Chased by Pandas: My life in the mysterious world of cycling

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Each chapter’s title has a sub-title based on a typical cyclist’s fear: the fear of losing a race, the fear of retiring from the sport, the fear of mountains or downhills, the fear of doping and, ultimately, the fear of death. Martin may well be a 60-something kilo whippet, but he loves his food, and he loves talking about food. That’s something I can understand, and I feel like too many cycling books I’ve read seem to centre on the themes of either suffering or doping. As an autobiography this book can’t explore what others thought but this unwitting pioneer angle alone makes him an interesting rider whose career spanned plenty, starting with the old-fashioned way of making his way to a French amateur climb in the hope of attracting attention via results in Europe. Dan is unashamed when it comes to exposing these dark feelings, his weaknesses and how he tried to deal with them, his attitude exemplifying Mark Twain's quote: Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.

chased by pandas inrng : book review – chased by pandas

I’d lost my advantage because every cyclist now is told exactly what they’re doing and each team’s methodology is the same. Come down the travelators, exit Sainsbury's, turn right and follow the pedestrianised walkway to Crown Walk and turn right - and Coles will be right in front of you.In his free time, Dan wrote a monthly column in Europe's greatest cycling magazine, Procycling, over an unusually long period, from 2008 to 2021.

Chased by Pandas: My life in the mysterious world of cycling

He raced aggressively against Sky’s methodical black phalanx and “drove a wedge into the Tour’s seemingly impregnable force”.

He additionally deals with views that athletes should be ‘supermen’ who never complain, because they’re paid to ride their bikes.