May Book Report: The Loyal Lieutenant

The Husband and I are planning to do the Hincapie Gran Fondo in the fall, so it's only partly serendipitous that I ended up devouring George's biography over the past few days. A friend gave me a copy last week, and much like most athlete biographies, I plowed through it.

I've read tons of endurance athlete biographies over the past five years or so, but this was one of the best. The book chronicles well George's life as a youngster, learning to ride and ride fast. He explains his steps into the world of professional cycling, and how life-encompassing a commitment like that is. (I'm not quite cut out for it, even if I was that fast...) His experiences clearly display a commitment to loyalty to family and friends, and present to the reader a person of integrity, in the peleton and within the rest of the world.

The real beauty of the book is the examination of doping in professional cycling, particularly during his era. Reasons, origins, ingrained social behaviors in the peleton, and efforts to clean up racing all surface in the ongoing conversation in ... Lietenant.

I've said to The Husband in the past that I always imagined these guys finding themselves in a situation where they're at races and realize what is going on with part of the peleton, and knowing what they have to do to keep up, to keep their jobs. Some dealt with it differently. Others responded to the pressure with frustration that eventually bubbled over, out of control. Regardless, it was part of racing... no one person amped up the arms race that was the renaissance of road racing.

The interviews and commentary throughout the book keep the reading interesting, sometimes comical, and break apart the chapters to provide insight and deeper understanding. I left the book feeling like George was a better guy than I had already thought, someone who believes in the sport of cycling wholeheartedly and is passionate about helping the world come to love it as much as him. He's a strikingly inspiring figure, and an amazing leader. A fun and inspiring read, and fairly quick and easy. I would recommend it as good summer reading, especially if you are interested in cycling or endurance sports in general.