Living outdoors during the summer months is the perfect opportunity to cultivate your passions: if, like us, you love bicycle literature, here are some perfect tips for the hottest season of the year. Today we have compiled our personal ranking of the 5 books on cycle tourism that are worth reading at least once in a lifetime: are you ready to discover them?

5 books to read about the bicycle

In recent years, more and more people have decided to tell their experiences of traveling by bike, showing a great love for everything that concerns nature and the authenticity of a slower and more conscious way of traveling. There are also more technical books, useful for supporting bike enthusiasts, or philosophical ones, perfect for stimulating a reflection on everything that concerns departure and contact with other cultures.

"Around the world by bicycle. The extraordinary adventure of a woman conquering freedom", tells the true story of Annie - photo by Voglio Vivere Così Magazine

Bicycle literature offers a very wide range of books to read and we have selected 5 for you:

1. "The beauty of the bicycle", written by Marc Augé, is a book that interprets the bicycle as a symbol of reconstruction and the rebirth of society in the post-war period and a current tool for equality and the knowledge of other cultures. In this way, spaces are transformed and take on new life, allowing unforgettable adventures to be lived;
2. "Around the world by bicycle. The extraordinary adventure of a woman conquering freedom", written by Peter Zheutlin, tells the true story of Annie. Latvian Jewish mother emigrated to the United States, she is a girl who decides to stand up when someone challenges her, saying that "no woman can be capable of completing a tour around the world in fifteen months". So she decides to start from Boston by bicycle to complete the tour around the world by bike. From China to Paris, passing through Jerusalem and Singapore, after many adventures and difficulties, she returns to the USA, where she is welcomed as a heroine and symbol of the fight for equal opportunities;
3. "Bicitherapy" by Mila Brollo is a fun and ironic book that tells the story of a 58-year-old psychiatrist, who describes herself as a little sick and overweight. She has type 2 diabetes and feels guilty for having neglected the well-being of her body throughout her life. So she decides to go on a solo trip from Gemona del Friuli to Lampedusa: this trip will prove to be genuine bicitherapy;
4. "Words on Pedals | 365 thoughts on a bike" was written by Alberto Fiorin and tells the daily life of Alberto, who never decided to get a driver's license, preferring the bicycle to the car. Of course, he has always traveled by bike and over the years has traveled thousands of kilometers on the two-wheeled pedaled, thus having the chance of seeing landscapes and places with different eyes, savoring that feeling of freedom typical of bike trips;
5. speaking of bicycle literature we cannot finally fail to mention "A beautiful bike that goes", which is a collection of over 20 stories written by authors, some very famous, who have come to express their thoughts on the two wheels. Everything starts from an idea: the bike is one of the few means that unites everyone. If you want to discover everything, but really everything, about this book, here is an in-depth article that we have published on our blog!