Author and motorcycle racer Mark Gardiner released his long-awaited book RIDING MAN at the 100th anniversary Isle of Man TT races. The book is the definitive study of motorcycle racing, but perhaps more important, it is a lyrical memoir of one man's pursuit of a nearly impossible dream.
Cardiff, Calif. (PRWEB) June 18, 2007 -- Five years ago, Canadian author and motorcycle racer Mark Gardiner quit his job as a successful Advertising Agency creative director, sold all his possessions, and moved to the Isle of Man to train for the world's most dangerous organized sports event: the Isle of Man TT motorcycle race. His time on the Isle of Man was portrayed in the acclaimed documentary film, "One Man's Island."
"My goals were always two-fold," says Gardiner. "First, I wanted to qualify for the races, and survive them. But the second goal was to write a book explaining why people pursue such risky sports."
Gardiner initially wrote about his Isle of Man TT adventure in Motorcyclist Magazine. His two-part story appeared in 2003, and generated more reader mail than any story the magazine had ever run. Many readers wrote in to ask, "When is Mark's book coming out?" Since then, he's become one of the most widely-published motorcycle journalists. His work has appeared in Cycle World, Road Racer X, Bike, Performance Bikes, Classic Bike, and been translated into many languages.
Gardiner finally achieved his second goal this June, when he officially launched his his 250-page book, entitled "Riding Man", at the 100th anniversary of the famous races.
"I came back to the Isle of Man to launch the book for two reasons," says Gardiner. "Obviously, it is the one place I can come to get the book in front of tens of thousands of motorycyclists from around the world, especially this year as it is the 100th anniversary of the TT. But equally important to me were the people of the Isle of Man, who hosted me for almost a year while I researched Riding Man and trained for the TT races. I wanted them to know that I hadn't written some 'kiss and tell' exposé, but rather that I'd treated their Island and it's amazing racing history with respect."
Riding Man has already been getting rave reviews from TT insiders. Geoff Cannell, who has been the voice of the TT on Manx Radio for years said, "I couldn't put it down. I can't believe the amount of detail Mark remembered from his TT experiences." 11-times TT winner Charlie Williams interviewed Mark for his noon feature on Radio TT, too.
Gardiner has written the definitive book about motorcycle racing. It's also a brilliant and complete history of the amazing Isle of Man TT races. More importantly, it's an at-times shockingly honest, moving memoir of one man's pursuit of his dream, against the odds and at all costs. As such, it's not just a book for motorcyclists, but a book for anyone who needs to be reminded that the ultimate risk is not the risk of death, it is the risk of never living in the first place.
Riding Man is available at www.ridingman.com.
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