Roadie: The Misunderstood World of a Bike Racer

Roadie: The Misunderstood World of a Bike Racer
by Jamie Smith

Roadie: The Misunderstood World of a Bike Racer
List Price: $21.95
Our Price: $12.80
You Save: $9.15 (42%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $10.50 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: Jamie Smith
Illustrator: Jef Mallett
Edition: Paperback
Published: 2008-03-28
ISBN: 1934030171
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: VeloPress

Book Reviews of Roadie: The Misunderstood World of a Bike Racer

Book Review: Decent, with flaws
Summary: 3 Stars

I'm a recreational cyclist (70-80 miles/week), so I picked this up to see if I could gain some insight into the races I enjoyed watching. I found the information to be comprehensive in scope but lacking in depth. The author perhaps could have devoted more time to equipment and tactics, rather then superficial topics such as how many people you can get into a hotel room. Having said that, the book was decent but I continuously found myself put off by two themes the author kept repeating.
- Cycling is "better" than any other sport, bikers worker "harder" than other athletes, etc. Aside from just the silliness of this argument (how can one sport be better than another; do bikers really work harder than marathon runners, mountain climbers, football players in August, etc?), the constant need to do this comes across as insecure. Biking is cool enough on its own, no need to try so hard.
- Roadies are mavericks, flaunting society's norms, rebels, etc. Any hard core athletes will find themselves different from other people, that's just the nature of intense training and the things people need to do and buy to participate in the sport. Apart from that, biking and bikers seem to impose conformity more so than in other sports. All bikers wear the same kind of clothes, accessories are adopted en-mass by bikers, and conforming to the group's norms seem more important here than say, in baseball. For example, he lists the reasons for shaving one's legs; so that others know you are hard core roadie. Looking at a peloton or group of superior riders, you see the individuality lost in a haze of identical helmets, glasses and apparel, even for recreational bikers. Bikers in general seem to come from a very narrow slice of the demographic pie; white, male, relatively well off and educated. Not exactly a group of individualist mavericks.

I liked the drawings.

Summary of Roadie: The Misunderstood World of a Bike Racer

In the world of cycling, there are enthusiasts and then there are "roadies" — the cyclist whose passion for bike racing cannot be tamed. A confirmed roadie will go to any length to better his record — from shaving his legs to dropping a fortune on a bike — and the reactions to a roadie's determination can vary from disbelief to outright scorn. Jamie Smith is a confirmed roadie, and in this unique book, he sets out to explain the often-misunderstood world of roadies, delving into the groups many neuroses and lightheartedly illuminating just what it is that keeps these extreme cyclists coming back for more. Accompanied by amusing illustrations from a nationally syndicated cartoonist, this look into a bike racing subculture is sure to convert even the most hardened skeptics.

Sports Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in VeloPress Books About Cycling - Fun, Fiction, or Hard to Define
Bike and Brew America: Rocky Mountain Region: ImageBike and Brew America: Rocky Mountain Region:
by Todd Mercer
VeloPress; Published: 2001-06-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.12
Price in other shops: $16.95
Derailleur: A Cycling Murder Mystery ImageDerailleur: A Cycling Murder Mystery
by Greg Moody
VeloPress; Published: 1999-04-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.41
Price in other shops: $12.95
Perfect Circles: The Sequel to Two Wheels ImagePerfect Circles: The Sequel to Two Wheels
by Greg Moody
VeloPress; Published: 1998-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $27.54
Dead Air: A Cycling Murder Mystery ImageDead Air: A Cycling Murder Mystery
by Greg Moody
VeloPress; Published: 2002-05-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.92
Price in other shops: $14.95
Two Wheels: A Cycling Murder Mystery ImageTwo Wheels: A Cycling Murder Mystery
by Greg Moody
VeloPress; Published: 1998-06-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.35
Price in other shops: $14.95
Deadroll: A Cycling Murder Mystery ImageDeadroll: A Cycling Murder Mystery
by Greg Moody
VeloPress; Published: 2001-06-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.94
Price in other shops: $14.95
Landscapes of Cycling ImageLandscapes of Cycling
by Graham Watson
VeloPress; Published: 2004-12-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $25.00
Price in other shops: $49.95
Graham Watson: 20 Years of Cycling Photography ImageGraham Watson: 20 Years of Cycling Photography
by Graham Watson
VeloPress; Published: 2002-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $29.95
Dancing on the Pedals: The Found Poetry of Phil Liggett, The Voice of Cycling ImageDancing on the Pedals: The Found Poetry of Phil Liggett, The Voice of Cycling
by Phil Liggett
Breakaway Books; Published: 2005-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.26
Price in other shops: $9.95
Bobke II: The Continuing Misadventures of Bob Roll ImageBobke II: The Continuing Misadventures of Bob Roll
by Bob Roll
VeloPress; Published: 2003-09-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.13
Price in other shops: $16.95
Similar Books and other products
Training and Racing with a Power Meter ImageTraining and Racing with a Power Meter
by Hunter Allen, Andrew Coggan
VeloPress; Published: 2006-01-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.25
Price in other shops: $19.95
The Tour Is Won on the Alpe: Alpe d'Huez and the Classic Battles of the Tour de France (Photography) ImageThe Tour Is Won on the Alpe: Alpe d'Huez and the Classic Battles of the Tour de France (Photography)
by Jean-Paul Vespini
VeloPress; Published: 2008-05-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.59
Price in other shops: $21.95
Ten Points ImageTen Points
by Bill Strickland
Hyperion; Published: 2007-07-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.69
Price in other shops: $23.95
99 % Perspiration: Frazz Collection Image99 % Perspiration: Frazz Collection
by Jef Mallett
Andrews McMeel Publishing; Published: 2006-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.10
Price in other shops: $10.95
Positively False: The Real Story of How I Won the Tour de France ImagePositively False: The Real Story of How I Won the Tour de France
by Floyd Landis
Simon Spotlight Entertainment; Published: 2007-06-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.84
Price in other shops: $24.95
Paris-Roubaix: A Journey Through Hell ImageParis-Roubaix: A Journey Through Hell
by Philippe Bouvet, Pierre Callewaert, Jean-Luc Gatellier, Laget Serge
VeloPress; Published: 2007-09-28; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $23.76
Price in other shops: $39.95
The Rider ImageThe Rider
by Tim Krabbe
Bloomsbury USA; Published: 2003-06-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.93
Price in other shops: $12.99
The Complete Guide to Climbing (By Bike) ImageThe Complete Guide to Climbing (By Bike)
by John Summerson
Brigham Distributing; Published: 2007-07-01; Perfect Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.26
Price in other shops: $17.95
Blazing Saddles: The Cruel and Unusual History of the Tour de France ImageBlazing Saddles: The Cruel and Unusual History of the Tour de France
by Matt Rendell
VeloPress; Published: 2008-04-28; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $16.21
Price in other shops: $24.95
We Might As Well Win: On the Road to Success with the Mastermind Behind a Record-Setting Eight Tour de France Victories ImageWe Might As Well Win: On the Road to Success with the Mastermind Behind a Record-Setting Eight Tour de France Victories
by Johan Bruyneel, Bill Strickland
Houghton Mifflin; Published: 2008-06-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.42
Price in other shops: $25.00
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories