Exploring Off-Road
Rapha Handbook 04 – Exploring Off-road
by Helen Wyman
with Illustrations by Laura Quick
Rapha Handbooks are a series of books designed to help cyclists find their way into cycling. Informative, inclusive and specifically written to demystify the world of cycling, all the Rapha Handbooks are individually illustrated to help reinforce and add some fun to the real world advice from many respected and experienced contributors, writers and cyclists.
As the ‘Exploring Off-Road’ title suggests this book takes a more general approach to off-road riding rather than just a pure cyclo-cross book. Although all core off-road cycling skills come from ’cross riding’s rich heritage, all explained by multi-National Cyclo-Cross Champion, Helen Wyman.
The book will also include; day ’cross rides, trail riding, gravel (whatever that is) and adventure rides – although the main theme is to be: How do off-road skills make you a more ‘complete’ and all-round cyclist. Why it’s safer to practice all of your weaker skills stuff off-road first and the importance of ‘on-the-road-safety’ through lessons learnt off-road.
“Beautifully presented little guides from acknowledged experts in their respective fields, complemented by quirky illustrations”
About the author
Helen took up cyclo-cross full time at the age of 23, having raced part-time whilst working for the NHS as a physiotherapist. During her time as a cyclo-cross racer Helen won ten UK national championships, two European Championships and a World Championship Bronze medal in 2014. She has dedicated 16 years of her life to racing cyclo-cross full time, and also many years to making progress for the sport towards equality for female riders, which included four years on the UCI cyclo-cross commission. Helen has campaigned for races for junior women, culminating in the ‘Helen 100’ a junior women’s cyclo-cross race she helped organise alongside a major cyclo-cross event in Loenhout, Belgium. She has also been central in the campaign for the first World Championships for junior women too and the first one is due to be held in 2020. Helen ranks these changes she’s worked for off the bike as being as important as any of her achievements on it.
About the illustrator
Laura Quick is an award winning illustrator and author with a particular interest in observing everyday life. Laura’s work is all created by hand – Old fashioned paste and blade, pen and ink, paper and paint. She often collaborates, pushing new concepts and experiences within her specialist area of illustration and design. Her unique sense of humour often coming together with her commercial work for luxury brands, her work is always about the small things and the details, the things we forget to take notice of. Her recent book, The Quick Guide to Parenting, illustrates the trials and wonders of parenthood, it was published by Pavilion in 2016. She also illustrated Getting Started in Road Cycling, the first book in this series, published by Rapha Editions in 2018.
Also in this series
Handbook 01 – Getting Started in Road Cycling by Guy Andrews with illustrations by Laura Quick
Handbook 02 – Longer Rides by Jo Burt
Handbook 03 – The Self Sufficient Cyclist by Guy Kesteven with illustrations by Aikaterina Paraskevopoulou
Specification
| Dimensions | 185 x 135mm |
| Pagination | 144pp on Arcoprint Milk 100gsm paper |
| Images and text | 4 colour with illustrations |
| Cover | Sewn Flexibound, round spine, H&T bands, belly band in 150gsm Arcoprint Milk |
| Endpapers | Printed PMS on Arcoprint Milk 100gsm paper |
| Published | 2019 by Rapha Editions |
| ISBN | 978-1-912164-10-3 |