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.
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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
“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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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)
@frank
Looking forward to learning what you think. I was a little so-so on it above. But after reading it, I have an even greater appreciation of the old footage of him on the bike. I maintain that if you’ve ever ridden a bike, watching him ride in those old films of the Tour, Giro, Leth, whatever, is positively exhausting. If you have any idea of how physically tiring that unrelenting pace of his is to maintain for any length of time (and he did it day after day after day), you can’t help but be in awe and feel tired just watching…
@frank
I just finished it today. Excellent, especially the part covering the first pro years.
I’m just reading Jean Bobet’s Tomorrow We Ride and whoever wrote the blurb at the top of this page has got it spot on.
It’s not a cycling book, it’s a book about cycling… although it has some historical facts and quite candid accounts the parts that stand out are the descriptions of rides and certain moments in his life which just happened to be on a bike.
His chapter on La Volupte certainly honours the concept. Think of all the hours that he would have done as an amateur and pro cyclist and yet it seems that he reaches the zenith of La Volupte on just a couple of memorable occasions.
A really good read, especially for a translated work.
I found “Hell on Wheels” randomly today on Netflix instant watch and gave it a look. Very nice documentary film about the 2003 Tour from Team Telekom’s perspective.
It had no narrator, rather it was simply interviews and recorded conversations with and between members of the team. Well done and well shot, I thought.
@mcsqueak
I saw that a while ago. It was ok. Overcoming is really good. I had to find that be elisit means.
@mcsqueak
Hell on Wheels is much better than Overcoming. I love the shots in the Alps! And Erik Zabel is a close personal friend of mine (actually I just met him for about 15 seconds during the Keepers Tour, but still…it was pretty cool).
Well, that didn’t work. There was supposed to be a chummy photo of Erik and me. Now I can’t get it to attach. You’ll just have to take my word for it…
@Bianchi Denti
I really liked the soigneur that was a focus of much of the film, especially the part where he talks about the two different types of suffering – clearly someone with a passion for the sport.
@mcsqueak
Agreed. Is his name Ulle? Imagine what he saw (or administered) through the “glory” days of T-Mobile/Deutsche Telekom…
I also remember being stunned by the amount of chamois cream that he put in Zabel’s shorts!
@Bianchi Denti
Finally! There you go. Erik & me – Keepers Tour 2012. Belgium rocks!!!
Very cool!
It’s millar time , got a new book for the collection , start reading tonight
hope this time the picture loads (cover : koersen in het duister)
@Belgian Cobblestones
What did you think? Really enjoyed it but I reckon he pulled a couple of punches to not piss people off…
Tulsa Tough: Cry Baby Hill (2012) from Keith Walberg on Vimeo.
Dont know if this has been seen, but it looks like a great event.
@Mikael Liddy
Nice to see this achieved the funding.
@frank Site lost it’s Museo Sans typography (headlines). Your reply: “I know shit head!”
Pardon me if this has been posted. We seem to be missing a movie that is about training and racing in the Rockies called “American Flyers”. Starring Kevin Costner as Dr. Marcus Sommers (a stretch, I know) and David Marshall Grant as his daft brother David. While the movie is a B-ish with some typically cheesy 80’s movie track music, it has some fun scenes and insite into racing tactics. I think is was made around 1985. Especially inspirational for a brick like me.
Finished Tomorrow We Ride. Not sure I can add anything to the awesomeness it is. Humorous, philosophical, inspiring, enlightening, and much more. Absolute pleasure to read.
The Road to Valor
Gino Bartali’s story is without a doubt one of the greatest ever. Highly recommended.
Looks like Will Fotheringham is ghosting Wiggo’s autobiography. er sorry second autobiography.
Wonder if Will was brought in to tone down Wiggo’s colourful language and lose any tirades against nameless, faceless detractors.
I really enjoyed Slayer the Badger, the interviews sound amazing and the insight into such an interesting time in our sport was enjoyable.
Just Ride
Grant Petersen recently wrote a book called [I]Just Ride[/I]. I haven’t read the book – just glanced at it at B&N and I have a crotchety old retro-grouch friend that has been twitbooking about it. In a nut shell it laments what racing and racers have done to the bicycle market. I.e forced everybody to ride 14lb carbon bikes and wear weird clothing. Racers are portrayed as the stereotypical ARPs.
My feeling on the subject::
I don’t like to “Just Ride”. I like to go as fast as I can at all times. That’s just me. Do you want to ride slow? No problem. Just don’t label me an ARP because you showed up for a ride that you knew there was going to be a bunch of fast people at and then cry when you got dropped.
I don’t look down on you and your steel Sun Tour equipped bike from the 80’s. If that’s your bag go for it. I like to ride top of the line stuff. It’s not because I’m a snob. It’s because I spent years as a bike mechanic and I’ve worked on it all and the good stuff works better than the crappy stuff.
Grant tries to make a case that Racing hasn’t contributed anything worthwhile technology wise since the 70’s. Really? How many drive trains have seen an early demise because the average knuckle head can’t figure out how to trim a derailleur? Heck, even with indexed shifting I still sit behind people in a paceline that haven’t figured it out. Maybe Di2/EPS would help these people since they can’t figure it out on their own.
But remember this is Grant Petersen the guy that brought us the mustache barred XO bike. That went over really well didn’t in Grant? How soon after you tried to foist that on the general public did Bridgestone close shop in the U.S.? I can’t remember. I can only hope that your Rivendell Bike works is an homage to Rush.
