Cycling? It’s one of my life’s constants, it feeds my need for beauty, for delight and for aimless exploring. It makes my body hum and brings me safely back to the present . . . I hope to continue pedalling, nice and slowly, for the rest of my life, with the same curiosity that ignited my childhood.

In these essays twelve writers consider the joys of cycling, whether in a city late at night, or along country lanes on a summer’s day. Yara Rodrigues Fowler and Xani Byrne write a moving essay on coming to terms with loss through tandem biking, Jon McGregor reminisces on the significance of cycling to Dunwich Beach throughout his life, Annie Lord sings the praises on cycling home on Lime Bikes from parties and the late Dervla Murphy regales us with stories of her cycle to India on her bike, named Roz.

These essays are a celebration of life on two wheels, touching on the joy, exhilaration and serenity to be found while cycling, and how bikes become an extension of ourselves, a type of armour, and a metaphor for life.