ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book required input from many sources, but specific thanks are due to Ian Austen for providing advice and criticism, to Jo Burt for information on Mint Sauce, to Mark Cavendish for reminding me about “hairnets,” to Tim Clifford for giving me the run of his library and showing me his Victorian dog pistol, to Jeff Cloves for advice on poetry and for kindly allowing me to print two of his works, to Luke Edwardes-Evans for the loan of his dissertation on the National Clarion movement, to Richard Hallett for advice on equipment, to Peg Jarvis for agreeing to be interviewed about art and cycling, to Matt Parker for reminding me about soigneurs, to Heiko Salzwedel for providing information on East German cycling, to movingtargetzine for answering questions about cycle couriers, and to Jim Varnish for additional information on cycle speedway.
At Yellow Jersey I remain indebted to Matt Phillips for his patience in overseeing a large, complex project of this kind, and thanks are also due to my sports editor at the
Guardian
, Ian Prior, and my agent, John Pawsey, for their continuing support. Further thanks are due to Christopher Gove at Telegramme Studio for his superb illustrations and Rich Carr for his immaculate text design.
As with previous books, however, the biggest debt is due to Caroline, Patrick, and Miranda for their tolerance in the face of my obsession with life on two wheels.
1
Figures from Benjo Maso,
Sweat of the Gods
, trans. Michael Horn, Mousehold Press, 2005