Can Reading Make You A Better Cyclist?

Reading about cycling may actually help you to become a better cyclist. It might seem far-fetched, but books can give you a better understanding of what happens on track or road racing.

At the very least, books can inspire and help you form a stronger mindset.

So, what books should you read? Let’s talk about a few.

1. Zinn & The Art Of Road Bike Maintenance by Lennard Zinn

This is likely to be the most up-to-date, comprehensive, and thorough maintenance manual available for road bikes. The detailed line drawings make any task so much easier to explain and understand.

2. Put Me Back On My Bike: In Search Of Tom Simpson by Will Fotheringham

The story of Tom Simpson is a fascinating one. He succumbed to heatstroke and cardiac failure on the slopes of Mont Ventoux during the 1967 Tour de France.

Will Fotheringham reveals Simpson to be a trailblazer, a huge talent and a true character. Unfortunately, Simpson was as much a victim of the woeful state of sports science at the time, and the brutal schedule pro racers endured as of his own burning ambition.

3. Roads Were Not Built For Cars by Carlton Reid

This book sets out to demonstrate how cyclists led the charge for better roads, and it does so in a very readable and thorough manner.

Reid argues that it is a motoring-centric view that roads are just for transport and that in the past, they have been seen as a public space for other uses, including cycling.

Let us know in the comments if there are any cycling-related books that have inspired you along your cycling journey.