Customer Reviews

A Dog in a Hat: An American Bike Racer's Story of Mud, Drugs, Blood, Betrayal, and Beauty in Belgium

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We all have in our own imagination ideas of what pro cycling is all about. When I was at the Tour de France in 2006 I was impressed by the professionalism of everything: the course organization, from barriers to route markings; the television coverage; the team buses-including the one I passed that smelled like a laundromat as I walked by since they were using the on-board washing machines! "A Dog in a Hat," the story of an American professional cyclist racing in Europe from 1987 to 1991, has none of these things and it probably gives a better impression of what pro cycling is really like, even today, than the rarified snippets we get from the top-level teams.

Joe Parkin was racing in California as an amateur when he met Team 7-Eleven racer Bob Roll, who told him to go to Belgium to race if he wanted to get serious. The hard-working Mr. Roll, who also wrote the, uh, colourful introduction to the book, is famous for his cycling work ethic and odd behavior, was right: it is hard to imagine a place where cycling is taken more seriously than Belgium.

So the innocent author makes his way to Europe to Brussels and moves in with the Albert Claeys family in Ursel. Albert, who owned a bar and sometimes drove a truck, was well-known as a sort of godfather to American cyclists in Europe, helping them to get established and find a team, as well as providing a bed.

The book describes in entertaining detail what it is like to be at the bottom of the pro ranks. Mr. Parkin had dreams of becoming King of the Mountains and felt that his talent was most suited to the shorter stage races. But it quickly becomes obvious just how difficult it is to even finish a race, let alone win one. As time goes on, Joe Parkin comes to the realization that he will not be King of the Mountains but has to accept that he is a good worker, a domestique, and that his role is that of a support rider.

Along the way this naive American, who on first hearing Flemish mistook it for Russian, becomes a kind of Belgian-American hybrid, absorbing the language and holding his own in the cycling culture. This is a culture that prizes toughness above all, and in his spare style he talks about the mud, the crashes, the disappointment. At the lowest level the environment is terrible, with talentless teammates, hotel rooms so awful it makes you laugh, and not much money when it actually does get paid. He has not papers to allow him be in Belgium, something that does not trouble team management very much, even when it means he will be deported. He does not shrink from describing the all-pervasive use of drugs in cycling, and the fixing of races.

The description of the drug use would be hilarious except for the ultimate repercussions: riders will take anything with minimal concern: the reactions range from getting faster to getting stupid. Doping controls seem minimal at best and team management does nothing to discourage illegal practices.

But as he improves Joe clearly enjoys being a professional-a European pro. Racing against amateurs in the UK's Milk Race or in races in the United States he is contemptuous of their lack of skill and discipline. When writing to team time trials, he talks of the focus and teamwork needed to succeed. He is proud of being able to control a race, going ahead and setting the pace and hauling back breakaways. Probably his greatest contribution was helping his team leader, Luc Roosen, win the 1991 Tour de Suisse. But in the end there is no new contract forthcoming (even though some of the team leaders consider pooling enough of their own money to let him ride at a minimum wage!) and he returned to the States. In 1992 he watched his teammates ride the Tour de France on television. He never went back to Flanders, and after doing some racing in the United States and then switching to mountain bikes he ended his career in 1997.

This book presupposes some understanding of the sport of bike racing, although explanations are given about race strategy in some cases, but does not require any in-depth knowledge to enjoy.

At the time of his Belgian adventures, Joe Parkin was one of only a handful of North Americans in European pro racing, all in the shadow of the mighty Greg Lemond who was considered such a superior cyclist that he was seen as some kind of freak, beyond any national classification. The title of this book, "A Dog in a Hat," is a translation of a Flemish expression meaning something unusual-Joe Parkin was told while racing to look for changes, to look for the dog, to indicate what was happening in the race. As an American racing for a European team in the late 1980s Joe Parkin was a kind of dog in a hat himself. The cycling public is served up stories about Lance Armstrong's victories over and over again as if the Tour de France is the only race but this plain, self-deprecating memoir has the ring of authenticity at the other end of the sport where even today not all the riders are being paid, the hotels are still bad and the races just as hard.

This is the story as told by a middle-of-the-road American professional bicycle racer, Joe Parkin. Mr. Parkin raced in Europe for a variety of professional teams, and found his biggest success as someone who would control a race for his team -- as opposed to try and win it for himself.

The book is completely linear, with no real theme or fabric that would make it more than the sum of its parts. Each chapter just tells what happened during one particular race, season or training period.

On the positive side, this book just reeks of authenticity. It's neither a whitewash nor a "tell-all." In fact, controversial subjects like doping and buying/selling race wins are discussed a flat way with very little moralizing. I came away with a real sympathy for the plight of racers, and an appreciation of the grim reality of the racing world.

After reading the book, I feel that a much better book would have been possible if Mr. Parkin's editor had made him discuss bicycle racing's current status through the lens of his own career. In fact, this book reads more like a time capsule journal that some other author will use as source material.

Bottom line: it could have been funnier, more insightful or more introspective. It couldn't have been more authentic. There's value in that!

