Category Archives: Literature

Remembering Albert Winstanley and announcing the Bicycle Reader

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Tim Dawson and Jack Thurston talk about Albert Winstanley, the Lancashire writer, broadcaster and cycletourist who died earlier this year aged 95. Winstanley was a top notch nature writer and had the rare talent to convey in his writing the pleasures of a simple bicycle ride.

One of Winstanley articles features in the first edition of the Bicycle Reader, a new collection of quality writing about riding, co-edited by Jack Thurston and Tim Dawson, and available for Kindle and other e-book readers for the very modest price of £1.53. If you’re in the UK you’ll find it for Kindle on Amazon.co.uk and if you’re elsewhere, Amazon.com. If you’re not a Kindle or iPad user, there’s more info at bicyclereader.com.

We hope you enjoy it!

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Across Europe by Bike

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The St Gotthard Pass

Andrew Sykes tells of his six week summer journey from his home in Reading in Berkshire to Puglia, on the southern tip of Italy, along the Eurovelo 5 long-distance cycle route. He reads from Good Vibrations: Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie, the book he’s written about the trip. Andrew will be appearing at Blue Door Bicycles this Wednesday 15 February at 8pm for a book reading and discussion.

Jen and Jack talk about the terror of the Waterloo bridge roundabout and the Mayor’s plans to remake it (again). Finally, a tribute to Henry Warwick, a veteran London bicycle messenger who was killed in a crash with a coach while working earlier this month.

Find out more about the Resonance FM fundraising auction.

Or just donate right now. The first 20 donations in excess of £10 (UK), €15 (Europe) and $20 (rest of the world) will get a Bike Show screen print by Richard Mitchelson.

Photo credit: Andrew P. Sykes

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The Lost Cyclist with David Herlihy

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In 1892 a young accountant from t, USA, quit his job and set off to cycle solo around the world. Frank Lenz rode a Rover Safety Bicycle, a revolutionary new design that would soon consign the traditional high wheeler – or penny farthing – to obscurity. It was the birth of the bicycle as we know it today. And Lenz is one of the pioneers of cycle touring. Cycling historian David Herlihy’s latest book tells the story of his courageous, extraordinary and ultimately ill-fated journey.

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Reading About Riding

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A pre-Christmas books special is now a firmly entrenched tradition on The Bike Show. This year’s edition covers more literary ground than ever before. Amateur bicycle librarians Tim Dawson of The Sunday Times and Carlton Reid of Bike Hub join Jack and Jen in the studio. Tim Dawson’s excellent Cycling Books website is well worth a visit. And you can find out more about Carlton Reid’s book project at RoadsWereNotBuiltForCars.com

Here’s a rundown of the books discussed in this week’s show. If you buy any of the books listed (or anything else) via the Amazon links below, a little something will go towards keeping The Bike Show rolling on in 2012, and it won’t cost you a penny.

Bicycle Technology – Rob Van Der Plas
Bicycle Design – Mike Burrows
Cyclepedia – Michael Embacher
Tomorrow, We Ride – Jean Bobet
Slaying the Badger – Richard Moore
On Bicycles – Amy Walker
Bike Snob – Eben Weiss
Pedalare! Pedalare! – John Foot
The Little Black Bottle – Gerry Moore
The Death of Marco Pantani – Matt Rendell
The Boy Who Biked the World – Alistair Humphreys

Two great books that were not mentioned but were featured on the show earlier in the year are Racing Through the Dark by David Millar and It’s All About the Bike by Rob Penn.

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Four Great Lives in Cycling: Kuklos, Robinson, Mustoe, Fignon

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brian-robinson

Studio discussion of four great lives in cycling: Kuklos, the prolific journalist who documented British cycling scene in the first half of the twentieth century; Brian Robinson (pictured, above), the first Brit to win stages in the Tour de France; intrepid cycle tourist Anne Mustoe; and Laurent Fignon, perhaps the last truly great French professional bike racer.

Expert guests are Graeme Fife, author of a newly published biography of Brian Robinson, and Tim Dawson, columnist on the Sunday Times and editor of the Cycling Books website. Plus a chance to win a set of Gavin Turk Les Bikes de Bois Rond postcards. Answers by email to bikeshow@resonancefm.com.

Further reading:

Of Wrigging – Kuklos. A 1927 essay taking on John Ruskin’s opposition to cycling.

Brian Robison: A Pioneer – Graeme Fife (Mousehold Press, 2010)

A Bike Ride – Anne Mustoe (Virgin Books, 1991)

We Were Young and Carefree – Autobiography of Laurent Fignon (Yellow Jersey Press, 2010)

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Talking Le Tour with Paul Fournel

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paul_fournelAn extended, hour long edition of the show featuring French writer, poet, cyclist and cultural ambassador Paul Fournel (pictured). We stroll from the French House in Soho to the Rapha Cycle Club in Clerkenwell, to visit an exhibition of a hundred years of racing bicycles. The exhibition runs for two more weeks and is well worth a visit. Paul Fournel’s book Besoin de Vélo is one of the loveliest pieces of writing about cycling and is available in English translation as Need for the Bike. If you buy it after clicking through on the link, Resonance FM gets a few pennies. Rob Ainsley of the Real Cycling blog reports on the launch of London’s two new cycle superhighways.

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Jumble Jumble

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chainrings

It’s the tenth day of Christmas and this week’s show is like a Christmas stocking with bulges in all the right places. Dr Steve Fabes is about to set off on a four and a half year cycle ride around the world, crossing six continents. He talks about his route, preparations and apprehensions. Any lover of vintage bicycles will be a regular visitor at their local cycle jumble, a fine tradition with a cast of strange but friendly characters. A good place to find out about upcoming cycle jumbles is the Campy Oldy website and there are some pictures from the recent Ripley jumble over here.

Paul Fournel continues his reading from Need for the Bike with a grisly tale of dogs, hospitals, Paris Roubaix and a Black and Decker drill. To buy Need for the Bike, click on the box on the left and Resonance FM will get a few pennies.

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