It's Not About The Bike

Oct 9, 2024 2:20 PM

Author:Lance Armstrong

"I want to die at a hundred years old after screaming down an Alpine descent on a bicycle at 75 miles per hour. I don't do anything slow, not even breathe. I do everything at a fast cadence: eat fast, sleep fast." At twenty four, Lance Armstrong was already well on his way to becoming a sporting legend. Then, in October 1996, he was diagnosed with stage four testicular cancer. When lesions appeared on his brain and in his lungs, doctors gave him a 40% chance of survival. On that day Armstrong's life changed forever and in typical fashion he met the challenge head on - this was one fight he was determined not to lose. As he battled against the cancer invading his body and the chemotherapy that threatened to sap his soul, a tremendous sense of commitment emerged, to his training and to the people around him who never gave up on him. Just sixteen months after he was discharged from hospital, Armstrong entered the Tour de France, a race famed for its gruelling intensity, and won, in the fastest ever time. Just a few months after that, he became a father. It's Not About the Bike is the story of one man's inspirational battle against the odds, charting his progress through triumph, tragedy and transformation. This is an awe-inspiring tale of immense courage and will.

Reviews

Greg Norman has excelled at golf and in business through a remarkable combination of ability, intelligence, imagination, and effort... We can all learn something from his experiences, insights, and advice

—— Bill Clinton

Greg Norman has done what few can do - rise to the top of two totally different worlds. He was one of golf's greats and has become a successful one-man corporation. This book takes you on the terrific journey through both these achievements

—— Jack Welch

You don't have to like check trousers and tank tops to appreciate the wisdom of Greg Norman

—— Guardian

A new naturalist to set beside the classics in our literature

—— Evening Standard

The Old Ways confirms Robert Macfarlane's reputation as one of the most eloquent and observant of contemporary writers about nature

—— Scotland on Sunday

Macfarlane relishes wild, as well as old, places. He writes about both beautifully . . . I love to read Macfarlane

—— Financial Times

Read this and it will be impossible to take an unremarkable walk again

—— Metro

Quirky, warped, enthusiastic and funny

—— Chris Boardman

Tour history is blended with anecdotes revealing the personalities and quirks of professional cycling

—— Times Higher Educational Supplement

Genuinely funny

—— Richard Williams

Made me chuckle

—— Mark Cavendish

Hilarious behind-the-scenes anecdotes

—— Glasgow Herald

An irreverent and funny take on cycling’s biggest race from a man who has seen it up close every year since 2003

—— Lesley McDowell , Glasgow Herald

I found his behind-the-scenes look at the famous race both highly amusing and telling in equal measure

—— Johann Lamont , Scotland on Sunday

Cycling at its best is fiercely cosmopolitan and internationalist, Boulting provides the kind of commentary the sport deserves, and will need if it is to fulfil its undoubted potential to reach out and grow

—— Mark Perryman , The Huffington Post

An entertaining read, rich in nostalgia and reminiscent of Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch, this offers an insight into the power of obsession and how the beautiful game has changed. Moving and amusing

—— Sport magazine

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