The Long Season: One Year of Bicycle Road Racing in California [Paperback]

Bruno Schull (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2002

This beautifully written memoir is sure to appeal to all cyclists. It contains some of the best writing on competitive cycling—from the cyclist’s viewpoint—ever published.

Bruno Schull enters the California amateur racing circuit, and in the course of one long season climbs from the lowest ranking to near the top. Like the film Breaking Away, this is the story of an unknown cyclist striving for greatness. Bruno Schull’s story covers a dozen local races, paralleled by his fixation on the Tour de France on TV. He captures the spirit of cycling at its highest levels, and the more peculiar, unsung glories of amateur racing. Funny, smart, inspiring, elegant—and full of great cycling.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bruno Schull lives in Berkeley, CA. This is his first book.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

"People tell me that I express the emotions of the peloton and explain exactly why things happen during a race. I think this is because I was only an average rider and not a champion. I know how hard cycling really is."

—Davide Cassani, former professional bicycle racer

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We came over the headlands and down toward the water on the road that followed the side of the hills. I sat up on the bicycle and watched the pack spread out in the early morning sun. The front stretched into a long line around the corners, and you could see the bicycles and riders and bright jerseys moving against the country, and the blue water coming closer as we descended. Gradually the road ran out on the flats and we came back together into the large group, reached the coast, and turned north along the water.

It was the first road race of the season. I settled into the steady even pace, looking ahead down the long California coast toward the massed brown headlands and yellow cliffs. Behind there were the smooth rolling hills and the land sweeping up to the ridge of mountains that ran parallel to the water. Along the road were stands of trees and white beaches, and farther out black rocks and the flat shining Pacific. Mist was rising from the valleys, and as the sun rose a light wind was picking up off the water.

We began racing faster, and I leaned down over the bicycle with the building rush of speed. Looking ahead I saw the long line flattened against the side of the road, the riders low over the bicycles driving hard, and the small front group racing into the wind. As I watched the first break went clear and moved away down the road. Slowly there was the building excitement of the race. Maybe I would place at the finish. Maybe I would earn points. Maybe this year I would move up to the next category of racing. I swung into the wind, stood on the pedals, and sprinted up the line toward the front.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Breakaway Books (September 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1891369326
• ISBN-13: 978-1891369322
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,823,212 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The (very, very) Long Season, July 25, 2003

By 

James Burke (San Francisco) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Long Season: One Year of Bicycle Road Racing in California (Paperback)

The Long Season is not a particularly enjoyable read, and to say that it is not for everyone is a mild understatement.

I would have to classify this as an extreme niche book: one that will appeal almost solely to those hardcore cyclists who live and train in the Bay Area. Maybe. Keep in mind, too, that this is the first work by a very young author attempting to capture the essence of cycling, an extremely difficult topic about which to write-the cards were stacked against him from the get go.

However, it was less the topic, story or writing style-deadpan Hemmingway-that bothered me about this book than its relentlessly bleak, joyless tone. This is not to say that cycling is all sunshine; anyone who has ever trained seriously or raced knows that the regimen, no matter how spectacular the surroundings, can be a grueling, life-draining grind on some days. But not EVERY day, which is what Schull would have you believe. Working through chapter after chapter of monotonous scenery, horrendous weather, drudge, dread, pain and fatigue made me wonder two things: does Schull live in the same glorious Bay Area I do, and finally, if he hates everything about cycling so much, why does he do it?

It's a shame, too, because Schull is an adept storyteller. The book cleverly parallels his up-and-down racing and training life with that of the European pros on the brutal schedule leading up to the Tour de France, and then juggles all of this with his personal life: demanding classes at UC Berkeley, a loyal-but-impatient girlfriend and parents fed up with his bicycle obsession. Finally, there's the back-story of an idyllic summer of racing and romance in Europe. It's compelling, the story flows well and his amazingly in-depth knowledge of the European racing schedule and players adds some interesting detail.

Still, for me anyway, the fatal flaw is that bad, good, win, lose, Schull seems to take joy in NONE of it. His personal life irks him to no end, the training is bland drudgery, the losses are bitter failure and the victories are solemn, each little more than a step on the path to even greater suffering. Even watching the Tour is a chore for him, his walk to the bar is a lonely trudge, the room noisy and smoky, the patrons ignorant and intrusive.

So while I admire his woven story and his realistic portrayal of the hardships of competitive cycling, dude, lighten up! Hop on your bike and ride out to Stinson Beach. After three hours of winding cliffside switchbacks with the ocean crashing below, beautiful coastal towns, climbs through redwood forest, 40 mph descents on deserted mountain roads, if you can't find SOMETHING to smile about, sell the bike and move on.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Filler, June 23, 2004

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Long Season: One Year of Bicycle Road Racing in California (Paperback)

I enjoyed the book, but the coverage of European racing including extensive coverage of the Tour de France seemed like filler to me. I wished the author had used those sections for more information on his experiences in bicycle racing.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars where is his racing experiences?, August 29, 2004

By 

Mark Maidwell - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Long Season: One Year of Bicycle Road Racing in California (Paperback)

if i wanted a second by second account of the tour de france and other races i would have watched the videos. i read my velo news and this is what i expect but not from a book that supposedly is about a personal experience of amateur racing..maybe 2 percent of this book was his actual racing..and that is not what i expected..