Leslie Reissner, Author at PezCycling News

Leslie Reissner

Growing up in the two-wheel desert that was Canada decades ago, Leslie Reissner discovered the joys of cycling when he and a friend rode from London to Munich one summer after high school. Since then, he has done some long distance riding in Europe, including the Camino de Santiago (which apparently entitles him to reduced time in Purgatory), dragged himself over major climbs in the Alps, Pyrenees, Dolomites, Vosges and Appalachians, and even done some racing. In spite of owning 11 bicycles and a cool sports car, Leslie still stays indoors for six months of the year due to the lousy weather and terrible roads in Ottawa but at least he has time to listen to classical music and read a lot of cycling books.

PEZ Bookshelf: Peloton Legends

Sports fans love comparisons. Baseball is famous for its obsession with statistics (“The most successful left-handed pitcher throwing against a Chicago team on a Tuesday evening...”) and certainly all sports have record-holders. Pro…

PEZ Bookshelf: Hearts of Lions (2nd Edition)

“Hearts of Lions,” a history of American bicycle racing, was originally released in 1989 and told the story of the ups and downs of the sport until the moment when Greg LeMond won the Tour in 1986. Now an expanded edition has been released…

PEZ Bookshelf: Merckx 525

There is an old joke that the only famous Belgians anyone can name are Hercule Poirot and Tintin and both are fictitious but not only has Belgium produced celebrated cyclists, but it has given us the best one of all: Edouard Louis Joseph…

PEZ Bookshelf: Mountains – Epic Cycling Climbs

In Michael Blann's spectacular book of mountain photographs, Susannah Osborne writes: “... mountains are... where the sport's heroes are born, and crushed.” The amazing images, and personal stories from some of cycling's biggest stars…

PEZ Bookshelf: The Athlete Inside

It's generally accepted that people are drawn to compelling stories that show a person's transformation from “Before” to “After,” a physical change that in fact heralds a very different life. And one very remarkable example of this is the…

PEZ at the Movies: Marinoni – The Fire in the Frame

With Québec as Canada'a worst hit province in the Covid crisis, Giuseppe Marinoni, a seminal figure in Canadian cyclesports, is still out on his bicycle but disappointed that he had to ride alone. Most people 82 years of age would be happy…

PEZ Goes to the Movies: The Least Expected Day

It is not surprising that during the Great Lockdown Netflix is seeing a massive increase in subscribers. With many new viewers watching a six-part documentary about pro cycling team Movistar's 2019 season, where bizarre antics could not be…

PEZ Goes to the Movies: Alf Engers aka “The King”

The British have a great love of the idiosyncratic and this enthusiasm for the oddball has extended to bicycle racing. Before British Cycling conquered track racing and Grand Tours fell to British riders, the British had a warm enthusiasm…

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