These quiet, descriptive poems blaze with an inferno of lamenting and loving muses as a son helplessly watches his father suffer from a debilitating illness. The inquisitive voice of the speaker gently paints an emotional landscape ranging from childhood to the present, while trying to find glimpses of happiness in the imminent sorrow.
'I have the Wheel of life; Soiled with my city's dust. From the struggle and the strife Of the narrow street I fly To the Road's felicity, To clear from me the frown Of the moody toil of town....' This collection of poems covers cycling in all its moods; from the exhilaration of bicycle racing to the lyrical reflections of touring through the countryside, to the every-day challenges of commuting and repairs. Taken from books and magazines of the early days of bicycles, these poems, most of them by unknown writers, will still amuse and inspire today's riders with the timeless highs (and lows) of cycling.
Routledge Companion to Cycling presents a comprehensive overview of an artefact that throughout the modern era has been a bellwether indicator of the major social, economic and environmental trends that have permeated society The volume synthesizes a rapidly growing body of research on the bicycle, its past and present uses, its technological evolution, its use in diverse geographical settings, its aesthetics and its deployment in art and literature. From its origins in early modern carriage technology in Germany, it has generated what is now a vast, multi-disciplinary literature encompassing a wide range of issues in countries throughout the world.
The poems in Andrew Forster's third collection continues his exploration of what it means to make a home: from Cumbria, where he now lives, to South Yorkshire where he grew up, this book is firmly rooted in the north of England.
Author Tim Hansel gives the keys (and the spiritual rationale) for personal peak performance, keys which are designed to help unlock the kingdom of God within you.
If it's on the bike, it's in the book. The world of cycling is one of death-defying feats and obscure mechanical oddities, heroics and geekiness in equal measure. In Cyclopedia, renowned two-wheel aficionado and acclaimed sports writer William Fotheringham delves deep into this world to unearth rare nuggets of amazing facts and enthrallling anecdotes. This essential book is an A-Z compendium of everything you could ever want to know about the bicycle, from the history of the Tour de France to Chris Hoy's dominance of the Beijing velodrome, from the origins of the quick-release system to the diet that powered Graeme Obree to the world hour record, from Lance Armstrong's rise and fall to the slang words used for performance-enhancing substances, from the literature of cycling to the perils of vicious dogs. Cyclopedia has all the equipment, the races, the chases, the faces, the places, the drugs, the sex, and the scandals to convert any amateur cyclist into a fully fledged bike expert.
“What a wonderful idea for an adventure! Absolutely inspired, timely, and important.” —Alistair Humphreys, National Geographic Adventurer of the Year and author of The Doorstep Mile and Around the World by Bike Outdoor educator and field researcher Sara Dykman made history when she became the first person to bicycle alongside monarch butterflies on their storied annual migration—a round-trip adventure that included three countries and more than 10,000 miles. Equally remarkable, she did it solo, on a bike cobbled together from used parts. Her panniers were recycled buckets. In Bicycling with Butterflies, Dykman recounts her incredible journey and the dramatic ups and downs of the nearly nine-month odyssey. We’re beside her as she navigates unmapped roads in foreign countries, checks roadside milkweed for monarch eggs, and shares her passion with eager schoolchildren, skeptical bar patrons, and unimpressed border officials. We also meet some of the ardent monarch stewards who supported her efforts, from citizen scientists and researchers to farmers and high-rise city dwellers. With both humor and humility, Dykman offers a compelling story, confirming the urgency of saving the threatened monarch migration—and the other threatened systems of nature that affect the survival of us all.
About the Book As Henry Ryman Miner began to grow older, he noticed a subtle increase in forgetfulness, like going to another room and forgetting what he came for. He began to undertake various forms of mental exercise in an effort to improve his memory which led him to engage in the practice of memorizing and reciting favorite and newly discovered poems, a practice that he combined with cycling in the Oakland hills. Gradually his collection of memorized verse grew to reach one hundred poems. Broken into three parts, Miner first details his process for memorization, explaining in detail his methods and strategies. In part two, he lists all one hundred poems and includes his thoughts on each, reflecting on its place in the chronology of his life. Now familiar with his personal process and poems, Miner, in part three, explains the science behind memory, memorization, and the brain, proving and disproving some of his own methods in part one. A fascinating read on the realities of memory loss with aging, and the power of poetry, Miner’s One Hundred Poems and the Brain blends science and art into one engaging, thoughtful mental exercise.