A Dog In A Hat

Product Description

”A Dog in a Hat” is the remarkable story of Joe Parkin. In 1987, Parkin left the comforts of home to become a bike racer in Belgium, the hardest place in the world to be a bike racer. As one of the first American pros in Europe, Parkin was what the Belgians call “a dog with a hat on” — something familiar, yet decidedly out of place. Parkin`s memoir reads like a novel. In plainspoken & fast-paced prose, Parkin describes the true life of the professional bike racer, putting the reader into the whirlwind of this hardest of athletic educations. ”A Dog in a Hat” begins with Parkin`s terrifying first visit to his team doctor, where he is strapped to a table & monitored by humming electrodes as men in white lab coats coldly divine his future as a pro. Parkin`s story is honest. ”A Dog in a Hat” celebrates the glory of bike racing, but Parkin thrillingly tells the hard reality of the life—the drugs, the payoffs, the betrayals by teammates, the battles with team owners for contracts & money, the endless promises that keep you going, & the rider`s sheer physical agony of racing day after day. Despite the pain, despite the suffering, ”A Dog in a Hat” is a beautiful book. It is one American’s story of his love affair with professional cycling, set in the hardest place in the world to be a bike racer. It is a story untold until now, & one that Parkin’s readers will never forget.