The Larrikin Kiwi Biker tells his story. In 1979 Graeme Crosby arrived in Britain with his worldly possessions in a carry-bag. His racing suit draped over his left shoulder, a scratched helmet in his right hand and just £150 in his wallet, he was ready to take on the world. I lifted up my cracked UV visor with my thumb. 'Which way does the track go and what's the lap record?' I called out over the noise of the valve gear rattling and clanging between my legs. the flag marshal's eyebrows raised in disbelief. I could see him muttering, 'And who the hell do you think you are - Mike Hailwood?'Four years later 'Croz', as he is affectionately known to millions of fans, walked away from the glamour of world championship Grand Prix racing, taking with him a bag full of trophies and his ever-present sense of humour. In that short time he had achieved more than most riders could ever hope for in a lifetime of racing.Become his pillion passenger as he takes you on a fast and furious journey from the grassroots of New Zealand motorcycle racing through Australia, Japan, the UK and Europe. Experience with him the crashes, the pain, the elation of winning and the international controversies. While the politics, boycotts and tragic fatalities make enthralling reading, the common thread is his determination to enjoy life and have fun. And win a few world championships.

Hugo's legs have run away. They simply didn't want to stay at home where they just lay about. Hugo's legs just wanted out! Hugo Holt's legs have run away and jumped on the bus! Hugo can't do without them. How on earth will he catch his runaway legs?

Who can be a larrikin and how is it used politically? The figure of the larrikin goes deep in Australian culture. But who can be a larrikin, and what are its political uses? This brilliant essay looks at Australian politics through the prisms of class, egalitarianism and masculinity. Lech Blaine examines some “top blokes,” with particular focus on Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese, but stretching back to Bob Hawke and Kerry Packer. He shows how Morrison brought a cohort of voters over to the Coalition side, “flipping” what was once working-class Labor culture. Blaine weaves his own experiences through the essay as he explores the persona of the Aussie larrikin. What are its hidden contradictions – can a larrikin be female, or Indigenous, say? – and how has it been transformed by an age of affluence and image?

Michael Dunlop has a reputation for being the wild man of TT - often mercurial and outright dangerous. However,Road Racer reveals his emotional, human journey, taking the reader beyond the story of the sporting career of this aggressive and tenacious competitor.

A guide to the top 50 motorcycle rides in New Zealand. When you find yourself alone on the Molesworth, despite knowing that a 4WD or two will soon happen along, there is a strange sense of isolation and a dawning appreciation that if you suffer a puncture or a mechanical hiccup, then your name had better be MacGyver. Twisting Throttle is back. Exhausted from circumnavigations of Australia and America, Mike Hyde saddles up to explore his own back yard. And what a back yard! TWISTING THROTTLE NEW ZEALAND showcases Mike's top 50 motorcycle rides in the Land of the Long White Cloud from Ninety Mile Beach to the Catlins. Whether you're a Kiwi with a bike in the garage or an overseas visitor renting a motorcycle, this book will show you where the best biking roads are: road touring and adventure rides, North Island and South Island.

The Isle of Man TT - the world's most dangerous race - as seen through the eyes of Cummins, Martin, McGuinness and Dunlop. THAT NEAR DEATH THING is a life-affirming journey to the heart of the world's most dangerous race. The Isle of Man TT is a throwback to a maverick era that existed before PR platitudes and PC attitudes. WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR-shortlisted author Rick Broadbent gets inside the helmets of four leading motorcycle racers as they battle fear, fire and family tragedy for a gritty sort of glory. Guy Martin is a tea-drinking truck mechanic and TV eccentric who 'sucks the rabbits out of hedges', but must now deal with the flipside of fame; Conor Cummins is the local hero facing a race against time as he battles depression and a broken body after falling down the mountain; John McGuinness is the living legend fending off the ravages of middle-age for one last hurrah; Michael Dunlop is the wild child living with one of the most remarkable legacies in sport. They tell their astonishing stories in a book that provides the most rounded, intimate, behind-the-scenes account yet of the last great race. Rick Broadbent has delivered the final word on the Isle of Man TT, one that really gets to grips with an event that continually pulls unsung riders and fans back year after year to witness That Near Death Thing.

Run over the everyday roads of the Isle of Man for over 100 years, the world-famous Tourist Trophy races have gripped the imaginations of successive generations of motorcyclists. From the earliest days of single-speed, belt-driven machines delivering 5 bhp, to the highly developed projectiles of today offering a fearsome 200 bhp, race fans have thronged the roadside banks and watched in awe as the best racing motorcyclists in the world rode the fastest machines of their day around the twists, turns and climbs of the 374 mile Mountain Course, all in pursuit of a coveted Tourist Trophy. This new updated edition covering the 2007 - 2012 races, reveals the event's colourful history through the high-speed activities of great riders such as the Collier brothers, Geoff Duke, Mike Hailwood, Giacomo Agostini, Steve Hislop, Joey Dunlop, John McGuinness and many others. It also looks at the machines and mechanical developments and race organisation, plus the financial rewards and commercial interests; setting them all in the context of the triumphs and tragedies of a great sporting event that has seen average lap speeds rise from 40 mph to over 130 mph. Written in an easy style, this book reveals the Manx TT's colourful history through its great riders, machines, mechanical developments and race organisation and is superbly illustrated with over 250 colour photographs.