In 1969 the streets of Brisbane are rocked by a violent street demonstration against the Vietnam War. Two teenagers, Griff and Mia, take centre stage in the incident. In the following months, they find themselves positioned on opposite sides of a love triangle that is about to be torn apart following the tragic death of a young soldier in Vietnam. Fast forward thirty five years and Griff’s life is in crisis after the death of his wife and the subsequent loss of his job. Alienated from everything that once defined his world, he meets up with a disparate group of cycling mates every morning at a cafe in the Southbank Parklands. The antics of the other riders provide a perfect diversion as they try to convince him to join them on a night out to find a new partner. However, he soon discovers that one of his friends, John Kelly, also holds the key to what happened in Vietnam and this ultimately sets Griff off on a quest to find Mia again. This book reveals an up-close and intimate view of Brisbane’s cafe culture and a cycling fraternity dominated by middle-aged men in lycra. Shifting time frames allow the reader to peer through a window into a turbulent period of our recent past.

"Every weekend, across the nation's rolling countryside, watch out for the Mamils: middle-aged men in lycra" - BBC News "Mamils make Oxford English Dictionary debut" - Telegraph "Oh the shame of being married to a MAMIL" - Daily Mail There is a new breed emerging. They hunt in packs, dressed in unforgiving lycra. Their natural habitat is the local espresso bar, where they obsess about power-to-weight ratios and worship the latest high-tech road bikes. Desperate to shave a few milligrams for speed, they will spend thousands on anything made out of carbon – conveniently forgetting about their own waistlines. At night they dream they are Bradley Wiggins or Alberto Contador. They are the Mamils. And they are taking over the world. The Modern MAMIL - A Cyclist's A-Z takes a humorous look at cycling and the middle-aged man in lycra.

Become a cycling pro with this humorous guide to cycling. Featuring original illustrations from Spencer Wilson and comical pieces of advice and motivation from author Chris McGuire, this little book makes the perfect gift for men who enjoy cycling.

'I am blown away by the level of detail Phil Cavell brings to his work.' – Elinor Barker MBE, multiple world champion and Olympic gold medallist 'The Midlife Cyclist is a triumph' – Cycling Plus 'An amazing accomplishment... a simple-to-understand précis of your midlife as a cyclist – you won't want to put it down.' – Phil Liggett, TV cycling commentator 'Phil is eminently qualified to write The Midlife Cyclist. Well, he is certainly old enough.' – Fabian Cancellara, Tour de France rider and two-time Olympic champion Renowned cycling biomechanics pioneer, Phil Cavell, explores the growing trend of middle-aged and older cyclists seeking to achieve high-level performance. Using contributions from leading coaches, ex-professionals and pro-team doctors, he produces the ultimate manifesto for mature riders who want to stay healthy, avoid injury – and maximise their achievement levels. Time's arrow traditionally plots an incremental path into declining strength and speed for all of us. But we are different to every other generation of cyclists in human history. An ever-growing number of us are determined to scale the highest peaks of elite physical fitness into middle-age and beyond. Can the emerging medical and scientific research help us achieve the holy triumvirate of speed and health with age? The Midlife Cyclist offers a gold standard road-map for the mature cyclist who aims to train, perform and even race at the highest possible level.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound and persistent impact - a tragic loss of life, changes to established patterns of life and social inequalities laid bare. It brought out the good in many and the worst in others, and raised questions around what is truly important in our lives. In this book, academics, activists and artists come together to remember, and to reflect on, the pandemic. What lessons should we learn? How can things be different when this is over? Sensitive to inequalities of gender, race and class, the book highlights the experience of marginalised and minority groups, and the unjust and uneven spread of violence, deprivation and death. It combines academic analysis with personal testimonies, poetry and images from contributors including Sue Black, Led By Donkeys, Lara-Rose Iredale, Michael Rosen and Gary Younge. This truly inclusive commemorative overview honours the experience of a global disaster lived up close, and suggests the steps needed to ensure we do better next time.

Locked Down & Lonely is a romantic comedy centred on two residents of a Milton Keynes apartment block during the tumultuous 2020 lockdown.

According to the website of The Velominati, the self-professed Keepers of the Cog, the optimal number of bikes owned is n + 1, where n is the number of bikes owned. But there's also an important corollary, s-1, where s is the number of bikes that will cause your wife or partner to leave you.' Into the Suffersphere: Cycling and the Art of Pain is a brilliantly witty account of one former racer's exploration of whether cycling is the one sport that pushes its participants to the very limits of human endurance, and delves painfully into the role that physical and mental suffering can play in this elite endurance sport. Drawing together sporting history and pro-cycling interviews, and investigating current medical, business and psychological theories, this is the story of the extraordinary lengths to which minds and bodies can be pushed. Peppered with recollections from the author's own racing experiences and offering a fascinating insight into the unique allure of pain in a sporting context, Into the Suffersphere explores a side of cycling that you would never have dreamed of - not even in your worst nightmare. An essential read for all MAMILs (middle-aged men in Lycra) and fans of sports writing and smart thinking.