BOOK REVIEW Pedal Power will restore one’s faith in world of cycling

ALOT of people with merely a passing interest in the sport of cycling will have good cause to look back on the career of Lance Armstrong with utter contempt. I know I was one of the millions of innocents worldwide drawn to his story by that miraculous recovery from cancer and his feats on the bike which I believed were heroic at the time.

I read his books and lapped it up, completely oblivious to the darker side of his personality and his use of performance-enhancing drugs which irrevocably changed the way I looked at the sport.

‘It’s Not About The Bike’ indeed; has there ever been a more unintentionally appropriate title for an autobiography in light of what emerged afterwards?

Nowadays, armed with a heavy coating of scepticism and dubious about anything related to professional cycling, I tend to think of the potential negatives rather than the positives whenever a seemingly extraordinary feat is reported.

That’s part of Armstrong’s unfortunate legacy, and sadly it’s not just me who feels that way.

However, my faith in the sport, and more accurately the trusty old bike which doesn’t necessarily have to be used for competitive purposes, has been restored to a large degree after reading ‘Pedal Power’ by Anna Hughes, which carries the sub-heading of ‘Inspirational Stories From The World Of Cycling’.

This is a collection of short pieces covering virtually aspect of the sport in its numerous forms, as well as tales of people who got up on the saddle and used their bike as a means to overcome physical and/or mental problems.

The author is described as ‘a passionate cycling tourist and traveller’, and her love of the open roads shines through from chapter to chapter.

The book has a chronological structure to it too, with the early pages charting the gradual development of cycling and the equipment it required from very humble beginnings.

And one of the key themes re-visited at various stages is the focus on the role it played in the women’s rights movement. There was a time when it was deemed inappropriate for females to even be seen on a bike, and when that obstacle was eventually overcome, the next scandal was caused by the attire being worn by the pioneering women who dared to challenge conventional opinion.

Of course, the greats of cycling are featured along with the mere mortals who simply hopped on a bike in order to satisfy some craving for adventure or self-help in times of torment.

Gods of the sport such as Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Induráin will need no introduction, yet a book of this nature wouldn’t be complete without offering some account of their glittering careers, albeit in potted format.

Yet, I was actually more taken by the stories of herculean feats by adventurers and people with disabilities who saw cycling as a means to fulfil their wildest dreams.

This book is full of tales of individuals who decided to dream big and to use the bike as a means of bursting out of their comfort zones.

You will be enthralled, and perhaps even inspired, by some of the stories, and I reckon the author has searched under every stone in a bid to come up with as comprehensive a record as possible of notable pedal-powered achievements.

If you haven’t read a cycling book since that Armstrong debacle, this may well be the one that draws you back in, and that in itself is a good recommendation. I know it certainly worked for me! ALAN AHERNE Visit The Book Centre on Wexford’s Main Street for the very best selection of sports books.