Land of Second Chances: The Impossible Rise of Rwanda's Cycling Team

by Tim Lewis

Hailed as "the sports book of the year," Land of Second Chances is the inspiring true story of four men who found a new hope for Rwanda. Meet Adrien Niyonshuti, Tom Ritchey, Jonathan Boyer, and Paul Kagame. In a land clamoring for heroes, they confront impossible odds as they struggle to put an upstart cycling team on the map--and find redemption in the eyes of the world. Land of Second Chances is an inspirational story of hope and victory for Africa. Though Rwanda is a tiny, landlocked country dropped like a pebble on the equator, it is a lush and beautiful land fertile with hope and searching for a new identity. So when its best young bike racer, Adrien Niyonshuti, becomes obsessed with earning a slot to compete in the London Olympic Games, all eyes turn to him. Supporting Adrien is his coach, Jonathan Boyer, the first American to race in the Tour de France. Also Tom Ritchey, an inventor of the mountain bike who comes to Rwanda with money and a vision to help coffee farmers raise their standard of living with a new breed of bike. And there is Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda, a man piecing together an egalitarian future for his country but who is all too susceptible to the corruption of power. Land of Second Chances is the incredible true story of struggle, hope, and the life-giving promise of redemption through the unifying power of sport. " Land of Second Chances is a tale that quite brilliantly portrays the power of sport to effect change. Superb, a must-read." -- Huffington Post "Lewis is a reporter of rare skill and he writes with wit and verve. Land of Second Chances is" ¦the sports book of the year by a backcountry mile." -- Esquire UK "The best sports book of the year." -- Podium Cafà © "Tim Lewis's fascinating story of Rwandan cycling isn't a typical rags to riches, triumph against adversity tale" ¦ This is also a story about the potential of African cycling and its undoubted capacity to change lives." -- The Guardian " Land of Second Chances transcends most sports books." -- Boston Globe "Well sourced, with encyclopedic references to those in the cycling world, Land of Second Chances is set on the cusp of an extraordinary moment in the sport, with Africa poised to start producing contenders." -- Booklist of the American Library Association "Lewis places cycling at the heart of Rwanda's changing fortunes by stitching together various stories and providing excellent, cogent synopses of the political and social history of the country" ¦[An] intelligent, thoughtful social history" ¦" -- Library Journal Books for Dudes "Team Rwanda's story could have been edited into an uplifting tale of unlikely success, with Niyonshuti's Olympic appearance as the rousing finale. Instead this is a more complicated, darker, account." -- Financial Times

Genres: Cycling, Nonfiction, Sports, Africa, Rwanda, Biography, History

276 pages, Hardcover

First published July 23, 2013

About the author

Tim Lewis is a feature writer at the Observer and contributing editor of British Esquire. A winner of Vogue's Talent Award, he has previously been editor of the Observer Magazine, Observer Sport Monthly and the Independent's Sunday Review. He won the New Writer of the Year at the British Sports Book Awards 2014 for his first book, Land of Second Chances. He also won Writer of the Year at the PPA Awards 2014 for his work for Esquire. He is based in London.

Reviews

[Caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book a bit of a so-so read. It seemed to rather jump around all over the place.

For me it's biggest merit was that it showed the some of the challenges that African athletes have to overcome in order to take place in competitions on the world stage. I used to have some naive idea about 'natural athletes' - but this book disabuses that notion. Sophisticated training, a fantastic level of commitment, and money for top of the range equipment are just as important as natural talent. You can't just pluck someone off a hillside and into the Olympics. Or perhaps that was just my extreme ignorance and prejudice in thinking that maybe you could.

I looked at other reviews here on GR. Several were fairly critical, and suggested that instead of reading the book, one should read an excellent article on the subject by Philip Gourevitch. I found a piece by him in the New Yorker. So, if you want to find out more about the subject, here is an article dealing with some of the main members of the cycling team, and their trainer, Jock Boyer. It is a very good article, and it is long. So you get an excellent picture of the team's trials, aspirations and achievements, and the backdrop against which these take place.

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/201...

