Ebook Download A Dog in a Hat: An American Bike Racer's Story of Mud, Drugs, Blood, Betrayal, and Beauty in Belgium, by Joe Parkin
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A Dog in a Hat: An American Bike Racer's Story of Mud, Drugs, Blood, Betrayal, and Beauty in Belgium, by Joe Parkin
Ebook Download A Dog in a Hat: An American Bike Racer's Story of Mud, Drugs, Blood, Betrayal, and Beauty in Belgium, by Joe Parkin
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Review
"A Dog in a Hat is a page turner. Anyone who has raced in Europe or who wonders what it's like to jump the ocean on your own should pick up this book. Joe captures the struggle and the intensity to succeed, and the fact that he did it on his own is all the more impressive. Cycling in Europe is tough; doing it Joe's way is even tougher!" -- Frankie Andreu, former professional cyclist"A Dog in a Hat is the most authentic book ever written on making a living as a pro cyclist in Europe." -- Bob Roll, Versus TV cycling commentator"A slice of literary badassness. I've had a lifelong struggle maintaining an attention span for reading books, but this is a page turner that's been hard for me to put down. A Dog in a Hat is truly captivating." -- HowtoAvoidtheBummerLife.com"I loved A Dog in a Hat. Once in, I couldn't put it down. The book rings of truth, youth, and passion." -- Andreas Hestler, former professional cyclist"I loved A Dog in a Hat. Joe's stories bring back many memories of racing in Belgium, where I learned how to fight for position in the echelon, to suffer in the gutter while jumping curbs and dodging potholes, and to pound out my guts when it really mattered. Belgium is a hard place to learn bicycle racing and Joe's story proves how tough he was." --Ron Kiefel, former pro cyclist"Joe Parkin is a beautiful piece of work, and he turns out to be a better writer than I am a bike racer." --Bill Strickland, Bicycling magazine"Joe tells his story straight. It's not pretty but it's not bitter." --BikeRadar.com"Parkin has written an eloquent and historic volume. In the very uniqueness of his story, Parkin realizes a universality that gives his recollections a resonance with any cyclist. Do not miss this book." -- BelgiumKneeWarmers.com
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From the Back Cover
"The most authentic book ever written on making a living as a pro cyclist in Europe." -- Bob Roll, Versus TV cycling commentator"I saw my first pro kermis race during my first week in Belgium, and it felt like trying to escape a hall of mirrors but not being able to read the exit signs. Everything was larger than life and more grotesque than I had imagined. But kermis racing was not all about the drugs. If the grand tours are like classical music, kermis racing is punk rock, Belgian-style. At some point during the season, our team was invited to a stage race in France, but our team director had made an agreement for us to race a big kermis in Brugge. My buddy Cocquyt decided that we should go as hard as we possibly could from the gun in the kermis, team time trial style, and then peel off at the end of the 11-kilometer lap, laughing at all the guys we had tortured as we took off for the other race. Of course, we all coughed up blood for the entire trip to France, but it was strangely worth it, as if we had smashed our guitars, poured beer on the audience, and walked offstage before the end of the first song." Â Joe Parkin's life changed when he left America to become a professional bike racer in Belgium. In this brutally frank memoir, Parkin celebrates the glory of racing but doesn't flinch from the cold reality of that life--the drugs, the payoffs, the betrayals by teammates, the battles with team owners for contracts and money, the endless promises, and the sheer physical pain of racing day after day. Set in the hardest place in the world to be a bike racer, A Dog in a Hat is one rider's story of his love affair with professional cycling.
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Product details
Paperback: 205 pages
Publisher: VeloPress; 42168th edition (September 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9781934030264
ISBN-13: 978-1934030264
ASIN: 1934030260
Product Dimensions:
6 x 0.7 x 8.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review:
4.2 out of 5 stars
126 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#143,764 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
I bicycle 290 days a year, and I stream bike races on the Internet. I could not put this book down. I wished it was longer. I have no patience for bad writing; this was good writing. I could see the hills, the people, and the bikes. I could smell the wind, and feel the saddle. I want to write more, but I dislike spoilers.After "Dog in a Hat," I started to read "Just Ride." I could not finish it. Like I said, no patience for bad writing. Before "Dog," I read Bike Snob's first book, the one with the subtitle, "Systematically and Mercilessly" etc. It was a collection of short works, some of which I liked, and others not so much. But I like most of Weiss's short stuff; he's a very good writer. Next I will read Bob Roll's first (?) book, about which I hear great things from a bicyclist that I trust. But so far in the bicycle-book genre, "Dog" is the top dog, by a long snout.
