5 must have books that make the perfect gift.
By Laura Fletcher
1. The 2022 Road Book by Ned Boulting
900 pages jam packed full of essays, factoids, infographics and results. The almanack is in it’s 5th year and is the truest form of cycling aficionado one can have. With images from Russ Ellis, stats from Jonny Long, and featuring the cyclist of the year awards, the compendium will bring something new with every page.
2. Jobst Brandt Ride Bike by Max Leonard
Having just finished their kickstarter, esoteric writer Max Leonard is back with another story of someone you never knew how bad you needed to read about. Jobst was perhaps the true godfather of gravel riding, and this new book chronicles the adventures spanning decades.
https://www.isolapress.com/shop/jobst-brandt
3. The Art of Cycling by James Hibbard
A meditative love letter to the sport of cycling, The Art of Cycling traces the journey of a former professional racer regaining his love for the sport and shows how cycling can shed new light on age-old questions of selfhood, meaning, and purpose.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58249430-the-art-of-cycling
4. Beryl by Jeremy Wilson
With access to previously unseen correspondence and photographs, and through extensive interviews with family, friends, rivals and fellow giants from across sport, acclaimed journalist Jeremy Wilson peels back the layers to reveal one of the most complex, enigmatic and compelling characters in cycling history.
**Winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2022
https://news.williamhill.com/sport/william-hill-sportsbook-of-the-year-2022-winner/
5. Chased By Pandas: My life in the mysterious world of cycling by Dan Martin
This book reflects Dan's generous and outspoken spirit, his resilience to pain, crashes, bad luck and, finally, his acceptance of destiny. Each chapter's title has a sub-title based on a typical cyclist's fear: the fear of losing a race, the fear of retiring from the sport, the fear of mountains or downhills, the fear of doping and, ultimately, the fear of death. Dan also discusses every aspect of the professional cyclist's life - food, discipline, money, dreams, friendship and betrayal. Dan is unashamed when it comes to exposing these dark feelings, his weaknesses and how he tried to deal with them, his attitude exemplifying Mark Twain's quote: "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear".
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62192217-chased-by-pandas
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