On this March 8th we wanted to pay our little tribute to women and we thought that a good way to do it was to recommend 8 books about women and bicycles. Since it is so difficult to choose, in the end we recommend 10 books.

A selection among many more possible.

Ladies on Bicycles, written by Miss FJ Erskine (Ed.Impedimenta)

Published in 1897, this is one of the first guides for women cyclists from the Victorian era. A manual that served to instruct and model the first generations of risky peda riders, including the selection of the appropriate bicycle for the ladies of good society, their attire and accessories, the choice of the most convenient food and drink to take during the trip, and even organizing fun gymkhanas in your garden. In addition to facing the thorny question of whether cycling was an appropriate activity for women.

A revolutionary book that is the spirit of a time in which riding a bicycle was a nascent activity for the most modern and reckless women of the Empire.

Full steam ahead, Dervla Murphy (Ed. Captain Swing)

Full speed ahead, from Ireland to India by bike.

We are very pleased to be able to recommend this book, now translated into Spanish.

When he was ten years old, he was given a bicycle and an atlas, and within days he was secretly planning a trip to India. At 31, in 1963, he finally set out, and this book is based on the diary he kept as he cycled through Persia, Afghanistan and the Himalayas to Pakistan and India.

A lone woman on a bicycle (with a revolver in her pants pocket) was an almost unheard of occurrence and a focus of enormous interest wherever she went. Undeterred by the snow, she uses her 25-caliber pistol against hungry wolves in Bulgaria or to scare lustful Kurds in Persia. Her ingenuity and her blind eye to his personal danger and extreme discomfort were remarkable.

She is still admired for traveling in almost the same style in her late seventies.

America on a bicycle, María Taurizano and son (Ed. Authors from Argentina, 2016)

By bicycle from Mexico to Argentina. A journey of 15.000 km and 235 days through the heart of Latin America. Along unconventional trails and living with the most endearing parts of the wild world and authentic towns. Latin America by bicycle is not only the story of a trip but much more than that. It is the history lived km by km of each of the towns crossed. It is the daily life of anonymous inhabitants who give voice to the road. This booklet is at the same time the route that brings you closer to the unrevealed enigmas of ancient Mesoamerican civilizations and the sadness and joys of its current inhabitants. The rhythm of the slow and silent pedaling of the bicycle takes us both to the encounter of fauna in its faithful expression and to the encounter with communities of tropical jungles and unknown peoples giving birth in solitude through the wide belly of America.

Without being professional cyclists, without cutting-edge technical equipment, backed by the confidence of believing in dreams, they embarked on this adventure as they always do, more loaded with curiosity than luggage.

Not without my bike, Anna Brones (Ed. geoPlaneta, 2016)

Riding a bicycle is one of the simplest pleasures in life; It is fun, liberating and beneficial for the planet and our health. 'Not without my bike' is a practical guide to enjoying life on two wheels, with lots of tips to improve your experience and pedal with more confidence and style.

This exciting guide is aimed at all cyclists: novices, those who miss the bike rides of their childhood or the experienced cyclist who wants to go further.

North Cape Expedition, Anina Anyway et al. (Ed. Desnivel, 2018)

Once upon a time there was a bicycle trip from northern Spain to the Arctic Circle. A journey starring two humans and a dog, who crossed Europe, living on the road and under the sky for thousands of km.

This is the true story of Pablo, Ana and Hippie, who left Asturias driven by an irrepressible desire to live. Your destination, North Cape, is not just any goal; It is a symbol, a challenging challenge, a declaration of intentions. In the pages of this book you will discover, among amazing passages and lucid reflections, why that adventure was destined to change their lives forever.

Alone on a bike, Cristina Spínola (Ed. Casiopea, 2018)

I dreamed big and touched the sky: around the world by bicycle

Cristina Spínola is the first Spaniard to have traveled around the world by bike. Three years, 28.000 km and 27 countries. Cristina takes us by the hand to share her adventure, her experiences, her joys and sorrows, her thoughts... this book is an ode to freedom and life.

A book for lovers of cycle tourism, for those looking for an inspiring story. A lesson in courage, physical and mental strength. An inner journey that leads us to discover the strength that we all carry within.

The world is my home, Laura Martínez Calderón (Self-publishing 2018)

Flavors of a nomadic life on a bicycle.

Ten years traveling the world, with a house mounted on a bike, more than a million anecdotes and almost 100.000 km traveled.

Aitor and Laura left behind the life that is considered 'normal' to become nomads on two wheels. They broke up with everything, sold their belongings and have already traveled all the continents on their bicycles (except Antarctica). This book narrates in the first person and with a woman's voice, the first three years of this long journey: Asia, China, Central Asia, the Arabian Peninsula and Africa; a lot, a lot of Africa.

Without a fixed plan, and moving at the rhythm set by their heart and intuition, they crossed the Himalayas, slept in caves, jungles, deserts, schools, forests, churches and very often with people. As vulnerable as they are strong, they learned to take what comes, as it comes: hardness, joy, suffering, cold, heat, rain, night, fear, anger, hospitality, contempt, beauty …

This book talks about all of this, about a bike trip around the world, but also, and in parallel, about an internal journey, inward.

The magic of pedals, Alba Xandri (Self-publishing, 2018)

A dream come true, a reality turned into a dream.

The three-year trip that Alba and Ricard took through America, Europe, Asia and Oceania has left a deep mark on their lives. Alba wanted to explain it to us in this magnificent book through exciting stories that show us the thousand faces of her journey: crossing Andean and Tibetan passes at more than 5 m altitude, surviving storms that leave a mark, not shrinking at corrupt border crossings, living with the bears of Canada, resisting two months of insistent rain in China...

Mixing the story of some of the extraordinary experiences lived in her 55.000 km pedaling around the globe, the author takes the reader by the hand and accompanies them on an emotional, sensitive and deep journey through the folds of the soul. A book in which Alba vindicates the essence of humanity and its diversity of values, the simplicity of life or the infinite beauty of nature. In second place are the enormous numbers that reveal the status of great athletes of this tireless, determined and exciting couple who have known how to share their experiences with all of us.

We start with 8 recommendations for this day, March 8, however we cannot resist including two more recommendations. Here they go.

Putting Elbows. Voices and confidences from the best generation of Spanish cycling. Laura Meseguer. (The sphere of books)

One of professional cycling. Laura Meseguer, one of the most respected and well-known journalists in the international squad, who works among other media for Eurosport, reviews in this book in a dynamic and in-depth way, through dozens of personal interviews carried out with the protagonists, and without avoiding the controversial topics, the last twenty years of Spanish cycling, the golden age of this sport, where Contador, Freire, Valverde and Purito, among many others, have achieved epic victories in the toughest climbs and in the most demanding races.

FROM SILK TO MUD: A trip through Asia and Europe by bicycle. Gem Ramos Vega.

In this book, Gema tells us a true story that inspires and seeks to encourage anyone who looks at its pages to begin the journey, their own journey. From Indonesia to Spain by bicycle thousands of kilometers full of enriching experiences.

In the end, 10 recommendations for bicycle and women's books to celebrate this March 8th in which there is still a lot to claim and we will do it by pedaling.