July 4, 1987.

For Joe Parkin, that date provided special fireworks, as he signed his first professional cycling contract after a year of showing his stuff in the European amateur ranks. It was a start of wild ride of chasing dreams as - what the Belgians call - "a dog with a hat on" (something familiar, yet decidedly out of place).

The sketches in the memoir chronicle the five years that Parkin rode in the professional peloton as one of the few Americans competing full-time in Europe. Parkin mixes the craziness of the mobile road show with the controversies and tragedies that continue to grip the sport. "The European teams of that era (in Belgium especially) didn't think highly of goody-two-shoes riders," he writes. "Like the vaunted Blue Code of Silence among police, pro bike racing definitely had the Lycra Code of Silence."

But some initial impressions cover the entire course. Parkin was not impressed with the already bitter cyclist, Paul Kimmage, which was several years before he published a controversial book - Rough Ride - that exposed the shadows within professional cycling, including the illegal drug use on teams.

Parkin says he mostly avoided the performance-enhancing drugs of the day, only once taking a mixture of pop and a chalky substance during a particularly tough spot in a semi-classic event. It was given to him by a team official when he complained of an upset stomach.

"Many of the team managers, teammates, friends, and fans I had while living in Belgium would have looked at not taking the drugs as a failure to give 100 percent to being a cyclist," Parkin writes. "A doctor once told me that a well-trained athlete can find about 85 percent of his potential, whereas a well-trained athlete on amphetamines will be able to perform at 105 percent."

But through such pressure comes some incredibly hilarious moments. At one point, Parkin found himself being deported from Belgium when it could not be officially determined what cycling entity was paying his salary and he had a number of high-speed moments in cabs and team vehicles while just trying to get to events.

A brief conversation with Greg LeMond during one major event - as the pair struggled in the back of the pack - found the legendary Tour de France champion heeding some tough advice from the journeyman. "'You'd better quit, man. I can't see that we're possibly going to be going any slower,'" Parkin said. Later, LeMond dropped out of the Tour of Ireland.

But in an era when contracts could be negotiated with handshakes, Parkin seemed to be a day late in finding one during the closing months of what became his final season as a European road racer. He eventually switched to mountain bikes and infrequently returned to Europe for competitions.

And though he may not have had the form to stand on the podium after a major event - and never competed in the Tour de France - Parkin wears a yellow jersey for sharing his recollections on this trek during a special time in American cycling: "....I smile when I tell the stories because my body has long since forgotten the pain I asked it to endure."

I got an advance copy of this book from the Vine program because I've recently become interested in cycling. I liked it a lot, and would recommend it to someone looking for a laid-back read about life as a pro-cyclist.

As an autobiography, I really have to wonder how he ever got it published: I'd never heard of Joe Parkin before picking up the book, and now that I've read it, other than the Tour de Suisse, it didn't sound like he was even on a winning team. In fact, most of Joe's stories are about NOT finishing races, forget about winning them. What he talks about all happened in the late 80's & very early 90's, so if you're looking for stories about pro-cycling as it exists today, sorry. (You'll be able to understand why everyone keeps getting popped for doping today though! Drugs seem to be very prevelent in the cycling culture.) He doesn't really have any stories about the one cyclist from that time that I have heard of: Greg LaMonde besides riding next to him in one race and telling him to pack it in! He has funny stories about other cyclists and coaches who I never heard of, maybe someone with more cycling background would know them all right off.

All that said, I was suprised to find the book a fun read - a bunch of little vingettes that each sounded like I was having a Coke with a guy who was telling me stories about racing in Europe way back when. Because he was sort of an extra, a "helper," and is one of those guys you really would never hear of otherwise, he brings an interesting perspective.

The writing tone is very conversational and easy to read, even with some confusing foreign words thrown in there. Since I got an advance copy, I hope that by the final addition they'll be able to throw in a few extra definitions for people who don't know cycling terminology. Peloton, echelon, 52x14, kermis... it helped to have Google nearby, even though I was generally pretty able to figure out the terminology.

I wish I could write a more compelling review for the book, because after reading it, I really feel like I know Joe, and like him! I would love to buy him a Coke and listen to him tell stories about what happened after he finished racing, especially between him and Charlene...

Let me state upfront that I grew up in Flanders, Belgium (lived there until I came to the US at age 23 in 1983) and that I am a huge fan of pro-cycling (Eddy Merckx is a national icon in Belgium, of course). I stumbled onto this book, never having heard of Joe Parkin before in my life. What a delicious treat this book is.

In "A Dog In a Hat: An American Bike Racer's Story of Drugs, Blood, Betrayal and Beauty in Belgium" (219 pages), Joe Parkin brings the unlikely tale of a decent-but-not-great bike rider who takes the plunge at a young age to move to Belgium to try and make it in the pro-cycling world in the late 80s. At that time, Greg Lemond was one of the few other Americans in the pro-cycling world, but Parkin was nowhere ever near Lemond's level. Parkin moves in with a Flemish host family and immerses himself in the Flemish environment and becomes one of them, even learning the language well enough to have meaningful conversation in the local language (not sure of Lemond ever did that, but I could be wrong). Parkin is in American terms a minor league baseball player who occasionally gets called up to the majors, but it doesn't matter and it's not a slight to Parkin whatsoever: he lived the pro-cycling dream for 6 years of being there, how many American cyclists can say that in those days (1986 through 1991)?

