Three Men on their Bikes by Richard Mapes

Three Men on their Bikes is a standalone novel (with previously published characters) in the general fiction genre and tells a tale of new discoveries, the test of friendship and the battle for supremacy.

Ian, George and Harry have been friends for 15 years. It’s a strange friendship and seems to be more of convenience than deep. Ian is a writer who achieved a degree of fame and is struggling to recreate the stroke of brilliance he once had. George works in an accounting department and is worried that: 1) with Ian being engaged he will bow out of the friendship and 2) that he will never find someone to spend the rest of his life with. Harry is new to the management level after previously being in sales and is struggling to adapt. He has an opinion on just about everything and everyone else’s opinions are just wrong. The three of them decide to go on a 3-day cycling holiday as a way of finding themselves. The problem is that George is the only one who has ever cycled frequently before – and that was only to and from work. So the three set off across the English countryside where they meet other cyclists; some on the same trip and some on their own journeys. Harry’s competitive side comes out when he challenges one of the other cyclists to a race. All Ian wants to do is stop at attractions and collect info for an article while George just wants to meet women. What could possibly go wrong?

The story starts out predominantly as a tale of a bicycle journey but becomes one of a journey of choices, of realisations and self-discovery. It’s as though each character has an epiphany about a decision which has been weighing them down for a while. The story itself is very simple, and I think it’s what the reader parallels in their own lives that is meant to be taken away from the reading experience.

There were a few editing mistakes but nothing too serious. I wish more could have been explained about the attractions as I feel there were definitely missed opportunities to showcase the countryside the book had to offer. Harry was an awful character and why the others stayed friends with him was beyond me. George’s character was not delved into very deeply, but with Ian being the narrator you get to share a fair few of his emotions. The story would be fine as a once off holiday read but it didn’t catch me enough to make me want to reread it. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing that really stood out for me.

Thanks though to Thistle Publishing for the opportunity to review the book.