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love the title of this book, everyone always roots for second chances and in the case of Rwanda even more so. The genocide that devastated their country is only a few decades in the past but Rwanda is using a sport, like Mandela did in South Africa, to unify his people and to further the progress that the country has already made. I found this fact very interesting, so many men were killed during the genocide that the country now has a Parliament where women hold the majority.

I learned so much about the history of this country, although at times I found the huge cast of characters somewhat confusing. In many South African countries, the youth look forward to earning their first bicycle, not their first car as in so many countries. Loved the stories in this book, but the history of cycling and how the bikes were made were only of secondary interest. Sometime I felt overwhelmed by all these details

One cannot help pulling and wishing the best for this country., Loved meeting Adrian and found his visit to America and its inherent culture shock very enlightening. They still have a way to go as a country but they are certainly on the right path. I can only wish this beautiful country and its people good things, they deserve it and I applaud all the effort they put into defying the odds.

[Briana Gervat · Rating 1 out of 5]

Twenty years ago the stories that emerged from Rwanda were tales of death, destruction, suffering and survival. Today, new stories are beginning to unfold and they tell of reconciliation, redemption, forgiveness and hope. One such story of hope that focuses on the present rather than dwelling on the past is the story of the creation of Rwanda’s first national cycling team in the years following the genocide. But it is a story that must be told well for it is a story that has come to represent not only the hopeful future of Rwanda, but also perhaps the athletic dreams of the entire African continent.

Unfortunately, the story set down by British journalist Tim Lewis fails to capture the true essence of what the creation of this cycling team means to both its riders and Rwanda. At turns plagiaristic, assumptive, and culturally biased, Land of Second Chances is often a misrepresentation of Team Rwanda and its creator. Mr. Lewis’ portrayal of both Jonathan “Jock” Boyer and Kimberly Coats reveals just how little time he spent with the couple. For if he invested the time necessary to write a more accurate biography, he would have seen the dedication, passion and commitment that this couple has for their team and he would also be aware of their continuous presence in Rwanda.

Any interesting points that are made by Lewis, of which there are but few, are made with the attentiveness of a goldfish with thoughts being dropped almost as quickly as they were picked up. Page after page it becomes increasingly evident that Lewis lacks the conviction of a true journalist who believes in the importance of seeing things through. As someone who has thoroughly researched and written about Rwanda for my Master’s thesis as well as traveled to Rwanda after completing graduate school, what I personally found the most insulting was Mr. Lewis’ suggestion that “no one comes to Rwanda who has anything going right in their lives,” for during my travels in this land of one thousand hills I was lucky enough to encounter some of the brightest, highly driven, intelligent, and grounded individuals that I have ever met in my life.

Since Mr. Lewis was so inclined to share his opinion in his book, I too, will share mine. While it may be true that Rwanda is the land of second chances I cannot say with certainty that this book is even deserving of a first.

For those looking for a more accurate account of Team Rwanda, I recommend reading the article "Rwanda's Cycling Team" by Philip Gourevitch and viewing the recently released film "Rising from Ashes."

[Kimberly · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's always interesting to read about yourself in articles and books and I have learned you really can't believe what you read as most things written about the Team over the years have been tinged with varying levels of inaccuracy. The single article which hit all of us spot on and was 100% truthful, was Philip Gourevitch's article for the New Yorker, Climbers in July of 2011. Sentences from my blog are also lifted without credit.

Tim Lewis's book, although an interesting, quick read, contains significant errors. The most damaging error to our reputation and partnership with the Rwandan Cycling Federation is at the end of the book where he states Jonathan "Jock" Boyer left Rwanda and moved to Ethiopia. I type this from my desk at the Team Rwanda house in Musanze, we are in the middle of our four week training camp run up to the Tour of Rwanda. Jock is still the Technical Director of Team Rwanda and he is fielding three teams in this year's Tour of Rwanda from November 17-24th.....and I am still the "enforcer".

Mr. Lewis did not interview Jock or the team after 2010. Most of his information on the team and our work came through third parties. He did interview Adrien from time to time but even that was quite limited. The portrayal of some of us is simply his take on personalities witnessed after only an interview or two or no interviews at all. It is his prerogative as a writer to add his personal take on who we are, however, he did not get to know us, who we are and what we do. It's simply one man's opinion.

