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The Year
- Reawakening the Legend of Cycling's Hardest Endurance Record
- Narrated by: Saethon Williams
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Sports
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Just brilliant, awesome guy, awesome book, awesome
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In 2001, when the bible of the sport, Cycling Weekly, ran a poll to decide the greatest British cyclist, Chris Boardman's was the name that topped the list. It was Boardman's lone achievements in the '80s and '90s - Olympic track gold, the world hour record, repeatedly claiming the yellow jersey in the Tour de France - that lit the spark for modern British cycling. His endeavours both on and off the bike have made him the founding father of current golden generation - without him there would simply be no Hoy, Wiggins or Cavendish.
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Boardman Turbulence & Truimph
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Well written and engaging
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With a candid authority that comes from over 25 years commentating on the world's biggest cycling races, legendary Eurosport commentator Carlton Kirby isn't afraid to tell it like it really is. Witty, outrageous and often outspoken, Magic Spanner is an insider's view of life on cycling's Grand Tours, including the Tour de France, Giro D'Italia, Vuelta a España and the classics, all delivered in the inimitable style for which Carlton has become globally famous.
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Love it.
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Well written and engaging
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Inspirational!
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Land's End to John O'Groats: The Ride That Started It All
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Tired from going abroad on holiday and realizing just how little he knew about the country he lived in, Sean decided to take a month off, buy a bike, and cycle the iconic Land's End to John O'Groats, solo and unsupported. Sean faced cold nights in, wet days out, and nearly a month of his own thoughts while he had the adventure of a lifetime cycling through Britain.
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Don't bother
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Hell and High Water
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In June 2013 Sean Conway set out from Land’s End in his bid to be the first person to swim the length of Britain. It was a challenge so extreme that not only had it never been attempted before, but most of the sponsors Sean approached turned him down, as they were worried that he would die trying.
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great but for narrator
- By richard on 07-04-19
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Just Ride
- Racing 2,725 Miles to Mexico
- By: Ty Hopkins
- Narrated by: Roger Wayne
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Just Ride is an adventure story of the 2018 Tour Divide. The book details the resilience and amazing adaptability of the human body and mind, and it gives a realistic and often raw account of the physical and mental toll required to finish the race in less than 17 days. The route, the conditions, the gear, the strategy, the training, the mental struggles, the embarrassing moments, and the physical battle are all described throughout a story that offers a genuine look into what was experienced and felt throughout the ultimate test of mountain bike endurance.
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I listened to Ty's story over two or three weeks
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Summary
In 1939 British cyclist Tommy Godwin cycled 75,065 miles in a single year. Think about that for a second: it’s an average of over 200 miles each day. And it’s a mark that still stands after almost 80 years. In The Year, Dave Barter resurrects the legend of the year record - a challenge nearly as old as bicycles themselves - and the cyclists who pushed themselves to establish and break it.
Barter uncovers the stories behind these riders who would routinely cycle over a hundred miles a day in the race to set new records. Americans such as John H. George who recorded over 200 "centuries", 19 double "centuries" and three triple "centuries" in the late 1800s. The British advertising executive Harry Long, whose annual tallies of over 20,000 miles in the early 20th century led to the founding of the formal cycling year record and Cycling magazine’s Century Competition.
The Englishman of French descent, Marcel Planes, whose 1911 record of 34,666 miles stood for over 20 years. Not forgetting the legends of the job-seeking Arthur Humbles, the one-armed vegetarian communist Walter Greaves, the "keep-fit girl" Billie Dovey and the staggering mark set by Godwin who left a youthful Bernard Bennett trailing in his wake.
Meticulous research through the annuals, archives and news stories of the bicycling world is backed up with insights from the families of these legendary cyclists, as well as Dave’s own analysis of the riders’ years in numbers.
There is no more difficult challenge in cycling. The Year is the definitive story of these phenomenal cyclists.
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What listeners say about The Year
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Kate
- 18-11-19
Record-breaking Edurance Cyclists
The Year is a fascinating account of the dedicated cyclists who each rode thousands of miles to attempt the mileage record in a year, a feat which has peaked at over 75,000 miles.
The book is rooted in the development of cycling as an endurance sport, with the popular mode of transport evolving into the desire to cover massive distances by bike in the nineteenth-century. The different circumstances of each of the “cycling mountaineers” are brought to life in this book, from the challenge of finding the time to ride enough miles alongside work and family life, to the problems of riding without sponsors or a support team.
As well as hearing about the different characters who attempted the year record, I particularly loved the insights into the recording and verification of the distances covered. This will very much appeal to those whose miles haven’t happened if they’re not on Strava.
You will enjoy listening to this audiobook if you have an interest in sporting achievements and their history, particularly if you like cycling and endurance sport. It will also appeal to those who enjoy social history topics, as it uncovers lots of interesting items from the archives around the record, such as women’s roles in sport and the impact of the World Wars.
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- D. Moore
- 24-06-19
like pulling teeth
having absolutely loved Daves last audio book this was eagerly anticipated. However, i found the narration monatone and not unlike the historical audio tracks fed through headphones whilst on museum tours. not for me im afraid