Richard Mitchelson's Grand Tour

We previewed Richard Mitchelson's Grand Tour book back in April, before it was published and before this season's Grand Tours were underway. Here we are at the end of the season, and many of us are looking for something to replace the excitement of following those races – and perhaps this book is the answer, helping you to create your own excitement...

Mitchelson will be known to many for the work he has done with an enviable selection of top tier brands, mostly – but not exclusively – in the cycle trade, and covering products from prints to mugs.

Activity books for adults have grown in popularity in recent years – perhaps given a boost by the theory that the attention required to complete the task distracts you from other worries and helps to reduce stress, and at the same time you boost your creativity and enhance some skills. This is Mitchelson's first book, and he has produced an activity book with a difference: everything has a cycling theme.

More specifically, as the title suggests, the book has a Grand Tour theme. Note that despite the colour of the cover, the book is not limited to the Giro: pink is just a colour that Mitchelson likes and reckons isn't used much, so it should help the book stand out on a shelf.

Several of the activities present in mainstream puzzle books are here, such as a word search – although I doubt many others include the words 'gruppetto' or 'bottom bracket'. Join-the-dot pictures are another staple, with the subjects here being legends of the sport.

Other activities might benefit from the input of others, such as the challenge to design a team jersey, musette, or frame, all within the outlines provided – so you need to create a design first before getting to the colouring in, which is a popular activity in its own right.

The result is a book that needs to be viewed from a different perspective: you can't treat it like a normal book, because there is little to look at (until you have completed some of the activities), and even less to read.

Indeed, Mitchelson's hope is that you 'don't let this book sit on a shelf', because 'it wants you to scribble and use colour in it'. Incidentally, I was surprised to see some 'used' books on offer at Amazon, so you might want to check what that means if you are tempted.

Perhaps the book could be used as a new activity during a gathering of like-minded people, such as your friends or riding mates. The inspiration is provided, you just need the participants to get creative. In my experience, even if everyone is working to the same brief you will get very different results, which is always entertaining.

Although none of the Grand Tours is actually running at present, the reality is that their presence is felt for much of the year in some form: if it is not the pre- or post-race analysis, then it could be the speculation or announcement about the routes – which has in fact already started for next year. 

> More books every cyclist should have on their shelves

All three Grand Tours will make an appearance of sorts in November as well, at the Rouleur Classic show; if you are lucky enough to be going you will know that each of the three days will be themed around one of the Grand Tours. If you went last year you will also know that many of the riders that star in those races are at the show. Why not take the Grand Tour book along and choose appropriate pages on which to acquire autographs of the great and the good of the sport? After all, I doubt that Mitchelson will mind who it is 'defacing' the book, as long as it's being put to good use.

Verdict

Helping cyclists make their own entertainment by bringing the creativity of activity books to the world of cycling