If he had written for accuracy I would have given this book a higher rating. Make no mistake, Tim Lewis's version of Team Rwanda is not, for the most part, the real Team Rwanda.

In the end, Mr. Lewis simply capitalized on the timing of our documentary, Rising From Ashes, without any offer of compensation or even a donation to Adrien or the Team. Mr. Lewis is making money off the backs of our work in Rwanda with zero regard to our constant fragile financial state keeping this team and our work afloat.

Kimberly Coats

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This could have been just a simple inspirational tale of Rwandan genocide survivors who against all odds become professional cyclists. Instead, Tim Lewis brings us a deeply compelling and engrossing account of Rwanda both past and present, of sport as a catalyst for change, and of the complexities of western involvement in Africa

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible story and told with deep insight and empathy. It’s both recent history or Rwanda and a tale of how bicycles change lives. My few Goodreads followers (you know who you are) will know my interest in all things bikes. Well this is an uplifting story of Rwandans who survive the genocide and, through the passion of people looking for redemption, become continental and in one case global cycling superstars. I do vaguely remember the noise around Adrien taking part in the 2012 Olympic mountain biking. Tim Lewis gets underneath the story although he never completely comes to terms with the underlying psychology of the protagonists. The story was of particular interest to me giving it featured a good friend and bike team owner, Doug Ryder. Great book.

[Sam Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book. Less about cycling, more about a nation healing from Civil War.
But…. can’t get around the fact they tried giving the coach (a convicted r*pist) a redemption arc.

[Douglas Lord · Rating 4 out of 5]

Those who can stomach reading some awful details of the civil war (1990–1993) that, unfortunately, defines Rwanda will be rewarded with an interesting, unlikely cheerful story of hope for a country that sorely needs it. Though the narrative skips around among various focal characters (e.g., Olympian Adrien Niyonshuti), Lewis places cycling at the heart of Rwanda’s changing fortunes by stitching together various stories and providing excellent, cogent synopses of the political and social history of the country. Bikes dominate commerce in Rwanda; they can alternately serve as a means of recreation, status symbols,and,most importantly, provide economical transport for the country’s agricultural workers.When cycling legend and bike designer Tom Ritchey (see homage here) visited in 2005, he was looking to press “restart” on his life. Inspired by tchukudus—Rwanda’s rudimentary, wooden “no-tech pickup trucks”—Ritchey came up with an affordable, reliable bicycle-esque vehicle to help farmers and transporters get their massive cargoes from place to place effectively. The vehicle could support “…at least 150 kilos—two bags of coffee cherries, two adult goats or three children—and probably much more.” VERDICT Lewis’s intelligent, thoughtful social history can seem a little scattershot, but its tone of hope and cast of optimistic people (e.g., “we have built a mechanism to cope with the situation,” says one) doing their best to move society forward makes this a winner.

Find this review and others at Books for Dudes, the online reader's advisory column for men from Library Journal: see http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/cat.... Copyright Library Journal.

[Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book - first understanding better the genocide in Rwanda. Then reading about a couple of different Americans - who due to their own life's turmoils - ended up in Rwanda - and believing they could have a positive impact on a population. There are a lot of individual stories with positive results - incredible stories of strength and determination but also makes you realize not everyone wants to have or be like us and also that it is not easy to change cultures and believes. I got a bit confused with the writing - he seemed to jump around in time too much for me to really follow. Also got bogged down in a lot of details, dates

I read about this book in a Globe review.

The clip says - Lewis (author) explores what happens when well-meaning people from places like the US attempt to impose their technology, training techniques and their values on a population they understand imperfectly. The review also said that this observation transcends sports and it should be a shame is its readership is limited to people involved in cycling.

[RYCJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a rewarding account to read on many, many levels. The overall historical references and cultural perspectives on a range of subjects and topics were engaging. From Mr. Lewis's writing style and what inspired, not only this book, but story as well, to Jock's story and introduction to leading the team, alongside the team members, fans and other parties' participation to this account, provided much information to glean. The insight is overwhelmingly in favour of what the `land of second chances' really meant, or means... even if admittedly this was not the story I expected to read.

