Chased by Pandas: My life in the mysterious world of cycling

by Dan Martin

'This is Dan Martin's long-awaited autobiography, full of 'the warmth, sharp insights and vivid colour of his 14-year career' Guardian

Known, thanks to his racing style and attitude, for being one of road cycling's last romantics, Dan has always shied away from revealing too much about himself and his story. Now, having retired at the end of the 2021 season aged 35 and no longer bound by the constraints of the racing circuit, Dan feels the time is right to tell his story in the same forthright and honest manner that he rode his bike.

This book reflects Dan's generous and outspoken spirit, his resilience to pain, crashes, bad luck and, finally, his acceptance of destiny. Each chapter's title has a sub-title based on a typical cyclist's the fear of losing a race, the fear of retiring from the sport, the fear of mountains or downhills, the fear of doping and, ultimately, the fear of death. Dan also discusses every aspect of the professional cyclist's life - food, discipline, money, dreams, friendship and betrayal. Dan is unashamed when it comes to exposing these dark feelings, his weaknesses and how he tried to deal with them, his attitude exemplifying Mark Twain's 'Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear'.

Written with his long-time friend and best-selling author Pierre Carrey, this is the story of a rider who never sought to conform to modern cycling's norms and someone who, in many ways, embodies an age in cycling which has long since disappeared.

This is the celebration of a true cyclist's career, which will appeal to anyone who's embraced the weekend ride whilst dreaming of the mountains.

'[Chased by Pandas] is not a conventional study of wins, losses and conquering mountains but overcoming the mental challenges of a sport into which he was seemingly born' The Times

'Records the brave and tough journey of 'one of road cycling's last romantics' Irish Independent

'Chronicles the former Irish road champion's journey through the ranks of professional cycling' Cycling Weekly

Genres: Cycling, Sports, Biography, Nonfiction, Autobiography

278 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 13, 2022

About the author

For the last three years, Martin has written and published over forty do-it-yourself guides on the subject-from how to make your own ethanol, to how to build your own solar panels. These books are all available on Amazon or on his non-profit organization website: www.agua-luna.com. Dan Martin has also drawn the attention of established newspapers, websites, and magazines from several countries, and has been the source of half a dozen radio and television interviews."

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had better set the scene by saying that I had never heard of Dan before (sorry!) or the Panda 🐼 and don’t really follow cycling. However I do like to read things I know nothing about from a place of curiosity (it was train spotting last month…) so gave it a go.

If you are into the Giro or Tour de France then sections will maybe make sense to you - but as a new-to-cycling reader I was left confused and skipped passages. For a sports book to be successful it needs a strong edit and background detail. This was lacking.

That said, the more personal anecdotes and the love Dan has for the sport came through.

I wish him well in what he goes on to do next.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel bad giving this great cyclist’s life 3 stars but the book was a bit run of the mill. I’ve read a few cyclist’s autobiographies in my time and each does give an insight into the profession and how they tackle it. Dan comes over as a good guy with a human side and an appetite beyond results. That said he works hard at his craft and achieves some great results. It just didn’t grip and the Panda story arc running through felt a bit confected for the book. Some interesting insights but somehow less engrossing than others of this special genre.

[Stéphanie Amesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

That was a rather disjointed and flat narrative for what could have been a great subject. I hear Pierre Carrey was the ghostwriter and I enjoyed his history of the Giro d’Italia, but the writing here just never seems to rise above a long series of anecdotes. Still worth reading, but Martin deserved better.

[Matt Andrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting insights and I especially liked how he vocalises the Tourmalet "talking" to him as he climbed it. Also some insight about Jonathan Vaughters and how he runs teams - not very well, by the sounds of it. Found the timeline jumps a bit confusing though (had to keep checking to see what year we were up to as 2010 and then 2021 get referenced) and the panda subplot felt a bit tacked on (with no resolution either).

[Sandra Donegan · Rating 3 out of 5]

My rating for this book is lower than expected for two reasons.

I found the structure made it difficult for me to know where I was in the timeline. I have not read a cycling biography structured by topic as opposed to riders progression through his career. This felt a bit disjointed to me and I couldn’t reconcile whether Dan has been gifted from the start (most certainly!) and what influenced him to improvements that were followed by the rewards due.

Also, SPOILER ALERT! The Panda chasing him! There was one, once! Admittedly a great story, and I understand that encounter was on his mind throughout his career, but the title suggested a greater influence & appearance.

That said, it was a great insight into what made the man. And unfortunately more validation of the underlying ugly culture that has existed in cycling throughout the years. I do hope the more lids are lifted by old guards means that young guns trying to turn pro are treated better.

[David C Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite good. Martin was a top rider as well as an honest pro who is reflective about the world of pro bike racing. One thing that does come through, although he’s not adamant about it, is how old fashioned/reactionary as well as just exploitative team management is. I also share with Martin his skepticism that “experts” in diet, physiology etc really know what they’re doing and rather that this is a form of labor control. (There are so many potential pro bike riders in the world that teams can be indifferent to rider welfare knowing they have a guaranteed labor pool; no rider’s Union would ever succeed.) There are a lot of crashes though! That one when Richie Porte took out DM on the descent….man….

PS: As for the somewhat odd title: it’s too bad there isn’t a TV screen grab of the person in the panda 🐼 costume who chased DM at the finish of Liege Bastogne Liege.

[Phil · Rating 5 out of 5]

So firstly a disclaimer, I am a big fan of how Dan raced and always enjoyed his racing.

