Have you ever dreamed of climbing a mountain, running a marathon, racing in the Tour de France, competing in an Ironman, or just taking your bike for a multi-day ride away from it all?Cyclists, endurance athletes, travelers, and vicarious adventurers alike will love Two Wheels and a Will. This compelling introduction to ultra-endurance cycling and bikepacking follows five cyclists with varying experience as they attempt to complete a daunting multi-day race across the breathtaking yet intimidating French Pyrenees.But this book is about more than the race itself: it's a travel adventure, a self-discovery quest, and an informative dive into local French geography, history, culture, and cuisine.Most importantly, it's about the inspiring mindset of those who show up on the start line even when they aren't sure they'll succeed. Those who know that you don't have to cross the finish line to be rewarded with an immense feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction. As in life, it's what you experience during your journey, when you explore your physical and mental limits, that will transform and enlighten you.Between these pages:cyclists of all levels and disciplines will gain insight into preparing for their first (or hundredth) mountain ride;Tour de France fans will recognize many of the race's legendary climbs as they cheer on the five ultra-endurance participants; andarmchair thrill-seekers and virtual travelers will marvel at the rich details of new destinations steeped in old-world charm.After reading Two Wheels and a Will, you will never watch the Tour de France, travel to the Pyrenees, or view a cyclist in the same light. Let these five unique competitors-their courage, determination, failure, and success-inspire you.Are you ready? The adventure starts now?

Contestants have died, been maimed, and spiraled down into the nightmarish realm of madness. Half of them don't finish--in fact, only 200 racers have ever made it to the end. "Outside" magazine calls it "the toughest test of endurance in the world." RAAM (the Race Across America) is a bicycle race like no other. This epic race is the most brutal organized sporting event you've never heard of and one of the best-kept secrets in the sports world. Author Amy Snyder follows a handful of athletes before, during, and after the 2009 event, the closest and most controversial in history. "Hell on Two Wheels" is a thrilling and remarkably detailed account of their ups and downs, triumphs and tragedies. By experiencing the race from the perspective of the racers themselves, "Hell on Two Wheels" breaks new ground in helping us appreciate how such a grueling effort can be so cleansing and self-revelatory. This is more than just a race; it's a monster, a crucible, an unforgettable allegory about the human experience of pain and joy and self-discovery.

Robert Penn has saddled up nearly every day of his adult life. In his late twenties, he pedaled 25,000 miles around the world. Today he rides to get to work, sometimes for work, to bathe in air and sunshine, to travel, to go shopping, to stay sane, and to skip bath time with his kids. He's no Sunday pedal pusher. So when the time came for a new bike, he decided to pull out all the stops. He would build his dream bike, the bike he would ride for the rest of his life; a customized machine that reflects the joy of cycling. It's All About the Bike follows Penn's journey, but this book is more than the story of his hunt for two-wheel perfection. En route, Penn brilliantly explores the culture, science, and history of the bicycle. From artisanal frame shops in the United Kingdom to California, where he finds the perfect wheels, via Portland, Milan, and points in between, his trek follows the serpentine path of our love affair with cycling. It explains why we ride. It's All About the Bike is, like Penn's dream bike, a tale greater than the sum of its parts. An enthusiastic and charming tour guide, Penn uses each component of the bike as a starting point for illuminating excursions into the rich history of cycling. Just like a long ride on a lovely day, It's All About the Bike is pure joy- enriching, exhilarating, and unforgettable.

**SHORTLISTED FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2023** 'Full of delightful anecdotes and interviews and fascinating historical tales' Mail on Sunday A panoramic portrait of the wonderous vehicle whose passenger is also its engine. A toy, a tool, a liberator, or complete nuisance: the bicycle has been many things to many people over the decades, yet it endures as the most popular form of transport in the world. How has such a simple machine achieved so much? Combining history, travelogue and memoir, Jody Rosen reshapes our understanding of this ubiquitous vehicle from its invention in 1817 to its present-day renaissance as a 'green machine'. Readers meet unforgettable characters: women's suffragists who steered bikes to the barricades in the 1890s, a Bhutanese king who races mountain bikes in the Himalayas, astronauts who ride a floating bicycle in zero gravity. By examining the bicycle's past and peering into its future, Two Wheels Good forms a joyful ode to an engineering marvel of global importance. 'Funny, precise, surprising' Adam Gopnik 'Love for two-wheeled transport runs through every sentence' Economist 'Wry, rich, deeply researched' Patrick Radden Keefe

Peter Zheutlin's thoroughly researched account will make you wish you'd been around to catch a glimpse of the extraordinary woman as she went wheeling by. --Bill Littlefield, National Public Radio's Only A Game Until 1894 there were no female sport stars, no product endorsement deals, and no young mothers with the chutzpah to circle the globe on a bicycle. Annie Londonderry changed all of that. When Annie left Boston in June of that year, she was a brash young lady with a 42-pound bicycle, a revolver, a change of underwear, and a dream of freedom. She was also a feisty mother of three who had become the center of what one newspaper called "one of the most novel wagers ever made": a high-stakes bet between two wealthy merchants that a woman could not ride around the world on a bicycle. The epic journey that followed took the connection between athletics and commercialism to dizzying new heights, and turned Annie Londonderry into a symbol of women's equality. A vastly entertaining blend of social history, high adventure, and maverick marketing, Around the World on Two Wheels is an unforgettable portrait of courage, imagination, and tenacity. "Annie was a remarkable woman and well worth getting to know." --Booklist "A wonderful telling of one of the most intriguing, offbeat, and until now, lost chapters in the history of cycling." --David Herlihy, author of Bicycle: The History "A pleasant, affectionate portrait of a free spirit who pedaled her way out of Victorian constraints." --Kirkus Reviews "[A] charming and informative book." --Cape Cod Times "[An] incredible story. . .[a] fascinating book." --NextReads "[A] stirring tale. . .not only a must read, but a must have." --Western Writers of America Roundup Magazine "[A] remarkable saga." --The Winston-Salem (NC) Journal "[R]ead[s]. . .like a novel." --The Columbia (SC) State "[M]eticulously researched. . .illuminat[es] the feeling of a bygone era." --The Portsmouth (NH) Wire Peter Zheutlin has been chasing the story of his great-grandaunt Annie Londonderry for more than four years. He is an avid cyclist and a freelance journalist whose work appears regularly in the Boston Globe and the Christian Science Monitor. He has also written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, AARP Magazine, Bicycling, the New England Quarterly, and other publications. He lives in Needham, Massachusetts.

Welcome to the Velorution! Women's cycling is having a moment. From Olympic heroines like Victoria Pendleton, through fashion designers, models and celebrities, to the super-cool girls on the street, everybody who is anybody is travelling on two wheels. This book will inspire you to join them. Cycling is a fun, healthy and inherently stylish hobby and form of transport with a long and rich history of empowering women. It has never been more fashionable and more accessible to just about everybody. Full of fun and inspiration, with gorgeous photography and quirky illustrations throughout, The Girl's Guide to Life on Two Wheels is a practical and stylish guide to help you find the confidence and motivation to embrace cycling as part of your daily life. From choosing a bike and staying safe on the roads to looking great on two wheels and embracing the unique style cycling offers, Cathy will arm you with everything you need to get on your bike. Whether you used to cycle as a kid or have never been on a bike in your life, no matter what age you are, where you live or how fit and active you are - if you've ever thought you'd love to cycle but 'can't', this book will show you that you can, and you can do it in style.

A murder mystery set in the world of European professional cycling.