Very detailed; and reading between the lines, impressively informative.

[Brenda B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good backgrounder on some aspects of Rwanda upheaval in the last 2 decades, as well as an interesting story on the trials and tabulations of innovation.
Definitely made me want to follow the story from here as to where cycling will be in Rwanda a few years from now.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring story of Rwandan cyclists rising from the ashes of the genocide and rising to the level of competing with cyclists in Europe.

[Doctor Moss · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second chances in the title of this book refer to three stories that come together in the Rwandan cycling program.

The biggest story of course is Rwanda's own comeback from the genocidal horrors beginning in 1994. The Rwandan cycling program, built upon the riders who survived that period as young children, is impressive in so many ways. It's unimaginable what these still young riders have been through -- witnessing the slaughter of family members, escaping, hiding, and now trying to be part of the country's excruciating attempt to deal with its past and rebuild.

The cycling program was jumpstarted by the efforts of two Americans in need of a fresh start themselves. Tom Ritchey was an extremely successful cycling innovator, but with a hollow personal life. Ritchey came to Rwanda to help with the "coffee bike," a bicycle he designed to withstand the rigors of muddy, rutted roads, endless hills, and the hundreds of pounds of coffee that Rwanda's farmers needed to transport quickly to maintain quality. Ritchey also recruited Jonathon Boyer, the first American to race in the Tour de France, to become coach of the new Rwandan cycling program. Boyer's story cannot evade his conviction as a sex offender, the outcome of his relationship with a 12 year old girl after his cycling career.

What a mess. And what you want is a feel-good story in which everyone is redeemed and succeeds beyond anyone's expectations. You don't completely get that. The riders come from everywhere, riding everything. These are not European or American kids growing up on progressively more sophisticated and expensive bikes. They often ride makeshift, dangerous contraptions, serving sometimes as bicycle taxi services. And Boyer faithfully coaches Rwanda's cyclists to respectability in the cycling world, demanding sacrifices and dedication from himself that many of us would envy.

But, in the end, the Rwandan cycling program doesn't reach the real heights. The riders show promise, but they plateau. The jury may still be out on Adrien Niyonshuti and others, but no international champions have emerged from the program, and Boyer has moved on to coach elsewhere in Africa, still in search of champions in the rough (although see Kimberly Coat's review here -- Kimberly Coats is currently on Team Rwanda's staff and reports that Boyer is still coaching the team).

Ritchey's coffee bike program has hit hard times as well. The bikes were great, but they were expensive, maybe too expensive for Rwanda's recovering economy.

But none of that is to say that Rwanda, Boyer, and Ritchey are not redeemed. Success in a context like this shouldn't be measured in race results. These are people, and a country, whose trajectories are very different now than they were before they came together and built upon each other.

Since the book's publication, Adrien Niyonshuti's new team, the South African team MTN-Qhubeka, has earned an invitation to the Giro d'Italia, the first African team to participate. From what I've read, there's no mention of Adrien among the likely riders to represent the team there.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a great story but the writer spends so much more time talking with the white coaches and sponsors than the team members that you never really feel that you get to understand things from the team members' perspective. The riders are infantilized and their stories described condescendingly. The book is so rife with tiring stereotypes and generalizations about Africa ("a failed continent" as described by one person quoted in the book) and Africans that I found myself rolling my eyes by the end. I get the role of the coaches and sponsors in bringing the team together, but, in the end, the actual team members become secondary characters in the story of the white men who "save" them. Ultimately, it's a great story couched in a disappointing narrative that never manages to throw off its colonialist bias.

[Todd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Im not sure what this book is supposed to be about. The first few chapters seem to be about white Saviour coming to Africa. Then it starts to mention how cycling is pervasive in Rwanda. But it’s only because it’s a cheap mode of transportation. Then the book becomes a history lesson. Then it becomes a political lesson. Then back to cycling. Then in introduces a bunch of characters who then need a few pages of background added. The book bounces around so much that I just don’t care to finish. Then I noticed that it was published a couple of years after a documentary on the same subject. I’d like to see the documentary because I’m curious how much of it was just transposed into print for this book. It seems suspiciously timely.

