**Winner - Sweetspot Cycling Book of the Year** For 11 years I was a professional cyclist, competing in the hardest and greatest races on Earth. I was in demand from the world's best teams, a well-paid elite athlete. But I never won a race. I was the hired help. When my mum dropped me off in a small French town aged 17, I was full of determination to be a professional cyclist, but I was completely green. I went from mowing the team manager's lawn to winning every amateur race I entered. Then I turned pro and realised I hated the responsibility and pressure of chasing victory. And that's when I became a domestique. I learned to take that hurt and give it everything I had to give, all for someone else's win. When the order came in to ride I pushed out with the hardest rhythm I could, dragging the group faster and faster, until my whole body screamed with pain. There were times I rode myself to a standstill, clutching the barrier metres from the line, as the lead group shot past. But that's what made me a so good at my job. As my career took off, I started looking at the fans lining the route, cheering us like heroes. The passion for cycling oozed off them, but they couldn't know what it was really like. They didn't see the terrible hotels, the crazy egos or all the shit that goes with great expectations. Well, this is how it is...

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder - wisdom is in the mind. Partaking of either requires a good vantage point. These hilly vignettes were written to help you enjoy the climb. This book takes you places you can only discover by cycling up hills. Some hills are in the pretty part of New Jersey, a place few people imagine. Some are in France, Italy, Oregon and California. All these vignettes capture the enthusiasm of discovery, enjoying life, and cycling. Over the past six years, these vignettes were written to share some of the thoughts, tranquility and delight of cycling in beautiful places. Cycling up hills requires the right perspective and good conditioning. These hilly vignettes provide perspective. As a bonus, there are cycling routes that can take you on some of the prettiest roads you're likely to find.