Put Me Back on My Bike: Review

Winter's here.  And while that means more trainer miles and less road time, it also means more time to catch up on reading.  I just finished Fotheringham's exploration of the life of British cyclist Tom Simpson, Put Me Back on My Bike: In Search of Tom Simpson.  Simpson, infamous for his death on Mt Ventoux during the 1967 Tour de France, is somewhat of an enigma to this younger American cyclist, so I was happy to find out more.

The author never met Simpson, but pieces together the details of his life through interviews with former teammates, friends, his wife and business partners.  A rider that is now, in retrospect, seen as a warning against doping in professional cycling, Fotheringham paints a more complex portrait of a competitor driven to use amphetamines by not only his ambition to be the best, but also by the cold realities of professional cycling in the 60's for someone trying to break into the European peloton and maintain a foothold.  Despite having won the World Championship the previous year, Simpson was being pushed by his agent to podium at the Tour and was facing the loss of lucrative post-Tour contracts if he didn't achieve a podium finish. 

Highpoints include: a poignant interview with the Tour doctor who is seen in many photos of the moment attempting to revive Simpson as he lies prone on the roadside;  a chat with the Belgian bar owner who was a business partner with Simpson and now owner of an overgrown piece of land that was to be a housing development; and an interview with his widow, who married one of Simpson's teammates, Barry Hoban, soon after his death.

Though the book has some faults (information is repeated verbatim in subsequent chapters), it was an informative look into the life of one of cycling's icons and the first Anglo to break into the ranks of the highest level of the sport.