I have been very interested in European & Belgian Cycling since I was 14. Why? I don't know. Especially the 80's. This book gives you a nice look behind the curtain of middle tier European pro cycling of the late 80's. I really enjoyed it. I wanted even more details.
We have here a true cycling story, but one that's not just for cyclists or cycling fans. I think through the writer's style he opens the sport up enough for anyone to enjoy, but I have to admit that I probably only own the book because I am a lifelong casual/amateur cyclist myself (about the same age as Joe).Many reviews speak of JP not being a "winner" or on a winning team, but this book exemplifies the lives of many racers down through the years. The domestique (translates as "servant") as they are known, cycle for the pure love of the sport and give their all for the team. They turn themselves inside out to ride at the front into the wind or to pace up a hill, they give up their bike for a team leader if he has a mechanical, they carry extra food and water, they live through vicarious glory and the sense of accomplishment that only comes from working hard. It's an everyman's story, but Joe chased his dream instead of wondering about what could have been. He measured himself against the best in the world in his "trade" and found out where he stood.I think this book gives personal, conversational, "warts and all" insight into the life of a guy many of us would envy, but few would have the courage to emulate. A great read.
This is an insider's look at the down and dirty world of bike racing. We've all known, even if we didn't want to admit it, that professioal (and even amateur) cycling was rife with drugs. What we might not have known, was how many race results were pre-determined or bought. If there was one ounce of denial left in your mind after Lance Armstrong's admissions, and after the admissions of countless others (e.g., Tyler Hamilton, George Hincapie, Floyd Landis), reach back in time to one of the earliest admissions. We've known for so long, but just didn't want to admit it. An excellent book for the serious bike fan.
I was reading the bio on Eddy Merckx, but wanted to take a break from that, and found "A Dog in A Hat," a real page turner. Fast paced, funny and insightful, it never put me to sleep but engulfed me in the brutal and beautiful world of professional bicycle racing! What I like about the author, is that he has really keen insights into many riders and seems to really weigh their strengths and weaknesses as well as his. His greatest gift is how Joe immerses you in the elite and many times hidden world of road racing with humor, whit, sarcasm, and seriousness befitting a seasoned pro who went after his dream and has never given up! A Must Read for amateur and pro alike!!
I have raced during the same era as Joe, although never at the same level as him, but I can attest to the fact that what he writes is absolutely and indescriminately real. He is able to capture the essence of what was considered "cool" during those days and frankly talks about the low end of the sport, the buying of races, the drugs and the dissapointments. Yet in all this misery he is able to find beauty and relate this to the reader. When he talks about the beauty or riding in rain, wind and mud in March in Belgium and is longing for that I can realate to him. He was one of the few American Pros that really understood the essence of the sport as it is known and practiced in Europe for generations. He maintains a postive attitude towards his experiences, even though by pure results we may consider his career a failure. He rode and raced for the lifestyle and the unmatched and unreplicated experience of racing, not for results. He is one of the few people in this world that has honestly given it his best and while not succeeding in results has fulfilled his dream...and then wrote about it so well. If you want to know what it is like for 95% of the peleton in the European Pros, then or now, buy the book. If you want an edited "Champion's tale" buy an Armstrong or LeMond book. I have read many cycling books and this one is by far the best. I am ready to buy Joe's second book now.Mr. G.
This is a great read. Joe raced and writes with great heart. It is a shame that he never got to race in Le Tour de France as he was a great team racer, one who would give his best for the team.BTW - The cover doesn't do road cyclists justice as a rule they have skinny arms. LOL
If you love professional cycling then I would suggest that this book is a must-read. Insightful, honest, and told from the most intimate first-person perspective imaginable, the author chronicles his trail-breaking career in Europe with the same underlying passion and pedal-turning efficiency of his days in the saddle. There's no wasted effort in the book; each story unfolds with clean precision and an absence of frivolity; Joe allows us to feel what it's like to put it all on the line for something you love, in spite of the odds and obstacles. I now look forward to reading his sequel.
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