[Matt Shingler · Rating 1 out of 5]

Condescending, patronizing, white savior crap.

This is a fascinating story, and Mr Lewis does his best to destroy it with out of date, condescending aside's throughout. It's hard to believe the author had even been to Rwanda, with out inaccurate most of his "facts" about the country are. Middle school social studies class reports show more balance than this.

I'll reiterate what many have said before, read Philip Gourevitch's article about the team. It tells the same amazing story, but written by someone who put in their due diligence in researching the country and its people.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at the development of the Rwandan national cycling team. It interweaves narratives highlighting the complexities of the international cycling community, intercultural communication, the history of bicycles in Rwanda, development work through bicycles, and the life paths of specific individuals. Learned a lot about cycling and enjoyed reading about a country with a place in my heart. I felt the author navigated the cultural differences and the tricky aspects of "development" work with openness and honesty. This is not a hero story, but one that does have real-life heroes.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated that the author interviewed a lot of people (especially the riders) for this book rather than primarily the coach as a documentary film on the same subject ("Rising from Ashes") did. This is thankfully not a patronizing "Westerner Saves Africa" story but an amalgam of voices expressing the long tail of trauma and colonialism in Rwanda, the pain and exhilaration of professional cycling, and the ethically messy enterprise of economic development.

[Larry Hiday · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book covers more than just the second chance relative to cycling and the Rwanda team. Because it goes in lots of different directions including the politics during and after the genocide, it seemed a little scattered. I would encourage reading of this book to learn more about Rwanda and Africa than because of the cycling. Also feels like many of the characters are colored by their relationship with the author.

[Seeta Shah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A completely fascinating read that interviews cycling as a sport, the evolution of a nation after a genocide, attempts and difficulties of economic development at scale - and the lives of 3 men who have had difficult pasts and are learning to forgive and move on. I was absolutely gripped - I wished the font was bigger in the paperback version - but I found the insights so compelling, that this is the first book I have underlined sections in, and put notes at the back.

[Karim Khalil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not just a book about cycling! Comprises a sweeping review of the consequences of the genocide for athletes and the rare few who sought to help in the aftermath - for personal and sporting reasons peculiar to each. Fascinating insights to how Africa and Africans approach life and politics in different ways to standard “western” ideas and the need to understand the reasons why before judging and trying to effect change.

[Runningrara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool Runnings style story of the rise of a Rwandan cycle team led by a unlikable coach with a shady past. Interesting to ponder the potential of Africa to take the cycling world by storm, a personal tale of the success of Adrien Niyonshuti, the failures of non-governmental aid schemes and Rwandan genocide and recovery.

[Shauna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a lot about the history of this country, but the huge cast of characters made it a little confusing. I had not realized how bad it had been for Rwanda in 1994 when at least one in ten of the population were slaughtered in a hundred days.
My favorite quote: "One finger alone cannot pick up a stone."

[Chloe Chilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most incredibly interesting and rewarding story of Rwanda. So focused on the history, progression, equality and culture of the country to which I knew very little about. An uplifting and inspiring read even for someone who knows next to nothing about cycling !

[Fachrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was not even a consensus on what counted as “success.” Was it a race to produce the first black African to ride the Tour de France? Or was it enough just to improve the lives of a few individuals on the globe’s most challenging continent?

[Ted Diamond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Those of us who follow road bicycle racing have become used to "the asterisk." Heroic and transcendent stories that are ultimately qualified or negated.

Tim Lewis could have written a story of losers who became winners against insurmountable odds, under the tutelage of the fallen-but-redeemed coach. To his credit, he has written a story in which the deeper he digs, the more complicated the situation and the characters become. A story in which there is no ultimate resolution, no victor crossing the finish line with arms aloft, but only damaged human beings trying to get on with their lives after unimaginable cruelty and evil.

