Cycling's Greatest Misadventures [Paperback]

Erich Schweikher (Editor), Paul Diamond (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 14, 2007

"Cycling's Greatest Misadventures" presents twenty-seven true stories which cross the spectrum from terrifying to comical to downright bizarre. In these pages both everyday riders and pros tell their stories of freak accidents, animal attacks, sabotage, idiotic decisions, eerie or unexplained incidents, and other jaw dropping, adrenalin-pumping calamities. These stories bring to life the strange things possibilities that await, once we step on the pedals of our road, mountain, or commuter bikes. A sampling of misadventures in this collection includes the stories of: the mountain biker who follows a bull and then gets gored by it; the twenty African Americans who pioneered cycle touring by completing a Transamerica ride in 1897, but wait - this story gets strange...; the large rat that leapt on top of a woman's bike and slapped her repeatedly with its tail; an inside-the-head narration by a professional racer as he rides a brutal race, and then gets humiliated in changing room afterwards; the recreational cyclist who accidentally rides deep into a prison yard; the computer programmer who crashes a stationary bike during his first spin class; the bike messenger who can't call it quits even after getting hit by eight cars; and, the man who carefully spreads out tacks on the route of an all female race in an attempt to get a date. These stories will make you wonder, drop you to the floor laughing and leave you shaking your head with disbelief.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Wilderness Press; 1 edition (May 14, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976951622
• ISBN-13: 978-0976951629
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,006,733 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Paul Diamond grew up in Washington, D.C. where he had his own break dance crew, did an internship for then senate majority leader Bob Dole, and than sang in a punk band (in that order). He worked as a photojournalist for United Press International in Pittsburgh and later taught writing at Ohio University and then at Tulane University. He spent five summers leading packs of kids at surf camps in Hawaii, Costa Rica, and Baja California. He now lives in Seattle and works as an editor.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Variety, September 10, 2007

By 

Earth Tone - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cycling's Greatest Misadventures (Paperback)

I got a chance to read this while on vacation recently. This collection of stories is chock full of variety. I laughed out loud at the image of the cyclist screaming along with a giant rat that hitched a ride. I imagined the strangeness of being confronted by a wild bull while delirious and dehydrated in the Great Basin of Canada, and found cause for reflection of life's fragility in the heartbreaking story of the ride instructor who lost two companions to inattentive drivers. This book may very well make you laugh, cry, and hurl. Highly recommended to the cycling enthusiast.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Bad for the head in so many ways, January 23, 2008

By 

Chris Coulston (Erie, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cycling's Greatest Misadventures (Paperback)

Unfortunatly, the essays don't have the upbeat humor of the first story of an over zealous triathlete in a spinning class. Thinking that this would be a lot of funny biking stories I bought it. Wish I hadn't. Why?

The story of two guys who decided to throw tacks in front of a women's peloton so the could "come to the rescue of damsels in distress" just pissed me off. The story about people being run over by cars during a cross country ride made me want to give up biking. Oh, then theres the photo crash montage showing someone in mid-flight who died as a result of the crash. Seriously thats just F---ed.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cycling's Greatest Misadventures, February 19, 2008

By 

Mark Isaacson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cycling's Greatest Misadventures (Paperback)

I was skeptical to purchasing this book as the title alone does not say much. However, being the bike geek that I am, I took the chance and this was by far one of the best book buys of 2007. Think of it like that movie you never heard anything about and then buy a ticket, only to have it turn out to be one of the best films ever. In all honestly, I am not yet finished with the book yet (saving it for an upcoming long flight) but so far, it has had me laughing out load on several occasions... And I don't laugh out load.