Bobke II

Some of the negative reviewers are disappointed by this book because it doesn't really explain bike racing. They're right, but they're also missing the point. This book is about Bobke, not bike racing. As such, it's very much worth reading.Many books about cycling seem based on the idea that the riders are lonely, obsessed heroes who are willing to die face down on a peak in the Alps for a moment of glory. Or, alternately, they're doped up cyborgs who are willing to die face down for a pile of money.While there probably are some examples of both stereotypes, the reality is that, as Bob Roll points out, in Europe, most professional cyclists are working class guys. And so is Bob Roll. That's what makes this book so interesting to me-- and maybe why it disappoints some other reviewers.Roll is a real oddball as a professional cyclist. (And I don't mean his off-the-wall irreverence, though that is the 800-pound gorilla in the room whenever Roll is present.) Roll's oddness as a professional is that he enjoyed a long career near the top of the road racing and mountain biking worlds, yet he was a thoroughly unexceptional rider. He wasn't really fast, he wasn't a great climber, and he certainly wasn't a great tactical mind. However, he was as tough as a $2 steak. Throughout his career he was willing-- and able-- to race with a nearly maniacal focus on helping his team win. He was relentless, to the point of making his competitors believe that he would ride through walls if need be to beat them. And maybe he would have done just that; who really knows?In this book, Roll takes us with him as he toils deep in the peloton, as he crashes in horrendous piles of screaming riders, as he pauses to throw up on a French farmer's front lawn, as he goes on fanatical ten-hour training rides with Lance Armstrong or alone in the snow on closed highways in the Rockies. These things, and not the races themselves, are what professional cycling is like for a real-world, working-class guy with a relentless work ethic and a boundless love for cycling.I'm not sure I'd enjoy being with Bobke on a long car ride, and I most definitely wouldn't want to be trapped in a stalled elevator with him, but I really enjoyed this book. If a regular guy can do an international sport at a high level, Roll is that guy. Read this book, and you'll probably never look at bike racing and the men who do it in quite the same way ever again.This book isn't really about bike racing. It's about Bob Roll-- Bobke-- a true American original.

Out of all the books about professional cycling, Bobke II is probably the one I read most carefully because it contains such an onslaught of stream of consciousness writing, that I dared not skip a single word lest I miss something that actually made sense. If that seems like a criticism, it really isn't. I found that after a while, I was actually thinking the way Bob wrote. Scary. Still, the hilarity that often ensues with each new chapter makes the whole venture worth while. Read it, and you'll see. There are nuggets in here that you will be quoting to your friends on your next group ride. And, since you cannot do them justice, your friends will get very tired of hearing about them. The Bob Roll we know from race television is nothing like the Bobke who unleashes himself upon each page in this book. Good thing, too, or else the censors would be yanking their hair out in large bunches.

I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who has even the slightest of interest in competetive cycling/endurance events. I've always enjoyed Bobke's unique commentary on OLN, especially during the Tour. Bobke II takes the whole thing up a notch as Bobke reflects on a truly inspirational cycling career. Its great to hear what the Tour de France really feels like when you are just trying to hang in there to the end. And of course Bobke's colorful and diverse vocabulary makes it all the more enjoyable, even when we need to use his end-of-chapter glossary to decipher what nickname belongs to who. I especially enjoyed the chapter about Bobke's training camp with Lance Armstrong, in which we hear what its like for an accomplished pro rider (Bobke) to try to keep up with super-human Armstrong. Look forward to reading more of Bobke's zany ruminations. By the way, anyone ever see a copy of Bobke I??

I didn't expect thet Bobke II was a compiliation of diary entries made by Bob, during his cycling career, and a story or two that followed each. It was an entertaining book, even though the writing format was different. Reading about Bob's adventures in traveling the world as a pro cyclist was interesting and reading about some of his intetactions with the other pros he raced with and against, including Lance and Greg Lemond, was revealing. I would recomment this book to anyone who is interested in cycling, and the past of bike racing, and someone looking for a light read-" no worries".

Bob Roll is one of the funniest ex-pro athletes I've come across. He commentary during the Tour de France is usually right on the mark and having been on several pro cycling teams, he knows his way around. This is not a prima donna cyclist writing a memoir of how wonderful he was. No, Bob Roll was one of the grunts in the pack that do the hard work day in and day out with little or no glory. This book is from a selection of magazine articles for a cycling magazine and much of the reading is laugh out loud hilarious. Bob Roll is an american cycling treasure.

Bobke II is for serious fans of cycling, and probably those that also cycle themselves. There are very few pro riders out there who write about what it's like to live eat and breathe bike racing, especially in the 80's and 9o's -- before Lance made it so big. Yes, it's often Bob's diary entries, and they can be random, but it's better than anything else out there.For some reason Bobke's first book is going for between $300 and $400 on the used books sites. This book contains all the material from his first book -- and the second half is all new.A cyclist who can write, and be funny? That's rare. So is Bobke.

Loved it

Bobke stories are a hoot! Bravo. Hope to see more from BR.Now it's time to get on the bike...