A Dog in a Hat

An American Bike Racer's Story of Mud, Drugs, Blood, Betrayal, and Beauty in Belgium

Ranked #31 in Cycling

In 1987, Joe Parkin was an amateur bike racer in California when he ran into Bob Roll, a pro on the powerhouse Team 7-Eleven. “Lobotomy Bob” told Parkin that, to become a pro, he must go to Belgium.

Riding along a canal in Belgium years later, Roll encountered Parkin, who he saw as “a wraith, an avenging angel of misery, a twelve-toothed assassin”. Roll barely recognized him. Belgium had forged Parkin into a pro bike racer, and changed him forever.

A Dog in a Hat is Joe’s remarkable story. Leaving California with a bag of clothes, two spare wheels, some cash, and a phone...
more

Similar Books

If you like A Dog in a Hat, check out these similar top-rated books:


Learn: What makes Shortform summaries the best in the world?