The holiday season is here, and for some, it’s time to start thinking about gifts for the cyclocross racer or cyclist in your life. In the next two weeks, we will be bringing you some gift ideas to help make sure it is a Merry Crossmas for one and all.
Books are a classic holiday gift idea, and they offer hours of enjoyment and a lifetime of knowledge. This year, several have come across our desks that are worth considering, as a gift for the cyclists in your life, or perhaps, yourself.
Our suggested holiday reading list includes:
Easy-Reading References:
- En Cyclo Pedia, by Johan Tell
- The Bike Deconstructed, by Richard Hallett
Pretty Pictures:
- The Art of the Jersey, by Andy Storey
- The Bicycle Coloring Book, by Shan Jiang
- 2017/2018 Cyclocross Album, by Balint Hamvas
’Cross & Gravel:
- The Cyclocross Bible, by Alexander Forrester
- Bell Lap Poems, by Laura Winberry
- Gravel Cycling, by Nick Legan
- Rainbows in the Mud, by Paul Maunder
Use the next button to scroll through and read about each of the gift ideas.
More more gift ideas, see our ever-growing list of 2018 gift ideas.
’Cross & Gravel:
Get your cyclocross and gravel fix with the Bell Lap, Rainbows in the Mud, and Gravel Cycling books. Gift ideas for cyclists and cyclocrossers. © Cyclocross Magazine
Bell Lap Poems, by Laura Winberry
Laura Winberry is an accomplished cyclocross racer, traveling the world to tackle UCI races and claim points, finishing in the top 20 at Nationals and regularly podiuming in Oregon’s massive cyclocross races. Winberry has harvested her diverse cyclocross experienced and distilled it into a 93-page serving of poems.
Cyclocross isn’t for everyone and neither is poetry, but for those who can appreciate both, Winberry might have put together the ultimate gift that delivers a taste of cyclocross year ’round.
Organized into nine sections, including “the warm up,” “the race,” “the bell lap,” and some more audacious ones like “thank you, death,” Winberry’s Bell Lap compilation offers up a multi-course meal of the typical highs and lows of cyclocross racing, mixed in with a bit of family history.
Winberry blends obsessing about the race day routine with a celebration of cyclocross culture in her writings. While newbies may be amused, cyclocross addicts may relate. Find yourself frustrated with your last race? You’ll likely find comfort in some of Winberry’s words. Obsessed with the crazy dance of our sport? You may be moved by her varied poems and prose.
Winberry’s work is true to the sport. Just like any cyclocross race, Bell Lap isn’t an easy Sunday ride. The diverse subject matter, formatting and tone feel more like an interval session than a meditative read, but it’s a session that has you coming back for more.
Note: Bell Lap may not be suitable for children, due to its language and references to sex.
Pages: 93
Price: $15
More Info: indolentbooks.com or Amazon
Gravel Cycling: The Complete Guide to Gravel Racing and Adventure Bikepacking, by Nick Legan
Want to get the cyclist in your life out of the house more? Cyclocross workouts and races are short. Gravel events can last all day, or several days.
Gravel cycling is becoming increasingly popular, but it can take a little bit of effort to find good races and figure out the proper equipment. Nick Legan helps make the world of gravel riding more accessible for the inexperienced with his 304-page Gravel Cycling. Legan relies on his experience as a pro road mechanic, shop owner, journalist, PR guy and Tour Divide competitor to compile a comprehensive look at the gravel race scene and bikepacking movement.
With a title like “Gravel Cycling,” you might expect a book focused on cyclists who just like to venture offroad without the itch to pin on a number, but the subtitle provides better guidance as to the focus of the book. He also provides in-depth looks at 18 one-day and 8 multi-day bikepacking gravel events in the U.S. and abroad. Legan covers bikes, gear and riding strategies for such events using personal knowledge and know-how gathered from other experts. There are also some great interviews of the influential players in the gravel scene, and a nice overview of the bikepacking movement, with plenty of great photos mixed in.
A gift of Nick Legan’s Gravel Cycling can offset cabin fever and serve up hours of indoor distraction, with the later promise of days of outdoor adventure. If your gift does the trick, perhaps you’ll join in for some of the gravel adventures, or enjoy countless hours of coveted solitude. Either way, it’s a win.
Pages: 304
Price: $25
More Info: velopress.com or Amazon
Rainbows in the Mud, by Paul Maunder
English author Paul Maunder spent the 2015/16 cyclocross season chasing down the story of the sport of cyclocross. Maunder started the season at CrossVegas and then headed to European races from the Three Peaks in Yorkshire all the way to Worlds at Zolder. Along the way, he follows Katie Compton and Gage Hecht and captures the importance of place in cyclocross.
We reviewed Maunder’s book in 2017 and found it an enjoyable read that does a good job capturing the appeal, flavor and idiosyncrasies of the sport of cyclocross, particularly in Flanders.
Rainbows in the Mud would make a good gift for the cyclocross fan who has been getting up early on weekends for years to watch grainy streams of Euro races or for the newbie who got their first taste of European racing during the U.S. World Cups this season. The details from the European races help bring the races to life and the general info provides insight on parts of the sport such as why Flanders is considered the spiritual home of cyclocross.
Rainbows is geared toward the adult cyclocross fan or racer. In our review, we noted there are no photos to accompany the story, and this was driven home recently by a brief review from a seven-year-old boy who grabbed our review copy. After skimming through the book, he said, “Daddy, there’s zero pictures!”
Maunder’s words paint the pictures.
Pages: 288
Price: £8.24, $10.50 USD
More Info: bloomsbury.com or Amazon
