Where There’s A Will: Hope, Grief and Endurance in a Cycle Race Across a Contine

Emily Chappell

A London cycle courier with a taste for adventure, Emily Chappell entered an extraordinary new race – The Transcontinental – in which riders must find their own way, entirely unassisted, across Europe in the shortest time possible. On her second attempt, she won the women’s event, covering nearly 4000 miles in 13 days and ten hours, sleeping in short bursts wherever exhaustion took her. In the aftermath of a win that troubled as much as pleased her she worked with Mike Hall, the founder of the race, until his tragic death on the road. ‘Where There’s a Will’ is a book about a normal person finding the capacity to do something extraordinary; the paradoxes of comradeship, competition, vulnerability and will and the shock of grief, combined in a beautifully written and very human story.

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SKU: 9781788161527

Description

Shortlisted for the Wales Book of the Year Non-Fiction Award 2020’Chappell is a gifted storyteller’ – ObserverIn 2015 Emily Chappell embarked on a formidable new bike race: The Transcontinental. 4,000km across Europe, unassisted, in the shortest time possible.On her first attempt she made it only halfway, waking up suddenly on her back in a field, floored by the physical and mental exertion.A year later she entered the race again – and won.Where There’s a Will takes us into Emily Chappell’s race, grinding up mountain passes and charging down the other side; snatching twenty minutes’ sleep on the outskirts of a village before jumping back on the bike to surge ahead for another day; feeding in bursts and navigating on the go. We experience the crippling self-doubt of the ultra distance racer, the confusing intensity of winning and the desperation of losing a dear friend who understood all of this.

Additional information

Weight 0.22 kg
Dimensions 19.6 × 12.8 × 2.4 cm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Paperback

Pages

288

Language

English

Edition
Dewey

796.6092 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K