Higher Calling: Road Cycling's Obsession with the Mountains

by Max Leonard

This is real cycling, where the glory is and where dreams come true. So said Bradley Wiggins when, after years of huge success on the track and in time trials, he reached the summit of Mont Ventoux in the 2009 Tour de France alongside the best in the business. Mountains are where professional cycling’s legends are forged and its greatest heroes make their names.Every amateur rider too wishes they could climb better, but what is it about mountains that enthrals them? Are they addicted to the pain? To the achievement? Or to the allure of the peaks? Some spend their weekends ‘Everest-ing’, some a summer holiday cycling up mountains from start to finish. But how does a rider push themselves beyond their limits to get up a 10% gradient on pedal power alone? What is happening when they do?Getting High is an exploration of the central place of mountains in the folklore of road cycling, of the mystique that surrounds the grimpeurs , or climbers, and why amateurs feel compelled to follow them. Interweaving adventure and travel writing with the rich narrative of the Grand Tours, Max Leonard speaks to the riders who conquered the summits and encounters stories of courage and sacrifice, war, love, obsession and elephants.

Kindle Edition

Published May 25, 2017

About the author

Max Leonard writes books about cycling, adventure and mountains. His books under his own name include Higher Calling: road cycling’s obsession with the mountains, Bunker Research and Lanterne Rouge: the last man in the Tour de France.

He is the ghostwriter behind two Sunday Times Top 10 Bestsellers and a rock star memoir, as well as smaller things for a legendary racing driver, famous spy-film makers, a Swiss banker and others.

His work has appeared in Esquire, Rouleur, Monocle, the Telegraph and other publications and he runs a small photobook imprint, Isola Press.