It's Not about the Bike: My Journey Back to Life [Hardcover]

Lance Armstrong (Author), Sally Jenkins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 22, 2000

The inspiring journey of world-class hero Lance Armstrong, from the dark night of advanced cancer through his dramatic victory in the 1999 Tour de France, and beyond.

In 1996, twenty-four-year-old Lance Armstrong was ranked the number-one cyclist in the world. But that October, "The Golden Boy of American Cycling" was sidelined by excruciating pain. Tests revealed advanced testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain. His chance for recovery was as low as twenty percent.

Armstrong embarked on the most aggressive form of chemotherapy available and underwent surgery to remove cancer that the treatments couldn't reach. Five months after his diagnosis, he resumed training under a cloud of uncertainty, and the path back to competition wasn't smooth. It took a ride with friends through the mountains of North Carolina for Armstrong to rediscover his genuine love of the sport, and to rededicate himself to its pursuit.

Scarred physically and emotionally, Lance Armstrong considered his cancer "a special wake-up call," one that crystallized for him the blessings of good health, family, friends, and marriage. In October 1999, just months after his astonishing triumph in the Tour, his wife, Kristin, gave birth to their son, Luke David Armstrong.

Filled with the nutritional, physical, emotional, and spiritual details of his recovery, It's Not About the Bike traces the wondrous journey of one of America's greatest athletes to a singularly inspiring appreciation of life lived to the fullest.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

People around the world have found inspiration in the story of Lance Armstrong--a world-class athlete nearly struck down by cancer, only to recover and win the Tour de France, the multiday bicycle race famous for its grueling intensity. Armstrong is a thoroughgoing Texan jock, and the changes brought to his life by his illness are startling and powerful, but he's just not interested in wearing a hero suit. While his vocabulary is a bit on the he-man side (highest compliment to his wife: "she's a stud"), his actions will melt the most hard-bitten souls: a cancer foundation and benefit bike ride, his astonishing commitment to training that got him past countless hurdles, loyalty to the people and corporations that never gave up on him. There's serious medical detail here, which may not be for the faint of heart; from chemo to surgical procedures to his wife's in vitro fertilization, you won't be spared a single x-ray, IV drip, or unfortunate side effect. Athletes and coaches everywhere will benefit from the same extraordinary detail provided about his training sessions--every aching tendon, every rainy afternoon, and every small triumph during his long recovery is here in living color. It's Not About the Bike is the perfect title for this book about life, death, illness, family, setbacks, and triumphs, but not especially about the bike. --Jill Lightner

From Publishers Weekly

In 1996, young cycling phenom Armstrong discovered he had testicular cancer. In 1999, he won the Tour de France. Now he's a grateful husband, a new fatherAand a memoirist: with pluck, humility and verve, this volume covers his early life, his rise through the endurance sport world and his medical difficulties. Cancer "was like being run off the road by a truck, and I've got the scars to prove it," Armstrong declares. Earlier scars, he explains, came from a stepfather he casts as unworthy; early rewards, from his hardworking mother and from the triathlons and national bike races Armstrong won as a Texas teen. "The real racing action was over in Europe": after covering that, Armstrong and Jenkins (Men Will Be Boys, with Pat Summit, etc.) ascend to the scarier challenges of diagnoses and surgeries. As he gets worse, then better, Armstrong describes the affections of his racing friends and of the professionals who cared for him. Armstrong is honest and delightful on his relationship to wife Kristin (Kik), and goes into surprising detail about the technology that let them have a child. The memoir concludes with Armstrong's French victory and the birth of their son. The book features a disarming and spotless prose style, one far above par for sports memoirs. Bicycle-racing fans will enjoy the troves of inside information and the accounts of competitions, but Armstrong has set his sights on a wider meaning and readership: "When I was sick I saw more beauty and triumph and truth in a single day than I ever did in a bike race." Agent, Esther Newberg. First serial to Vanity Fair; BOMC main selection; foreign rights sold in the U.K., Australia, France, Germany, Holland and Japan. (May 22)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; 1 edition (May 22, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399146113
• ISBN-13: 978-0399146114
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (784 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #602,386 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

241 of 245 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What an amazing book!, May 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: It's Not about the Bike: My Journey Back to Life (Hardcover)

I'm a woman. I'm not a cyclist. I've never had cancer. I read mostly fiction. But this book absolutely blew me away. So much more than an athlete bio, this is a wonderfully told, brilliantly written story of a real American hero. The play-by-play cycling coverage is fascinating even to a non-cyclist and the detailed discussion of Lance's illness, treatment, and recovery is beyond inspiring. The look inside Lance's childhood, his love life, his amazing journey into fatherhood, and his role as a cancer activist is what brings the whole story home. So much more than a story of athletic achievement and cancer recovery, this is a story about triumph of the human spirit. I can't wait to root for Lance in this year's Tour de France and in the Olympics. Hopefully we'll be cheering him to victory for years to come. I have been talking about this book to anyone who will listen to me. Listen to me. Buy the book. You will not want to put it down. It is a story you will never forget.

119 of 123 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly Inspirational - A Must Read For All, July 2, 2000

By 

Chad Spivak (North Miami Beach, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: It's Not about the Bike: My Journey Back to Life (Hardcover)

I had and beat testicular cancer just like Lance Armstrong, so I could truly relate to the incredible obstacles that he described in his amazing book.

This sincerely is an amazing story. I just wish I could have read it when I was going through my intense radiation treatments in my recovery, because I feel it would have made things easier for me. In his book, Armstong brings this disease into the public view, and allows people to see that it truly doesn't have to be a part of death, but, in fact, a part of life.

There are many stories within the book. His childhood, his attitudes towards his father figures, his early racing career, his battle with cancer, the stuggle to get back on top of his game, his love life, and, his extemely personal march towards fatherhood. Each and every one of these minor stories gives an overall inspirational journey into Lance Armstrong's remarkable life.

The writing is nicely detailed and allows for a good, easy-flowing read. The racing-scenes are action-packed, and make you feel as if you are right there on the bike with him. Armstong tells his tale using candid language and relates his stories of life with honesty and a pure heart. This book is a true inspiration to anyone. Please read this book. You cannot go wrong.

106 of 110 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice evenings read, July 13, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: It's Not about the Bike: My Journey Back to Life (Hardcover)

I'm a physician and a bicycle racer and when I heard that LanceArmstrong had metastatic testicular cancer, my first thought, likemany in my field, was "He's dead." But Lance Armstrong's story has the happy Hollywood ending nobody expected four years ago. This isn't Shakespeare, but I found it to be compelling reading (a stay up til you finish it kind of read). I am especially appreciative of the insight into the human condition, how one responds to adversity by either giving up or fighting back. Many of his homilies such as "turning negatives into positives" struck a nerve with me, as I've come to expect setbacks to be followed by unexpected success because it's happened to me so many times. I'm pleased that the book is so popular, because maybe the rest of the world will stop thinking people like me aren't such freaks riding our bikes 50 miles in January. It offers a glimpse into our sport that most people don't get to see. But I mostly hope others find the human message of hope as inspirational as I did.