Sunday 6 April 2014

Eltham John's: Books Wot I Have Read

Yet another great book from my local library.

Not cycling this time, but a really informative book about the 1953 ascent of Everest.

It was written by the daughter of a man who I had never heard of, Griffith Pugh. He was an Olympic skier, doctor and physiologist. The book is called Everest, but it was the sub title "The First Ascent - The untold story of Griffith Pugh the man who made it possible "  that made me want to read it.

His brilliant experiments and physiological tests he designed, especially on the effects of altitude, seem to me to be the basis of much of the modern approach to cycle training and I would be interested to know if any of British Cycling's current Gurus have been directly influenced by him in any way.

If you do get the chance to read this book I am sure you will not be able to put it down until the last page. It is a multi themed biography which I found to be thought provoking and informative.