(Just As Well) It's Not About The Bike

A Journey Across Southern Spain

By: Chris Atkin

Narrated by: Chris Atkin

Discover the untold stories of one of the world’s most popular coastlines.

Part sporting travelogue, part political history, (Just as Well) It's Not About the Bike follows journalist Chris Atkin's 1,300 km cycle from Valencia to Gibraltar. En route, he travels through Spain’s most picturesque towns. And Benidorm.

Along the way, he learns about the region’s history, from the time four hydrogen bombs fell over Spain to the politician who shot General Franco’s daughter in the bottom yet rose to become one of the country’s most powerful men. While riding across Spain, Chris also meets an array of eccentric characters, such as the man who lives in a cave and the Airbnb host who admitted to strangling her previous guest.

People told him he was crazy to leave his job and his girlfriend behind to jump on the cheapest bike he could find. After a series of mishaps including one that almost sparked a mountain rescue mission, it would appear they were right.

©2021 Chris Atkin (P)2022 Chris Atkin

Interesting journey

If you like travelogues then this is a great book .
It's not a polished book but is a raw tale of life on a touring bicycle.
Funny and entertaining.

Loved it! 10/10

I’m a big fan of travel books narrated by the authors themselves and this is one of the best! I loved joining Chris on his hilarious adventure across Spain. He painted a vivid picture of the surrounding terrain and I was surprised to learn interesting insights about an area I thought I knew well. I would definitely recommend this audiobook to anyone - whether they are a cyclist or not!

What an adventure!

I loved listening to this audiobook, very highly recommended! It felt like I was alongside Chris for every step of his journey and his British humor kept me chuckling on the way. Never have I learned more about the psychology of Airbnb hosts or the curious history of the south of Spain. I'm now very keen to make a trip out there!

Definitely a very enjoyable and educational read.

Your host Chris Atkin takes you on an adventure where he cycles from Valencia to Gibraltar, covering 1,300km. This is quite an adventure as Atkin fights the heat, or the strong winds as he goes on his journey through lemon trees, orange trees and olive groves.

Atkin is clearly a history fan as the book is saturated in fascinating history of all the places that he visits like Cartagena and Almeria. This wouldn't be a proper cycling expedition without his share of trouble, needing to repair his bike, his fitness being tested to the limit with all the uphill rides and the breathtaking, literally, landscape of the Sierra Nevada and the difficulty in finding a shop open on Sundays. He also meets some amazing people, as you should on a voyage, including friendly Troglodytes living in caves.

This book has certainly given me food for thought in my next trip but I don't think I would make it that far by the time I had to return to work and although I speak a little Spanish, I would have to improve as Atkin's knowledge of Spanish got him out of a pickle or two. I also love how Atkin narrates it himself, it makes it more personal.

Being honest here

The story was very well told, where I felt I could see much of the action. However... author narration a definite drawback for me - he should've either hired a professional, or skipped the audio format. Much of the time it was obvious he was reading from a text more than sharing the details as though to a friend.

(Review copy provided by author)