Bobke II Book

You might wonder what qualified gap-toothed Bob Roll to be Versus' perpetual color man for the Tour de France. Well, Chumley, it's because he used to kick ass at racing. These are some of his journal entries about the TdF, the Giro d'Italia, the brutal Paris-Roubaix, plus others. These aren't dreary recitations of statistics, speeds, and crashes because Roll is the Lyle Lovett of cycling, equal parts professional, Texas madman, and poet. Entries are generally about races and rides, but not always. They range all over Europe and America and cover road cycling and mountain biking. Presented in random order, the essays can seem a little scattered, and I for one would love to know more insider scoop on how the peloton actually works, but overall these are great insights from a fun, irascible dude. Doubtless, Bobke has many more, unprintable, anecdotes up his sleeve. BII follows his now out-of-print-but-worth-the-hunt Bobke: A Ride on the Wild Side of Cycling (Velo, 1998). For a similarly interesting read that combines road and mountain bike racing, try Joe Parkin's Come and Gone: A True Story of Blue-Collar Bike Racing in America (VeloPress, 2010).

You might wonder what qualified gap-toothed Bob Roll to be Versus' perpetual color man for the Tour de France. Well, Chumley, it's because he used to kick ass at racing. These are some of his journal entries about the TdF, the Giro d'Italia, the brutal Paris-Roubaix, plus others. These aren't dreary recitations of statistics, speeds, and crashes because Roll is the Lyle Lovett of cycling, equal parts professional, Texas madman, and poet. Entries are generally about races and rides, but not always. They range all over Europe and America and cover road cycling and mountain biking. Presented in random order, the essays can seem a little scattered, and I for one would love to know more insider scoop on how the peloton actually works, but overall these are great insights from a fun, irascible dude. Doubtless, Bobke has many more, unprintable, anecdotes up his sleeve. BII follows his now out-of-print-but-worth-the-hunt Bobke: A Ride on the Wild Side of Cycling (Velo, 1998). For a similarly interesting read that combines road and mountain bike racing, try Joe Parkin's Come and Gone: A True Story of Blue-Collar Bike Racing in America (VeloPress, 2010).

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