Selwyn Parker: Chasing the Chimney Sweep

A joyride following the route of the original Tour de France cycle race of 1903 does not sound like a fascinating subject for a book. For a start, as writer and mad keen amateur cyclist Selwyn Parker points out on the first couple of pages, the route he and his mates took was not an exact replica of that first, even madder, bike ride.

But, as with many recent best-sellers, the alluring quality of this tale is that it shines the spotlight on a little-known slice of history. This time we learn about the rise of the two-wheeler bike in general, and endurance racing in particular.

Central to the plot is the first Tour de France. Parker weaves the story of that first, harrowing, race into the less exciting, yet ultimately more interesting bike ride enjoyed by him and his pals.

Readers might not know that the Tour de France was started by struggling newspaper editor, Henri Desgrange, to improve flagging sales; that competitors started some legs of the journey at 2am or earlier and rode through the night; that they peed through tubes (or in their pants) as they rode, and fixed their punctures with canvas and rubber melted over a candle; that they were disqualified if they accepted a sandwich, a drink of water, or any help at all following a crash.

Altogether only 21 of the 61 starters crossed the finish line after 19 days and/or nights in the saddle. The winner was the durable Maurice Garin, a chimney sweep before he turned to cycling, hence the book's title.

The problems endured by Parker and pals were mild by comparison. Their enemies were the "thundering convoys of trailer lorries" that roll along France's motorways, threatening to suck cyclists under their wheels. Which meant they were faced with finding their way through a labyrinth of minor roads.

By the finish, although they had traversed a quarter of the country at most compared to the much greater area covered by the original Tourists, Parker and co had pedalled only 300km less than the 2428km of the original route.

That, however, was quite enough for them and I think perhaps for the reader too, because you can get tired of yet another hassle to find a hotel and - incredibly, given that this is France - another pizza dinner.

Chasing the Chimney Sweep is like seeing France from the window of the TGV. It takes you to the backyards and byways. Instead of focusing, yet again, on French food and fashion it exposes the surprising grit that drives this crazed, cycle-obsessed nation.

* Published by Penguin, $29.95