Lastest volume is now available ... just so you know, it's not cheap but it does contain over 420 pages and as ever, proceeds go to a good cause. Anyway, you either want a copy or you don't

http://www.lulu.com/shop/christopher-be ... 42874.html

Fell free to skip past my bit in it.

Edit: For those who don't know why it's this price: All the revenue goes to the college fund of Linnaea Blumenthal, whose father Dave was killed in an accident just after Bush Mountain Lodge. To date it has raised over $10,000.

Fell free to skip past my bit in it.

Be a waste - I think your experiences of the TD are probably the most honest and accurate account I've ever read.

Bearbonesnorm wrote:

Fell free to skip past my bit in it.

Be a waste - I think your experiences of the TD are probably the most honest and accurate account I've ever read.

Thanks Stu. I appreciate that comment a lot.

Skip Greg's bit and tut over my contribution then!

WINTERSHIP code gets you free postage too (I hope that comes out of Lulu's cut, not the college fund)

Afraid I only did an "interview" as my laptop died losing my write up and I was in too much of a hissy fit to type it all up again.

I'm sure the rest of it, especially Greg's contribution will be a good read.

Just ordered it, thanks for the discount code, it`s a great read, living the adventures through the pages.

I've ordered. Greg and Jonny your bits had better be good

Nice to read the words of the riders around me, answers some questions to what happened ahead and behind me during the earlier days of the race!

Usual mix of writing from people who finished fast, failed, and toured. Interesting to flick through chapters only having a vague idea who people were before hand. Then suddenly realising that I remember them, or I have different memories of the places they visited.

Yes, must mean a lot more to you, Nigel, John, etc than it does to the rest of us Greg.

I've not started reading my copy in anger yet but I'll be interested to see whether the trend of people with very limited cycling experience taking part has continued to grow. I also wonder whether that trent, went hand in hand with the increasing numbers of those seemingly touring rather than 'racing'.

Bearbonesnorm wrote:Yes, must mean a lot more to you, Nigel, John, etc than it does to the rest of us Greg.

I've not started reading my copy in anger yet but I'll be interested to see whether the trend of people with very limited cycling experience taking part has continued to grow. I also wonder whether that trent, went hand on hand with the increasing numbers of those seemingly touring rather than 'racing'.

It was great reading the section by Jonathan Graif as it meant that I learnt his name, searched him up and was able to get in touch to say he was also pictured on page 303. I've sent him the hi res pics I took while I ride with him and his companions.

That almost makes up for the upset of not doing again this year.

Bearbonesnorm wrote:Yes, must mean a lot more to you, Nigel, John, etc than it does to the rest of us Greg.

I've not started reading my copy in anger yet but I'll be interested to see whether the trend of people with very limited cycling experience taking part has continued to grow. I also wonder whether that trent, went hand on hand with the increasing numbers of those seemingly touring rather than 'racing'.

I will admit to skipping most of those write ups.

Hmm... I shall give this an order and add it to my pile of things I'll probably never get around to reading.

Bearbonesnorm wrote:I'll be interested to see whether the trend of people with very limited cycling experience taking part has continued to grow.

This bloke did 23 days on a singlespeed in 2013. He put in a massive amount of training and prep races but I got the impression he would struggle to pump a tyre up.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trail-Magic-Ar ... B00NJQZ6GK

Pirahna wrote:

Bearbonesnorm wrote:I'll be interested to see whether the trend of people with very limited cycling experience taking part has continued to grow.

This bloke did 23 days on a singlespeed in 2013. He put in a massive amount of training and prep races but I got the impression he would struggle to pump a tyre up.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trail-Magic-Ar ... B00NJQZ6GK

That book makes me angry. My review still stands.

GregMay wrote:

Pirahna wrote:

Bearbonesnorm wrote:I'll be interested to see whether the trend of people with very limited cycling experience taking part has continued to grow.

This bloke did 23 days on a singlespeed in 2013. He put in a massive amount of training and prep races but I got the impression he would struggle to pump a tyre up.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trail-Magic-Ar ... B00NJQZ6GK

That book makes me angry. My review still stands.