Father’s Day gift – not for me, for Father-In-Law!!! He can only watch on my telly!
Looking forward to viewing this set!
@sthilzy well played sir, nice to see the original Rapha jersey as well.
Recently Finished “A Race for Madmen” – Great history of TdF…worth a read if nothing else to bring to life how “old school” throwing tacks in the road is…..Next you will be telling me they are beating up the Belgians on there way through french villages!!!
Anyone read “The Secret Race”…..worth a read?
I am no PS artist but if anyone wants this wallpaper
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/189/velominatia.jpg/
Not sure if any of the Keepers have picked up a copy of this yet but it looks like some of Fournel’s essays that make up ‘The Need for the Bike’ as well as his Rouleur articles have been combined with some pretty awesome cartoon work from Jo Burt in a new book “Vélo” that Wade from Cycling Tips just reviewed, from what he says it looks like it well & truly belongs in this collection.
http://www.cyclingtips.com.au/2012/09/velo-by-paul-fournel-review/
Mikael – I bought Velo last week, and to be honest…. quite disappointed. Irritatingly little new that wasn’t already in ‘Need for the Bike’, and the Jo Burt cartoon work is pretty much the same as in Rouleur (which I subscribe to). It is beautifully packaged up in one book through, but my expectations were so high, as I loved, sorry, LOVED ‘Need for the bike’. If you haven’t got Need for the Bike, and aren’t an early reader of Rouleur (the later editions have become a bit, well, pants, in my view) then a) shame on you, and b) you will really like Velo.
Although I have to say, I still haven’t worked out the difference between the ‘witch with green teeth’ and the ‘Man with the Hammer’… which is annoying, as I keep meeting one of them out on the road, and it would be nice to know which is keeping me company as I crawl home at pathetic speeds sans panache.
This has probably already been suggested:
“Tales From The Bikeshop” by Maynard Hershon
@roadslave525
Sans panache? Surely not. You ooze panache, Roady!
@roadslave525
Thanks for the review. I own and adore Need For The Bike, but loathe its cheesy cover. I was considering picking this one up from the Rapha shop, but at $34, I’ll save my coin if it offers nothing new.
@frank
On the heels of the Best Kit of All Time post that just went live on the site, I’d like to submit for inclusion The Jersey Project if it has yet to be nominated (it may even have been nominated by me before, I forget). Nothing flashy – hardback, but a lame-ass cover – however, inside its just photos and photos of cycling jerseys on thick glossy pages – a real winner in my eyes as a coffee table/toilet paper rack book that can be perused over and over.
@Dan_R
I have always said that I, and much of my generation (Gen X), has a lot more in common with our grandparents than our parents. Is that an obvious statement? Most people do get along with grandpa & grandma better than mother and father. Maybe its a fact of life. What I do know is that they are called, “The Greatest Generation” by many for living through the evens of The Depression in the 1930s, the Second World War, and then ushering society into the post-war economic boom. Later on, our parents went on to recreationalize durg use, hold authority and government in disdain, and gave us the “Me” lifestyle that we have these days. I find the Baby Boomers to be the most self-indugent and self-important people in society. With this somewhat twisted view of society, I can say that I truly enjoyed reading, “Road to Valour.” It harkens back to a time of hard work, self sacrifice, and doing what is right without seeking a reward. And cycling. There is a lot about cycling in the book too.
@meursault Thanks. I have been needing a good background for my laptop.
Not really a ‘work’, but nonetheless a piece of cycling history worthy of acknowledgment. I had vaguely heard of Major Taylor, but this fills in the picture some more. http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/2012/09/the-unknown-story-of-the-black-cyclone-the-cycling-champion-who-broke-the-color-barrier
@Dan_R No problem Dan, was beginning to think everybody hated it, me? complex?
No mention of the “Fabulous World of Cycling” series by Winning International (AKA Winning Magazine)?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/140858085014?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
Found on the Twittersphere today.
@duck lewis Awesome.
@duck lewis They still look like they can take on those frat boys and win!
@G’phant
Yup, the Major was just that – a cyclone. Pretty well the V of early American cycling.
November issue of VELO has been sitting here untouched for 2 weeks. Seems like it will be disappointing to open. Weird. Always remembered picking races out of VELO NEWS (newspaper format). Too slick and kinda shitty now.
Rather think about an upcoming issue of Rouleur
Just put in an order on Amazon for this…anyone read it, the reviews were pretty good and it looks quite informative with nice pics..I must confess I am no expert on the one day races and I am in for an ankle operation (Brostrum Repair) on Thursday and so off the bike for 12 weeks :( (perfectly justifiable emoticon)…also trying to get a hardback copy of Le Metier which seems next to impossible here in the UK and the Paris Roubaix DVD which again appears largely out of stock everywhere…to help pass the time, otherwise I will be forced to watch all 5 box sets of Babylon 5 again front to back which I had to do last time I had an op and some off-road time!
@Deakus It’s a good read and there are some great photos. I’m not sure it’ll keep you amused for 12 weeks though.
I read The Rider last night. Needless to say I couldn’t put it down. I highly recommend it if you race bikes…
@Skinnyphat
Reading it again myself. So much truth in there about bikes, and about life. Want to do that ride.
Thought the Paul Kimmage action was dropped. I read it along the way (day or two ago)