A Dog in a Hat: An American Bike Racer's Story of Mud, Drugs, Blood, Betrayal, and Beauty in Belgium

I thought it was a great read, it gave a realistic view of life as a professional cyclist, shared some interesting anecdotes about fellow professionals, and compared life as a cyclist in US of A and Europe. Full of humour,fact and interest.

If you want insight into day in day out real world professional cycling. It took real guts for a kid just out of high school to leave home, head off Belgium to become a professional cyclist. Joe Parkin did that and now has written I great book about his experiences. Not everyone can be a Lance Armstrong, Bernard Hinault or Greg LeMond but the thrill of striving to competitive at almost that level, while knowing you never will, is the real courage of professional riders like Joe. Joe started his pro career in the country of the greatest cyclist of the 20th Century Eddie Merckx riding Kermis races.The highlight of Joe's European pro career was helping his teammate Luc Roosen win the Tour de Suisse (Tour of Switzerland). His descriptions of riding in those Swiss mountain stages were agonizing read. By the way Joe Parkin can write. I thoroughly enjoyed this book both as a great read and for its insight into a sport I am learning to love.

Great read ! Any cyclist who races or enjoys watching bike racing will love this book. If Bob Roll gives it thumbs up, you know it's cool. Live Better Ride More :)

As someone who came into cycling in the era when Parkin was a Euro-pro (mid 1980's), I totally love this book! It captures the passion I felt for a sport at a time when it was just starting to register on the American consciousness via such riders as Greg LeMond and the boys of the 7-11 team. In the 1980's, I think every cyclist wanted to make the jump over the pond; very few actually had the guts to try on their own. It leaves no doubt as to the difficulty of pro cycling in Europe, and in particular, the difficulty for someone from a traditionally non-cycling nation faces in order to be successful. It paints an honest portrait of what it takes to succeed in the world's hardest sport. My only regret in reading this book was that it wasn't about 200 pages longer - I couldn't get enough!

Bicycle racing has enough self imploding drama as it is, and Joe Parkin's book lays it down firsthand as it was for him in the European professional world. He could have gone the Midshipman route, climbed the greased obelisk, and tossed his hat in the air at graduation? Instead, he went to a place where they use different languages, had to get and maintain a sponsorship, and be able to ride a bicycle at the pro level. It is interesting that several readers have commented on foreign language phrases inserted. I am sure that in international competition, that many athletes are not native US English speakers? Part of the experience maybe?

This book also assumes knowledge of cycle racing terminology and history. I don't feel it is Joe Parkin's job to footnote what happened to Greg Lemond. That information is part of the backdrop history. (As an aside, why did Coppi wear those sunglasses anyway?)

This quote from Samuel Abt's book "In High Gear" pretty much captures the "try it and see" truth of Joe Parkin's experience:

"It took some time before I understood that I would never win the Tour De France, never wear the yellow jersey into Paris. Then I lowered my hopes a notch, I said to myself, 'If you can just wear the yellow jersey at least once.' And I dreamed of that for the 13 years I was a racer.

That's what I'm trying to teach my riders. At the age of 20, if one of them told me that he didn't dream of wearing the yellow jersey, I'd tell him to find another job, quickly. You shouldn't become a professional racer at that age just to put yourself immediately at the service of others."

-Bernard Vallet, manager of the RMO team and one of the tens of thousands of riders who never wore the yellow jersey, even once, in the Tour de France

I will keep my interest in sports at the participation and hobby level. Where I can back off or quit and only have to justify it to myself. Professional cycling can be dangerous and crashes horrific, as with Roger Rivière, Eddy Merckx, Fabio Casartelli, etc.?

Joe maybe went out of it OK, he seemed to get burned out on the sponsorship politics at the end?