The Beautiful Machine: A Life in Cycling, from Tour de France to Cinder Hill - Softcover

"A zen-like paean to the joy of cycling . . . sings of the sheer bloody-mindedness and humour of a true enthusiast" (Metro)

"[Graeme Fife] is a cheerfully opinionated and funny chronicler of his own failings" (Daily Telegraph)

"An excellent read, not only for cyclists, but for anyone looking for an inspiring perspective on life, love, travel, history and other spiritual and worldly things" (The London Cyclist)

"Even if you don't share his passion for bicycles, reminiscences of his time as a full-time writer are entertaining" (The Herald)

"Wise, honest and funny, The Beautiful Machine isn't just a paean to cycling but to life" (Stewart O'Nan, author)

Graeme Fife has been riding a bike since he discovered, aged five, that escaping from home on two wheels was a lot faster and took him a lot farther than he could go on foot. He soon allied love of what was, admittedly, quite a humble version of the beautiful machine with a tenacious grip on independence.

A French girlfriend introduced Fife to raclette, a broader perspective on life and thinking and the Tour de France and French cycling journalism. Since then, this passion has seeded books, articles, epic rides, acquaintance with some of the most illustrious men in cycling and many staunch friendships.

This is bare-knuckle writing at its most punchy, rippling with wit and energy. It is a celebration of the bicycle and the joy, wonder, adventure, the good and bad times associated with it, and of the people who ride and with whom Fife has ridden. Here are explorations of all dimensions of the experience, on, round, with, via and about the beautiful machine.