Pedalare! Pedalare! by John Foot is a comprehensive history of bike racing in Italy, and by extension a history of bike racing the world over, as Italians dominated the sport for much of the bicycle's history.
Modern Italy went from a medieval state to a world power with an advanced industrial base and relatively stable political institutions in a couple generations, owing in part to the terraforming power of the bicycle. John Foot explores this country-by-way-of-machine dynamic with academic rigor, examining the occasions when Italy experienced its greatest upheavals, and showing how bike racing played a part. The reference section is longer than most bestselling novels, and much of it covers rare first-person accounts as well as century-old newspapers, Fascist government histories, Catholic pamphlets made by anarchist printers, and death-bed interviews. Through these and other sources Foot's narrative shows how Italian peasants became, for the first time in thousands of years, mobile. And through that mobility and the unique lens of Italian culture a competitiveness came to dominate the psychology of Italians, which spread across a countryside that is, in many ways, perfect for creating bike racers. The bicycle came to symbolize progress, as it connected the rural farmers, many of whom hadn't changed their daily habits since ancient times, with industry and allowed not just physical movement, but access to mechanical experience, recreation, jobs outside their home villa - and most importantly for this book, a chance for the lucky few to be noticed on an international stage for their riding prowess.
Back-stories are covered as well, and regular readers of this blog might be surprised to learn that I wholesale ripped-off sections of this book to enhance my little posts and essays. Figures like Ottavio Bottecchia, Italy's first Tour de France winner and avowed anti-fascist, is seen not just for the symbolism of his death at the side of the road, but for his on-road exploits, as told by newspaper writers and the letters of local politicians, supporters, and enemies. Well known histories are explored as well, including the fashionable and secular Fausto Coppi versus the traditional Gino Bartali saga and what it meant to a post-war Italy struggling with its identity.
The book focuses largely on individuals and events - things that have a written, traceable history. Technology and the history of the bicycle itself are mostly ignored, as are the stories of changing infrastructure, city design, and road advancements. While men represent most of the histories presented, Foot does include the perspectives of women, most notably when describing the feats of Alfonsina Strada, the first and only woman to finish the Giro d'Italia. I'll talk about her more in some future post, and I'll make sure to steal heartily from Pedalare! Pedalare!
The casual cycling reader might be dissuaded by the size of the book. It takes a bit of shimmying to get it to fit on the bookshelf and cheaper coffee tables might bow a little under it. But considering the breadth of the subjects covered its fair to think of Pedalare! Pedalare! as a couple books smashed together for greater efficiency. Indeed, I did not read it from page one to page four-hundred. Instead I jumped around to what interests me, and I didn't miss out at all by doing so.
For a bike racing history obsessive, this book is a must-read. Even the less-dedicated will probably enjoy it, as the writing is lively and features a few clever opinions from the author that instill a sense of humanity that's often lost in the traditional retelling of history.
Pedalare! Pedalare! is a hard book to find at a reasonable price. As of this writing, Amazon has it for $30, but if you can find it at a local used book store it's worth the cost.
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