I Like Alf : 14 lessons from the life of Alf Engers

This is the story of Alf Engers and the pursuit of speed, set against a backdrop of cycling clubs, shop-owners, framebuilders, riders, racers, team managers and officials.It loops from the Paddington Track to the Skol Six, Herne Hill to the National Road Race Championships and from Boroughbridge to Barnet, in and out of time and place to capture the truth of a racing career of unequalled achievement, charisma and controversy. Constructed from extensive interviews with Alf Engers, I Like Alf is the definitive tale of a mythical and charismatic folk hero of British cycling. Where I came from it was so very different: up at five o’clock in the morning, the tinkle of shoe plates on the road, the smell of embrocation, the stillness of the morning, just you and the timekeeper: 5-4-3-2-1-GO!It is the essence of cycling. If I had gone on to do what I wanted to do I would have won the Tour de France, but that's how the dice were rolled.