3 book tips for bike fans: Crime thriller, bikepacking and a life in the saddle
MYBIKE Online
· 17.05.2024
Cycling in the milieu
Cologne-based author Manfred Theisen sets his latest crime novel in the very neighbourhood from which a good half of the MYBIKE editorial team hails: Cologne-Ehrenfeld. The characters are partly blueprints of the Cologne way of life, partly real people from public life. The proximity to the real goings-on in the cathedral city brings the scenery to life even for non-Cologne residents, and you automatically start to read the literal speech in Rhenish singsong, even if you can't do it. The events and incidents that make the book a crime thriller range from amusingly crazy to brutally criminal, sometimes even absurd, a mafia thriller with bizarre dark-grey humour.
Those who are deeply religious may not enjoy some of the gags quite as much. Cycling fans will enjoy it all the more, as some of the storylines are set against the backdrop of the cycling scene. For example, the Tour de France mountain jersey sensationally won by sprinter Marcel Wüst in the real year 2000 connects some of the locations and main characters. "The Godfather of Ehrenfeld and the Cardinal in the Tub" was published on 10 April.
256 pages | 15,00 Euro | ISBN 978-3-8392-0582-2 | Gmeiner Verlag
Work-life balance on the bike
At the end of December 2023, Gunnar Fehlau, bike rider and head of "Pressedienst Fahrrad", completed his one-year workpacking tour: he spent 353 days travelling across Germany and in some cases neighbouring countries with his mobile office: cargo bike, tent and full social media equipment such as laptop, cameras etc. - work and adventure all in one. If you believe the well-known industry insider, who sometimes reported on his experiences in real time, the 13,500 kilometres of 2024 were quite something.
He attended significantly more appointments than in previous years - from trade fair visits and lectures to visits to friends and business partners. Otherwise, he worked outdoors or in a tent. His bedroom was also outside on 220 days. Ingenious or eccentric? Gunnar showed us what is possible today in terms of work-life balance and cargo bikes.
The book about Gunnar's workpacking year will be published shortly.
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Cycling as a way of life
A lifetime spent travelling by bike - crazy? Heinz Stücke did it, travelling more or less non-stop for 51 years. He set off into the world from Bielefeld in Westphalia when he was 22, but at the age of 73 he slowly found it appropriate to settle down and returned. He travelled almost 650,000 kilometres, and you can imagine the number of adventures you have when you travel the world almost exclusively by bike.
The publicist Carina Wolfram had long conversations with the pieces and wrote a book about the globetrotter's inner views - not about all his adventures, as that would have been too thick: The book "Nur noch kurz die Welt sehen" is illustrated with many fascinating photos from all parts of the world. It deals with topics that defined the travel experience for Heinz Stücke, keywords: wanderlust, the destination in sight, dangers, arriving, nights, being alone ... What is it like for this traveller? And what does it do to us when we read it?
No wonder Netflix filmed aspects of this exciting life in 2022. The book is available from Delius Klasing-Verlag for 24.90 euros (digital edition: 19.99 euros). And can be ordered right here.
