Description

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Twelve years after Tim Moore toiled round the route of the Tour de France, he senses his achievement being undermined by the truth about 'Horrid Lance'. His rash response is to take on a fearsome challenge from an age of untarnished heroes: the notorious 1914 Giro d'Italia. History's most appalling bike race was an ordeal of 400-kilometre stages, cataclysmic night storms and relentless sabotage - all on a diet of raw eggs and red wine.Of the 81 who rolled out of Milan, only eight made it back. Committed to total authenticity, Tim acquires the ruined husk of a gear-less, wooden-wheeled 1914 road bike, some maps and an alarming period outfit topped off with a pair of blue-lensed welding goggles. What unfolds is the tale of decreipt crock trying to ride another up a thousand lonely hills, then down them with only wine corks for brakes. From the Alps to the Adriatic, the pair steadily fall to bits, on an adventure that is by turns recklessly incompetent, bold, beautiful and madly inspiring.

About the Author

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Tim Moore's writing has appeared in the Daily Telegraph, the Observer, The Sunday Times and Esquire. He is the author of French Revolutions and four other books. He lives in London.

Praise For…

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You don't have to be into cycling to reap the benefits of Gironimo! An entertaining and jauntily written travelogue that at times made me laugh out loud. With Moore as your guide, you may want to hurry over to Italy on the next flight out.


In
this funny and fascinating tale of cycling, writer Tim Moore takes the reader
on a journey few will ever attempt, let alone finish: a 3,162-kilometer route
over the Italian mountains that was once the setting of a notoriously difficult
bicycle race. On a mission that could easily veer into preachiness, Moore is
too humorous a narrator to let the story go off track. Hilarious.

Disgusted by the Lance Armstrong scandal and disappointed in the dispassionate, technology-driven cycling world, British humorist Moore challenges himself to ride the route of the 1914 Giro d’Italia. His journey is peppered with self-deprecating humor, and his interactions with the people he encounters and charming towns he visits are very entertaining. Moore’s patented combination of humor and travelogue proves thoroughly engaging.

Moore’s
adventures are perfect for adventure readers, cyclists, and sports fans alike.

A superbly funny read.

One of the funniest books about sport ever written.