"Land of Second Chances" tells two intertwined stories. One is Tom Ritchey's involvement with Rwanda after his life abruptly fell apart when his wife left him. Ritchey, a (perhaps, the) leading innovator in the American bicycle industry, attempted to change the lives of Rwandan coffee farmers by developing and distributing an inexpensive and functional bicycle that would enable the farmers to transport harvested coffee beans to processing more quickly. This would result in a higher quality product, and higher returns for the famers. The other is Jonathan "Jock" Boyer's attempt to develop a world-class road cycling team, using the innate but latent cycling talent in the "land of a thousand hills."

In the background of both stories is the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide of 1994, in which 800,000 men, women, and children were slaughtered in the course of 100 days. In the wake of this horror, Rwandans chose to move forward through reconciliation and forgiveness, rather then retribution. But, a decade later, the effects of the genocide are ever-present: in the "missing generation", in the all-but-non-existent infrastructure, in the psyches of the Rwandans who lived through it. Of necessity, Rwandans move on. But is there resolution? How could there ever be?

Jonathan Boyer brings a different kind of horror to the background of these stories. Boyer was a path-breaking, well-loved, and successful American cyclist in the European peleton of the 1980's. But his life fell apart after he retired. A decade later, he confessed to sexually molesting a 12-year-old girl. It was difficult to read Lewis' account of his discussions with Boyer about this. It appears there is no remorse. Boyer states that he has taken responsibility for his actions, but then, inexplicably, says that his victim must take responsibility for her actions as well. It is clear that Boyer has moved on. But there is no redemption, no resolution.

The stories are also set against the harsh economic realities of a country trying to pull itself out of extreme poverty. Ultimately, Ritchey and his backers conclude that their effort to inject bicycle technology into coffee farming is a failure. Why? The cost of manufacturing and shipping the bicycles ($200) makes them unaffordable to Rwandan coffee farmers. And there is no infrastructure or supply chain for maintaining the bikes. But the farmers themselves consider the effort a success, because the bicycles do what they were intended to do. They increase the farmers' productivity and returns. Nevertheless, the endeavor dies and withers on the vine. Ritchey and his associates have stopped manufacturing the bikes, and are trying to liquidate their stock.

Extreme poverty also frames the effort to develop a world-class road cycling team. In some regards, this effort is an attempt to brush Rwanda with a veneer of middle-class European respectability. President Paul Kigame keeps stressing that the cyclists are "ambassadors," and represent Rwanda to the world. But how meaningful can this effort be, in a country in which paved roads, electricity, and running water are rare, in which costs of import and export are inflated by the necessity of paying bribes, in which professional-level cyclists cannot count on a salary? Despite the innate talent of the cyclists, the effort flounders in the face of the reality that the cyclists have families to feed, and can more easily support themselves by driving taxi-bikes.

No stories of triumph, no redemption, no resolution. So why write this book at all? As a reader, I am glad that Lewis did, for two reasons. First, an honest examination of these endeavors gives us something more valuable than would a cliched, Silicon-Valley-packaged triumph story. By laying out these stories in an unsentimental and unwavering light, he shows the well-thought-out and honest endeavors that fell short of expectations, and why. Perhaps redemption will come from those who read these stories, take up from where RItchey and Boyer left off, and try to go a bit further.

More fundamentally, "Land of Second Chances" tells the story of two men, and indeed, a country, that have come to the ends of their ropes. To survive, each must forge new, untried steps. There is no formula. no industry for redemption. There are no well-worn tracks, such as those followed by the NGO industry. In a personal and historical sense, these are unique circumstances, and Lewis tells the story of Rwanda, Ritchey, and Boyer well.

[Charlie Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

great underdog story, got a little listy at points discussing races but I am not a cyclist at all and really enjoyed it

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're into cycling and want to learn more about Rwanda this is the book for you.

[Adam Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little meandering but as fast, fun and informative as a good day on a bike can be. I guess Rwanda's on my list of places to go, now.

[Eduardo Chavez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es libro es bueno a secas, tiene algo de historia de Rwanda, después de la mitad del libro es algo tedioso, solo lo recomendaría por las curiosidades que tiene.