Parkin's tales of the "kermis" (carnival, i.e. baseball level triple AAA) races make for riveting, and laugh-out-loud, reading. Perkin was a member of the 1988 US World Championship race which happened to be held in Belgium, a highlight of his career and where he did well enough to be noticed and get a better contract for the next year. Parkin's love and affection for Flanders, its people and culture, and the cycling world there shines throughout this book. What a fantastic book this is, and HIGHLY RECOMMENED for any true pro-cycling fan from those crazy days of the late 80/early 90s. Goe' gedaan, jong!

This brief history of a racing career is as gritty and close to the ground as you'll ever get when talking about the world of professional bike racing. Parkin keeps all pretension in check and takes a good, hard look at his racing career. Talk about true grit! This is one of those wonderful small classics in a very specialized genre. This is a book that sits right next to Paul Fournel's "Need for the Bike". Both represent the wonderful grittiness of having to ride for love and/or a livelihood.

Joe Parkin has written a gem for cycling fans. His book provides keen details from his days as an amateur and professional cyclist in USA and mostly in Europe. He took his grit and determination to Belgium and gained cycling contracts and rode in many of the big European races, the exception being the Tour de France. His book reveals the insiders experience of professional cycling in the 1980's and early 90's. There are plenty of details that readers will find interesting and revealing about the sport.

Readers who do not have much interest in cycling or sports may find this book a bit dull, as the writing quality and narrative on their own do not carry the day. He shares some personal memoir types of thoughts and anecdotes, but mostly he writes about cycling and being in the races and among the riders.

As he writes about the races, you will find yourself pulling for him and cheering him on.

I knew absolutely nothing about cycling until I got interested in the TV coverage of the Tour de France several years ago. My nephew had raced a little (before breaking collar bones several times in accidents), and he explained me most of the general strategy and most interestingly how the peleton can catch guys that are 15-20 minutes ahead.

A Dog in a Hat completed my education by describing the life of an average cyclist not pre-destined to ever wear a yellow jersey or get a stage win. I would always marvel at these guys ability to race day after day up and down steep mountains. Joe Parkin tells it all based on his pre-Lance Armstrong life in Belgium as a minor professional bike racer. He lays out the pressures to use pharmaceutical products to get every last ounce of energy from the cyclist's body. He reveals the "negotiations" at the head of the pack as cyclist's attempt to bribe for a win. Truly amazing stories all.

His story telling ability reminds me of Bob Roll in the VS coverage of the Tour de France. One gets the feeling of unvarnished truth being rolled out before you without regard to economic consequences late on down the road.

This is a great read. Unfortunately its pages roll by with the pace of sprinters during the last 100 yards of a time trial. It was way too short for my taste, and it leaves me hungering for more.

I have raced during the same era as Joe, although never at the same level as him, but I can attest to the fact that what he writes is absolutely and indescriminately real. He is able to capture the essence of what was considered "cool" during those days and frankly talks about the low end of the sport, the buying of races, the drugs and the dissapointments. Yet in all this misery he is able to find beauty and relate this to the reader. When he talks about the beauty or riding in rain, wind and mud in March in Belgium and is longing for that I can realate to him. He was one of the few American Pros that really understood the essence of the sport as it is known and practiced in Europe for generations. He maintains a postive attitude towards his experiences, even though by pure results we may consider his career a failure. He rode and raced for the lifestyle and the unmatched and unreplicated experience of racing, not for results. He is one of the few people in this world that has honestly given it his best and while not succeeding in results has fulfilled his dream...and then wrote about it so well. If you want to know what it is like for 95% of the peleton in the European Pros, then or now, buy the book. If you want an edited "Champion's tale" buy an Armstrong or LeMond book. I have read many cycling books and this one is by far the best. I am ready to buy Joe's second book now.
Mr. G.

We have here a true cycling story, but one that's not just for cyclists or cycling fans. I think through the writer's style he opens the sport up enough for anyone to enjoy, but I have to admit that I probably only own the book because I am a lifelong casual/amateur cyclist myself (about the same age as Joe).

Many reviews speak of JP not being a "winner" or on a winning team, but this book exemplifies the lives of many racers down through the years. The domestique (translates as "servant") as they are known, cycle for the pure love of the sport and give their all for the team. They turn themselves inside out to ride at the front into the wind or to pace up a hill, they give up their bike for a team leader if he has a mechanical, they carry extra food and water, they live through vicarious glory and the sense of accomplishment that only comes from working hard. It's an everyman's story, but Joe chased his dream instead of wondering about what could have been. He measured himself against the best in the world in his "trade" and found out where he stood.

I think this book gives personal, conversational, "warts and all" insight into the life of a guy many of us would envy, but few would have the courage to emulate. A great read.