Riding in the Zone Rouge: The Tour of the Battlefields 1919 – Cycling's Toughest-Ever Stage Race

Present for my father .perfect gift.

This is a book of parts – a history of a cycle race held in 1919, quick recaps of WW1 battles, snippets of cycling history with glimpses of the people and iconic hills and roads in cycling races that mean so much to racers, as well disturbing descriptions of what the war left behind when the fighting stopped, a tour of quiet and reflective war grave cemeteries, and, finally, but by no means least, the author’s own retracing of the route. All these parts meld together beautifully to give a funny, informative and fascinating look at a forgotten piece of sports history, as well as provide a reader with a wealth of information about WW1, its aftermath, the destruction it wrought, the sport of cycling and one man’s desire to do right by those original riders of the race (who were quite possibly wildly insane but certainly over-medicated), in spite of what could only have been a demonically-possessed sat-nav. It is, in turns, shocking, eye-opening, bizarre, hilarious, captivating, sad, interesting, incredible and tragic. It is unlike anything I have read before – it is, quite simply, a gem.

Wanted to give this 8 stars. Not only for the extraordinary parallel stories of the race itself and Isitt's personal journey but for depth of historical research and education the author gives without drowning us in facts and figures. Isitt writes in a conversational, warm and totally engaging way which is a perfect vehicle to capture those awful years. I was left wanting to visit those places described that I had no idea still existed, book in hand. Absolutely inspirational.

Great story of World War I, the bike race itself, and the authors personal adventure.

The historical part of the book is fascinating and extraordinary. It brings a brutal and unique event to life vividly with well researched background to the race and astonishing descriptions of the conditions and landscapes the riders valiantly cycled through.The elements recounting Mr Isitt’s retracing of the route don’t have quite the same magic sadly. After a while his constant highlighting of all the difficulties he encountered and the endless “looking at everything so negatively” became a tad wearying... Particularly when one had just read how the original riders had toiled through such extraordinary circumstances.He’s obviously not a “count your blessings and not your grievances” kind of chap... But it’s easy enough to skip forward to the next historical section should you wish to