Tour de Oz

Tour de Oz PDF Author: Bret Harris
Publisher: HarperCollins Australia
ISBN: 146070665X
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 226

Book Description
Four years before the inaugural Tour de France, four cyclists known as 'Overlanders' set out on a race around Australia. On 24 November 1896 a wiry and wily bushman named Arthur Richardson left Coolgardie for Adelaide by bicycle. Carrying only a small kit and a water-bag, he followed the telegraph line. After much 'sweating and swearing' on sandy roads west of Eucla, and enduring the scorching heat, 31 days later he became the first man to pedal across the Nullarbor. But within three years Richardson had set his sights on becoming the first person to ride around the vast island continent, not yet a nation, and some 18,507km. On 5 June, 1899, he left Perth, heading north, carrying no more than a swag and a pistol. It took courage, self-confidence, endurance and resourcefulness to tackle such a ride. Richardson would follow dirt tracks, cattle and camel pads and stars in the night sky as he battled thirst, hunger, exhaustion, crocodile attack and spears from Aboriginal warriors to realize his dream. But he also had competition...another party of cyclists with the same ambition. New Zealand-born Brothers Frank and Alex White and wealthy adventurer Donald Mackay from Wallandbeen Station, NSW, were attempting the ride in a counter-clockwise direction from Melbourne and Brisbane respectively. Set against the fledging pastoralist empires of pre-Federation Australia, Tour de Oz, is the extraordinarily true story of a remarkable race to 'circumcycle' the Australian continent - before we became a nation.

Overlander

Overlander PDF Author: Rupert Guinness
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1925640116
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 400

Book Description
A powerful memoir about an epic bike race across one of the most challenging landscapes in the world Rupert Guinness set out on the trip of a lifetime: to race across Australia in the inaugural Indian Pacific Wheel Race. This was no ordinary bike race. Unlike the Tour de France, which Guinness had made his name reporting on for decades, competitors rode completely unassisted from Fremantle in Western Australia to the Opera House in Sydney on the other side of the country - a gruelling distance of over 5000 kilometres that would not only test riders' physical endurance but their psychological resilience. Dubbed 'The Hunger Games on Wheels', there would be no help, just riders and their bikes crossing one of the most beautiful – and often most inhospitable – places on earth. Rupert’s mission was to test his own grit, physical and emotional, as he followed the trail of the pioneering men and women whose historic rides over the last two centuries unveiled a largely unknown interior. But when a terrible tragedy stopped everyone in their tracks, what he discovered was the extraordinary power of the human spirit. Rupert and his fellow competitors were forced to make some of the toughest decisions they had ever faced.

What a Ride

What a Ride PDF Author: Rupert Guinness
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 1742692826
Category : Cyclists
Languages : en
Pages : 356

Book Description
The behind the scenes story of the evolution of the Australian rider from a curiosity to a major contender in the world's greatest bike race, the Tour de France.

Hell on Two Wheels

Hell on Two Wheels PDF Author: Amy Snyder
Publisher: Triumph Books
ISBN: 1617495190
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 263

Book Description
Contestants have died, been maimed, and spiraled down into the nightmarish realm of madness. Half of them don't finish--in fact, only 200 racers have ever made it to the end. "Outside" magazine calls it "the toughest test of endurance in the world." RAAM (the Race Across America) is a bicycle race like no other. This epic race is the most brutal organized sporting event you've never heard of and one of the best-kept secrets in the sports world. Author Amy Snyder follows a handful of athletes before, during, and after the 2009 event, the closest and most controversial in history. "Hell on Two Wheels" is a thrilling and remarkably detailed account of their ups and downs, triumphs and tragedies. By experiencing the race from the perspective of the racers themselves, "Hell on Two Wheels" breaks new ground in helping us appreciate how such a grueling effort can be so cleansing and self-revelatory. This is more than just a race; it's a monster, a crucible, an unforgettable allegory about the human experience of pain and joy and self-discovery.

Tour de Lance

Tour de Lance PDF Author: Bill Strickland
Publisher: Three Rivers Press (CA)
ISBN: 0307589951
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 310

Book Description
Documents Lance Armstrong's 2009 return to cycling and attempt to win another Tour de France, offering insight into such topics as his competitive drive, his fight with cancer, and the jaded views of his detractors.

From Ocean to Ocean

From Ocean to Ocean PDF Author: Jerome J. Murif
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781542719926
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 216

Book Description
A captivating account of the first South to North crossing of the Australian continent on a bicycle, in 1897. "Then the bicycle, loaded now for the expedition, was lifted downstairs; I shook hands with the landlady, told her I might not be back for tea and not to keep it waiting, and quietly pedalled away..." This is how, without any sponsor, and almost no one knowing about his plan, that Jerome Murif departed from Adelaide with the firm intent to reach Port Darwin, more than 3,000 km (1,900 miles) away, and be the first to cross the Australian continent by bicycle from South to North. He did so with very little food and gear, and at a time when roads were non-existent, on a bicycle that didn't have gears or brakes. Far from the speed record attempts, Murif did his crossing at a leisurely pace, even taking time to tour the Alice Springs region on the way. This account of his journey, first published in 1897, is based heavily on his own diary; it is full of humor and captivating from the first word to the last.

The Unknown Tour de France

The Unknown Tour de France PDF Author: Les Woodland
Publisher: Cycle Publishing
ISBN: 9781892495266
Category : Bicycle racing
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
After more than 100 years now, the Tour de France is still the sport's premier event. But there's much more to the Tour than the daily stage victories and the Yellow Jersey. This book takes a closer look behind the scenes of the Tour. Les Woodland recounts many of the fascinating episodes from the Tour's past and present in a knowledgeable and humorous style. The Unknown Tour de France makes fascinating reading for everyone interested in the sport. You'll find out about the great champions of the early days, and those of the present time You'll find out about the men who started and promoted this great venture. Find out about "the foreign legion," the few early English-speaking riders who paved the way for such men as Greg LeMond, Lance Armstrong, and Tyler Hamilton.

The Great Bike Race

The Great Bike Race PDF Author: Geoffrey Nicholson
Publisher: Casemate
ISBN: 9781911162025
Category : Bicycle racing
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
The Great Bike Race is revered by modern cycling critics and was the first book in English to tell the entire story of a full tour. Vivid descriptions of the racing, the personalities, tactics and intrigues of the 1976 race are rotated with insightful thematic chapters.
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