The bicycle book - Bella Bathurst

Two wheels. A frame. Two pedals. What could be simpler than a bicycle?

And yet the bike continues to inspire a passionate following. Since the millennium its use in Britain has doubled, and then doubled again. Thousands now cycle to work, and more take it up every day. Self-reliant and straightforward, cycling has recycled itself. It is an antiquated idea, and its time has finally come.

But what is it about the bicycle that so enchants us?

Acclaimed author Bella Bathurst takes us on a journey through cycling's best stories and strangest incarnations, from the bicycle as weapons of warfare to the secret life of couriers and the alchemy of frame-building. With a cast of characters including the woman who watereyed across the Channel, the man who raced India's Deccan Queen train and several of today's top cyclists, she offers a brilliantly engaging portrait of cycling's past, present, and world-conquering future.

The result is a story of passion and obsession, of exhaustion, endeavour, and risk. Above all, it is the story of partnership between man and machine, perfectly balanced – a story of love and souplesse.