue 32? They visited the Tommasini factory and talked with Irio and as a Tommasini caretaker, I’d like to read it. It isn’t available for single-issue purchase.

  37. Conquista, free online magazine.

    After the #0 issue now it’s just out the #1.

    Worth more than one look!

    Disclaimer: there’s one of my photos in issue #1

  39. @Pedale.Forchetta Wow! Thanks for sharing. I just had a chance to skim through, but there are some fantastic images there. When I’ve got some more time, I’ll go through the articles. I like what I’ve seen so far though.

  42. @meursault

    Not sure where to post this, but it’s comrade Billy in a bike shop.

    Thanks for posting. Loved the updated lyrics – I fear many of which may have gone over the audiences’ heads. Still a bit uncomfortable with BB doing the show in COTHO’s shop.

  44. I’m not sure if its been mentioned here before, but I just finished

    For anyone who is a fan of European cyclocross, its a worthwhile read.

  46. @wiscot No problem, didn’t realise it was his shop! It may be too soon and prolly not cool, but I have forgiven him (Armstrong). Written a short article why, and submitted it, but not sure if it’s suitable or good enough.

  47. @meursault

    @wiscot No problem, didn’t realise it was his shop! It may be too soon and prolly not cool, but I have forgiven him (Armstrong). Written a short article why, and submitted it, but not sure if it’s suitable or good enough.

    I find the more I focus on the current racers and my own riding the more I don’t care. I wouldn’t say I have forgiven the guy though. And in the spirit of cycling and the Rules I regard him as a piss poor individual.

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