It didn't make me angry. For me he came across as a decent bloke who had put a lot of effort into achieving his goal of riding the Tour Divide. I did get the impression he'd struggle to sit the right way round on a toilet, but he finished in time I'm never likely to get close to and he did it without causing any harm to anybody else.

Greg - angry, why's that?

jameso wrote:Greg - angry, why's that?

Dunno, just felt like the sort of person I'd struggle to spend more than 10 mins with. Which to be fair, people probably think about me.

"When I got to the top, I double pumped my fist in the air and screamed Hell Yeah! before diving down the dirt road in the back forests of Canada"

GregMay wrote:Dunno, just felt like the sort of person I'd struggle to spend more than 10 mins with....

Not just you who felt that way!

: ) Fair enough .. I was trying to remember details of it, that I can't remember a lot about it may say something about the book (and me) but I enjoyed it. Prefered Jill Homer's book though.

I've tried to read Jill Homer's entries in the earlier editions of the Cordillera, and couldn't finish them. It's difficult to put my finger on, but I find her writing style so annoying

Ian wrote:I've tried to read Jill Homer's entries in the earlier editions of the Cordillera, and couldn't finish them. It's difficult to put my finger on, but I find her writing style so annoying

Jills style is strange. Her later writing is much better. She's learnt to write with her own style.

Writing, and reading, is a very personal thing. Sometimes people have trouble setting tone and delivering something that works as more than just a "I did this then that and this and then that" story which for me, is unreadable. Again, like anything, writing takes time to learn to craft let alone deliver.

Take Mr. Barters writing style for The Year - I really enjoyed it. Bounces about between factual and playful but delivers a story around what could have been a very adenoid boring cyclist topic told by the one person on the Audax you really didn't want to spend the next 400km with. But it wasn't. It read like a man who gave a crap about the story of an amazing aim in the cyclist's life.

Flip side, Rough Ride by Paul Kimmage. I've still yet to finish this, I find his style grates on me more than is possible for one man to achieve. I found that made me want to put it down before I even managed to get interested in his story. Yes yes everyone was mean to you and on drugs, I get it, but move on. Fix it, don't just whinge about it. But I digress, that is partially Kimmages attitude and general annoying Dubliner attitude which contributed to leaving the place :)

Anyway. Bike forum, not book club. Although any excuse to drink wine right?

I've tried to read Jill Homer's entries in the earlier editions of the Cordillera, and couldn't finish them. It's difficult to put my finger on, but I find her writing style so annoying

You're not alone Ian. I've read her book and it doesn't gel with me - I think I find her style a bit too introspective and dare I say, 'whiny'. I don't always want to know about what people are thinking, sometimes I just what to know about what's around them, outside of their own mind.

Not sure it was whiny so much as flowery and over embellished. The part of the story I recall was about her riding some amazing distance to get to a shop in Pie Town before it closes. She makes it in some equally amazing time and then orders a salad. I mean, a salad ffs, in Pie Town.
Sure, she's entitled to order what she likes, but the way the story was told came over very sanctimoniously. No idea how the story went after that, I'd had enough and skipped to the next chapter. She cropped up again in the second or third edition, and I couldn't even finish the first page!

...and breathe

As an occasional blogger, I sit staring at the screen at times thinking how can I tell this tale without it being "I did this, then that etc". Trying to inject some supplemental interest is hard at times, and getting it to flow well with the main thread of the tale is even harder.

Firstly, thank you Greg I put my heart and soul into that book as a tribute to the riders who I found so inspiring.

But I get my fair share of slating, some of my reviews read as if I raped the critic's cat whilst simultaneously smashing their 50" television to pieces with their grandma. However, I would always say that even if you can't identify with the writing or find yourself wanting to pummel the author into the next decade. Take a breath and remember that at least they took the step of trying to document something for posterity even though (in your eyes) they failed. It's a great thing to try and bring others into your world whilst adding to the "record".

Unless you are my uncle who wrote a batshit crazy book about gematria which was hastily passed around the family like a hot potato until it landed with me ..who read it..and then spent every family do from thence on cornered by him.

No worries Dave, it's a not sub standard book in my house. Even gets to stay in the house after the great book cull of 2017 - aka giving friends books to pass on to make space for more books.