Lee Craigie has had an impressively diverse career so far. She’s been a professional MTB racer, she’s a qualified child psychotherapist, she’s the current Scottish Ambassador for Active Travel, she’s a published author and she’s bikepacked all over the world. Somehow, she’s managed to shoehorn some of the highlights of her life so far into a brilliant new autobiography which is due to be published in early September. We got hold of a preview copy and if you’d like to find out what it’s like, then you’d better read on….
Image courtesy of Maciek Tomizeck
If you’ve come into gravel riding from a road cycling background, it’s possible that you won’t have heard of Lee before, but for anyone with a MTB heritage, Lee’s background as a professional MTB racer, which included being UK National Champion and UK solo 24 hour National Champion means her name will be more familiar. But winning titles is the antithesis of what Lee’s new book is all about.
The book is roughly chronological and details Lee’s life from a slightly tearaway childhood in the hills north of Glasgow, to working as an outdoor instructor, to becoming a child psychotherapist and then onto her life on two wheels.
The common link between the many threads of her life is a bike. Initially, it was a “handsome little red BMX with silver graphics” but later it’s a mountain bike, or a fat bike or a cargo bike or a gravel bike.
But the book isn’t just about cycling. Lee manages to weave many different strands into the text. There’s a quote on the front cover from round the world cyclist Jenny Graham which says “A fascinating read, thought-provoking and beautifully crafted” and that sums up Lee’s book eloquently.
Image courtesy of Maciek Tomizeck
Many sports personalities publish autobiographies and there are some brilliant ones out there, but some are crafted by ghostwriters and end up feeling a little false because of it. Lee’s book on the other hand feels as though she’s really opened up her heart to the reader. Each chapter manages to get just the right balance of insight and inspiration and is written in such a down-to-earth yet poetic manner that it inspires you to keep reading.
Image courtesy of Liz Smith images
If you’d like to hear Lee talk about her book and some of the stories behind it, you should check out the latest edition of the Gravel Union Talks podcast.
If you’d like to buy a copy of Lee’s book, you can find the details here