Supergrandpa, sixty-six-year-old Gustaf Hakansson, loves to ride his bicycle. Over his regular breakfast of sour milk and lingonberries, he reads about an upcoming bicycle race, the Tour of Sweden. It is over 1,000 miles long and will take several days to complete. His family tells him that he is too old to ride and that he will "keel over." Even the bicycle race's judges think Gustaf is too old and will not let him enter the race. But Gustaf is determined.

Author, David Schwartz, and illustrator, Bert Dodson, bring the true story of Gustaf Hakansson to life. Schwartz takes some liberties with the story’s details, but he includes Swedish phrases and words to enhance the setting. Dodson impeccably portrays the Swedish landscape and style of clothing worn by spectators and cyclists.

Gustaf’s adventure will inspire cyclists and non-cyclists to look beyond stereotypes and to follow one’s dreams. 

Mont Ventoux, l’Alpe d’Huez, Col d’Aubisque, Col d'Izoard, Col du Tourmalet are just a few of the most infamous Tour de France climbs. The Tour de France favorites rise to the occasion hammering the uphills, measuring each other’s fitness and occasionally attempting to breakaway for a stage win. While the overall general classification Tour winner is most often determined in the alpine landscape, there are additional competitions within the Tour de France.

The San Jose Public Library has a collection of Tour de France media including books and DVDs. Inside the Tour de France : The Pictures, the Legends, and the Untold Stories of the World's Most Beloved Bicycle Race is a compendium of stories and photographs of the legends of the Tour de France. It was published in 2006 and includes Lance Armstrong’s historic seventh win.

The Official Tour de France Centennial, 1903-2003 celebrates 100 years of the world’s most famous bike race. It contains photographs and anecdotes from the Tour de France archives and was produced in connection with L’Equipe, France’s daily sports newspaper and originator of the Tour.

Another title in the Library’s collection is Tour de France/Tour de Force: A Visual History of the World’s Greatest Bicycle Race. This book features hundreds of photographs and tells the tale of the Tour dating back to its beginnings. There are illustrations of the evolution of the Tour de France bicycle, chapters on race strategies, race results dating back to 1903 and a section on the Tour’s unfortunate link to the use of performance enhancing drugs.

Check out more Tour de France titles at the San Jose Public Library. 

If you are considering bicycle touring…do it!

If you are considering bicycle touring in France…do it!

Check out some of these titles to whet your appetite.

Graham Watson’s Tour de France Travel Guide draws from his more than 30 years experience photographing the Tour and highlights the culinary delights of the various regions the Tour passes through. Whether traveling by bicycle or automobile, Watson’s book conveys the experience of following the Tour and acts as a guidebook to the best foods, wines and lodging. It is a quick read and full of Watson’s gorgeous photography.

Another book to help organize your bicycle tour in France is Lonely Planet’s Cycling France. It contains over 6000 kilometers of suggested routes and information relevant to cyclists. France is full of back roads, back back roads and back back back roads and they are all wonderful to cycle. Lonely Planet highlights breathtaking scenery while including information about campgrounds, food stores, tourist information and more.

British author, Tim Moore’s French Revolutions comically details his three week escapade cycling the 2000 Tour de France route several weeks prior to the beginning of the race. Moore morphs from being a near couch potato to donning a cycling kit and eventually cycling up the most challenging climbs the Tour de France has to offer (i.e. Mt Ventoux). His witty writing style has been compared to authors Calvin Trillin, Tony Hawks and Bill Bryson.

If you like Antiques Roadshow then you will love the History Channel's very own reality show American Pickers ! Two entrepeneurial vagabondsjourney around America hoping to find antiques for profit!   Check it out or Reserve it!