Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #251 in Books
• Published on: 2001-05-03
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
People around the world have found inspiration in the story of Lance Armstrong--a world-class athlete nearly struck down by cancer, only to recover and win the Tour de France, the multiday bicycle race famous for its gruelling intensity. Armstrong is a thoroughgoing Texan jock, and the changes brought to his life by his illness are startling and powerful, but he's just not interested in wearing a hero suit. While his vocabulary is a bit on the he-man side (highest compliment to his wife: "she's a stud"), his actions will melt the most hard-bitten souls: a cancer foundation and benefit bike ride, his astonishing commitment to training that got him past countless hurdles, loyalty to the people and corporations that never gave up on him. There's serious medical detail here, which may not be for the faint of heart; from chemo to surgical procedures to his wife's in vitro fertilization, you won't be spared a single x-ray, IV drip, or unfortunate side effect. Athletes and coaches everywhere will benefit from the same extraordinary detail provided about training sessions--every aching tendon, every rainy afternoon, and every small triumph during his long recovery is here in living colour. It's Not About the Bike is the perfect title for this book about life, death, illness, family, setbacks, and triumphs, but not especially about the bike. --Jill Lightner, Amazon.com

Express on Sunday
`If you read just one sports book this year, this is the one'

Time Out
`So darn riveting that it simply cannot be put down…warmly recommended'

Customer Reviews

Lethargy

The writing style of this book is odd, and at times it reads like a blog or if Lance is recording thoughts and handing them oer to the co-author. In fact the writing style and the short length of the book were the negative points for me. I somehow felt there might be more he could share but then again I guess this is his style, so if you are looking for a great piece of writing you've come to the wrong place. Its also not really an explanation of the cancer experience (I guess thats in the first volume). What it is a description of a man's life, what bothers him, what choices he has made and is making with cancer, his relationship to the disease and the sufferers he actively makes a point of meeting, how he manages to train every day of the year and have a family life (but not very sucessfully as he recently divorced Sheryl Crow- also a cancer sufferer), and his views on lots of issues like religion and even the Iraq war. There is also quite a lot of material which in summary are a dummies guide to how Lance keeps on winning the tour de france, as well as personal feedback on specific races or incidents such as the fall up the mountain in 2003. As a result I think if you are not a cycling or Tour de France fan you would be better off reading the cancer story. However if like me you wanted to get an insight into a sporting and personnal enigma then this is a good read and I couldn't put it down once I'd started.


This book enables even the most ignorant spectator of cycle racing and the Tour de France in particular to appreciate how much more is involved in this sport than the pedalling of the routes of France we see on television. The details Lance Armstrong provides brings both the race and the figures in the peleton to life.
However, much deeper than the insight into this famous race, is the appreciation the reader is able to experience of a very human man with very human failings but incredible strength of purpose and character. He leaves you with the determination to make all your own seconds count.

Amazing!
This book is truly inspirational and I love it! Heard it on audiobook and loved it so much i'm buying the book!

It's Not About the Bike: My Journney Back to Life
An excellent book, well written and gives a very open and honest insight into what only can be said is someone who clearly is a great sportsman with a very special talent.