Chased by Pandas, Dan Martin
Chased by Pandas, Dan Martin
List: $27.99 | Sale: $19.59
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Chased by Pandas
My life in the mysterious world of cycling

Author: Dan Martin

Narrator: Matthew Biddulph

Unabridged: 9 hr 16 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Quercus

Published: 10/13/2022


Synopsis

This is Dan Martin's long-awaited autobiography, full of 'the warmth, sharp insights and vivid colour of his 14-year career' (Guardian)

[Chased by Pandas] is not a conventional study of wins, losses and conquering mountains but overcoming the mental challenges of a sport into which he was seemingly born' - The Times

Known, thanks to his racing style and attitude, for being one of road cycling's last romantics, Dan has always shied away from revealing too much about himself and his story. Now, having retired at the end of the 2021 season aged 35 and no longer bound by the constraints of the racing circuit, Dan feels the time is right to tell his story in the same forthright and honest manner that he rode his bike.

This audiobook reflects Dan's generous and outspoken spirit, his resilience to pain, crashes, bad luck and, finally, his acceptance of destiny. 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. Dan also discusses every aspect of the professional cyclist's life - food, discipline, money, dreams, friendship and betrayal. 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".

Written with his long-time friend and best-selling author Pierre Carrey, this is the story of a rider who never sought to conform to modern cycling's norms and someone who, in many ways, embodies an age in cycling which has long since disappeared.

This is the celebration of a true cyclist's career, which will appeal to anyone who's embraced the weekend ride whilst dreaming of the mountains.

'Records the brave and tough journey of "one of road cycling's last romantics'" - Irish Independent

'Chronicles the former Irish road champion's journey through the ranks of professional cycling' - Cycling Weekly

(P) 2022 Quercus Editions Limited

About Dan Martin

Born in 1986 in Birmingham to an Irish mother and an English father, Dan Martin is the nephew of Irish cycling legend Stephen Roche.Dan's racing showed bravery and suffering in every way: his body couldn't lie. The good vibes he sent through the peloton were rewarded by a Most Aggressive Rider prize at the 2018 Tour de France, where he took his trophy on the final podium on the Champs-Elysées.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. He shared some of his views on a cyclist's life but his most significant stories and strong opinions have been held back for this book.Dan is a proud husband of Jess, a British long-distance runner who competed in the 2016 Olympics, in Rio, and a proud father of twin daughters, Ella and Daisy, born in September 2018.Retired from the pro peloton since the end of 2021, Dan is now an active investor in growth and start-up companies as a Partner of Rubix Ventures Inc. and he is building plans to keep a close eye on cycling, especially on young riders that he would like to guide, advise and share his positive energy.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Matt on December 16, 2024

I feel bad giving this great cyclist’s life 3 stars but the book was a bit run of the mill. I’ve read a few cyclist’s autobiographies in my time and each does give an insight into the profession and how they tackle it. Dan comes over as a good guy with a human side and an appetite beyond results. Th......more

Goodreads review by Stéphanie on August 05, 2024

That was a rather disjointed and flat narrative for what could have been a great subject. I hear Pierre Carrey was the ghostwriter and I enjoyed his history of the Giro d’Italia, but the writing here just never seems to rise above a long series of anecdotes. Still worth reading, but Martin deserved......more

Goodreads review by Matt on November 08, 2022

Some interesting insights and I especially liked how he vocalises the Tourmalet "talking" to him as he climbed it. Also some insight about Jonathan Vaughters and how he runs teams - not very well, by the sounds of it. Found the timeline jumps a bit confusing though (had to keep checking to see what......more

Goodreads review by Sandra on February 11, 2023

My rating for this book is lower than expected for two reasons. I found the structure made it difficult for me to know where I was in the timeline. I have not read a cycling biography structured by topic as opposed to riders progression through his career. This felt a bit disjointed to me and I could......more

Goodreads review by Phil on October 05, 2024

So firstly a disclaimer, I am a big fan of how Dan raced and always enjoyed his racing. I very much was very interested in reading his experiences and i found as an armchair viewer, that this was very eye opening to the life lived by the riders, away from the televised coverage. The candidness and ho......more


Quotes

[Chased by Pandas] is not a conventional study of wins, losses and conquering mountains but overcoming the mental challenges of a sport into which he was seemingly born The Times

Records the brave and tough journey of one of road cycling's last romantics Irish Independent

Chronicles the former Irish road champion's journey through the ranks of professional cycling Cycling Weekly

Full of the warmth, sharp insights and vivid colour of his 14-year career Guardian