Davis Phinney

This was a very inspiring book, the true story of a world-class cyclist who has not let Parkinson's Disease quench his zest for life, and whose son is now also a champion cyclist.

I knew zero about cycling before reading this book--had heard of Lance Armstrong and the Tour de France, but that was as far as it went. I learned a lot. All the information was presented as part of the action, but it was clear and easy to follow even for a newbie. Phinney and his co-author tell gripping vignettes from his cycling career (amazing victories, depressing defeats, bloody smash-ups etc) to illustrate how Phinney took the lessons he learned from racing and used them in the more challenging struggle with Parkinson's Disease. Because the book is not chronological, occasionally I found the transitions confusing, but overall I enjoyed the format. For me, the most touching part of the book was the description of Davis Phinney's relationship with his father, a rocket scientist who had difficulty relating to his family and who didn't approve of his son's racing career. All Davis wanted was for his dad to be proud of him. At the end of his father's life they were able to repair their relationship and grow very close.

Phinney discusses the etiology of Parkinson's and says that while there's a genetic component, environmental toxins play a big role. He jokes about the fumes in the basement of his childhood home from his father's darkroom chemicals and solvents he used in a hobby business. A pretty grim joke. During the course of the book, Davis Phinney tells that his mother had an unnamed and maybe undiagnosed mental illness, his father died of cancer, he himself developed young-onset Parkinson's, and his daughter had a seizure disorder. On his wife's side, her mother had MS and her brother had a metastasized lymphoma. On the one hand, this all made me reflect that the family dealt very gracefully with these troubles. On the other hand, it made me reflect: heavy metal toxicity! If I were the youngest Phinneys, I would do hair tests straightaway and get them interpreted by a top expert to check for heavy metal poisoning.

Phinney presents an upbeat but realistic picture of living with an incurable disease and learning to cherish the happy moments and finding victory in the everyday. He began a charitable foundation, travels the world, and continues to bike as much as he can. Because medication wasn't working for him, he also did an interesting brain surgery that gave him a lot of relief from his symptoms. I think if you like sports stories, medical memoirs, or stories about family love, you will enjoy this book as much as I did.… (más)

Quick Version:

This is the story of three generations of Phinneys-a story about life on a bike, life in a family, life in the spotlight, and life lived with devastating illness.

Long Version:

In the mid-1980s Davis Phinney and his 7-Eleven team cohorts took European cycling by storm as they demanded respect for American cyclists through their actions in the peloton. As a teenager in Germany I followed their rise with great excitement-I even subscribed to Bicycling magazine, not for the gear guides and training tips, but for articles about these young men. In this memoir of a life well lived, Davis Phinney takes his reader through all the excitement of the eighteen years that he experienced The Life, as he calls it. But this book is so very much more than a cycling memoir.

One might make the logical assumption, given the book’s title and the career of the author, that this is a book about bicycle racing. And it is. Those who avidly follow the sport will find lots of edge-of-your-seat action here. However, the expression “life in the saddle” definitely has more than one meaning to Davis Phinney. It is also a book about more than one man-The Happiness of Pursuit is really the story of three men, the author, his father, and his son.

The author, as many know, was a world class cyclist. What many do not know is that Davis Phinney is afflicted with an early onset form of Parkinson’s Disease (the same illness from which Michael J. Fox suffers). Davis takes us from the height of cycling’s glory to the depths of life in the grip of The Body Snatcher. From a life of unparalleled physical potential to the inability to tie his shoes. Along the way he refuses to let us pity him, instead providing us with an intimate portrait of personal courage such as I have rarely seen so well expressed in words. The grit that carried him to the top of mountains on a road bike now carries him through the toughest challenge of his life, and he is an inspiration. He credits two things with his ability to embrace this unexpected life: cycling and his father.

Damon Phinney was a rocket scientist. Literally. He was not a terribly involved father, and Davis always felt distance between them. Until his dad was diagnosed with the Big C. Cancer changed Damon in the most profound way imaginable. He went from being emotionally unattached to immersing himself in the life of his son, from never smiling to smiling at everyone he met because he felt it lit up the world. More than anything else, he set an example for his son regarding how to live with chronic illness, and not just live, but live an enhanced existence. Damon got on a bike after his diagnosis and rode some of the same challenging road courses that his son competed on; Davis attributes how active he was to the fact that he lived an unheard of nearly ten years post diagnosis. Damon Phinney is beautifully eulogized by his son; the reader can easily see the father in the son.

The final Phinney the book follows is Taylor, Davis’ son. Taylor is said by many to be one of the biggest talents in cycling today and is likely to be an Olympian to watch in London in 2012. Davis gives readers a heart-wrenching look into how difficult it has been to see others handling the physical aspects of shepherding his son’s career. Despite many high points in this often moving book, the story I will never forget is the one which Davis relates a story of being in the follow car as Lance Armstrong (who was a mentor to Taylor) puts Taylor through his paces on a training run. Davis, gazing through the window, experienced a bittersweet moment-thankful on the one hand for Lance being there for Taylor, but jealous too of the man on the bike beside his son.

Towards the end of the book, Davis sums things up:

Happiness comes from the pursuits within your life-whether those dreams are lofty Olympic ambitions or those smaller everyday goals that I now set for myself. In fact, happiness occurs most often in those moments when I’m pursuing nothing more than allowing myself to be absorbed in the moment. Just being.

(quote from unedited galley and subject to be changed)

You will want time to ponder and a tissue box handy as you read this one. I guarantee that while parts will make you want to stand up and cheer others will bring you to your knees in tears. A moving, glorious tribute to life in all its forms.

Star Rating: absolutely five stars

Audience: This book has so many aspects, so much to offer-everyone will find something to relate to here.… (más)