I very much was very interested in reading his experiences and i found as an armchair viewer, that this was very eye opening to the life lived by the riders, away from the televised coverage. The candidness and honesty from Dan is just really refreshing to read . A couple of times reading this I was like "this is *****& up" (for instance, his team making him ride on in the Dauphine after he had broken his helmet. I would hope now in the 2020's this would not occur.) and then the team's reluctance on withdrawing him from Romandie despite having pain in his ribs (then discovered to be fractured after the race)

The relationship that Dan had for the various teams and how each differed in approach was very interesting

Really good read

[Nicholas Salmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well-written, very easy read of life as a professional cyclist – by Dan Martin, who between
2008 and 2021 won stages in the Tour, Giro and Vuelta, won Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Il Lombardia and
finished in the top 10 six times in Grand Tours (amongst many other achievements). He rode for
Cannondale-Garmin, Quick Step, UAE and Israel Start-Up Nation and went to two Olympics. He was
both a climber and a puncheur, in cycling parlance. He tells his story from his time as a teenager,
when he was part of a small group of cyclists who rode together that included Bradley Wiggins and
Mark Cavendish to his ultimate retirement. This was a fascinating read and a real insight into life
amongst the elite of the world’s cyclists. I’d definitely recommend it.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The unusual title and the odd way the chapters were laid out led me to expect a different sort of book. To be honest, it is another autobiography of a retired professional cyclist. However, it is one of the most interesting and informative books of the type I have read. The author’s take on cycling is definitely ‘off the norm’ and I found some of his ideas interesting, such as on massage and nutrition. It was a stellar career which he must be proud of and it could have been so much more but for the crashes and injuries. This book had me hooked and find out what happened next. An informative read.

[Larry Coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you read the ad copy after reading a book, you often wonder whether the marketing department even read the book at all. Not this one. The book is exactly what it's promised to be: a look into the mind of an elite rider. Cycling is a sport that is even more mental than it is physical, which is saying something because competitive riding is immensely difficult physically.

I have read many memoirs by retired athletes from many different sports, and this one certainly ranks toward the top of all of them. If you're considering reading this book, stop considering and start reading.

[Jason Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was plenty of stuff that I knew that was in the book, from being a cycling fan. I had somehow missed the panda at a race! Dan’s insight into cycling was great, it was much more relatable than some sports books.

The more cyclists that ride for him retire, the less well Vaughters comes across. I’d respected him for pushing back against Armstrong and enjoyed his book but I guess that doesn’t make you a great team manager.

Another book that tells you about the toughness of cyclists, read it and admire.

[To Read Pile Too Big · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are some interesting stories in here but he should have had someone help him write it. It was kind of all over the place and didn’t flow well. It was a slog to read and I ended up putting it down several times to read other books instead. I normally read a book in a day or two but this took me almost a month to finish.

Dan does seem like a nice guy and it is worth reading if you are a fan of cycling.

[Mat Greener · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book about an Irish rider won a stage in every grand tour in an era where most riders are very regimented on when to attack & not & what to eat he did it his own way. Also many good performances in classics & gran tours one that was always entertaining to watch even if not always successful.

[Jane Dell · Rating 4 out of 5]

chased by what?!!

I enjoyed this read, but would have liked more insight and detail on the stages, races that Dan won. More on his efforts in the “Classics” would have improved the whole narrative.

[JOHN MITCHELL · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Book about a man who loves to bike race

A Great read.

Throughout the book Dans absolute love of bike racing shines through. From his childhood to retirement Dan never quits or loses his love to race, how could you not like or respect this attitude.

[Gary Boland · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read about the difficult world of professional cycling. I particularly liked the detail around the nice places to live and eat around France,Italy and Spain. Didn't learn a whole lot about the dart arts of sky as dirty or clean cycling still suffers from omerta

[Michael Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was hoping for more insight into the life of a cyclist or life in the peloton. Not a bad book but more an account of his career vs some of the insight offered by other cycling biographies. Timeline is hard to follow at times as well.

[Jeff Parry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

This was a great biography, entertaining, funny but most of all the story of a great sporting life. Dan has always been a hero on the bike. We'll worth the read.

[Paul Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very personable, great incite into Dans cycling career

[Tim Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favourite book of the year so far. Loads of great stories of his life. Only improved my opinion of the man.

[John Barclay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun fast read from a great rider with interesting things to say about life in the pro leagues. Nice to hear about life work balance from such a top notch performer.

[Lucian Stănescu · Rating 3 out of 5]

except for 2 or 3 small stories doesn't really stand out from all the other cyclist biographies. Dan must be quite a nice guy, seems grounded and happy...

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little confusing to begin with as the chronology jumps. Dan's honesty and under the surface tales are enjoyable. Nostalgia even though it was sitting less than two years ago.

[Fiona Mangan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good one to read 🙌

[Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re a cycling fan, especially of the pro peloton, this is a great book. Insightful inside look at the life of a world tour cyclist.

Book is well written… I enjoyed it cover to cover.

[Anne Sarmiento-Hirsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

now we know! good cycling book with humor and insight into what it takes to be a pro tour cyclist

[Aspin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible only managed 17%. Couldn't stand any more torment.

[Steve Chilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dan Martin was not your superstar rider, more a good pro willing to go on the attack. He tried to shake things up, and surprise the peloton. His book is an interesting and insightful look inside the sport. His descriptions of the interaction between riders, their strategies, and how a team functions (or not) make this a very interesting read.