A Dog in a Hat : An American Bike Racer's Story of Mud, Drugs, Blood, Betrayal, and Beauty in Belgium

In 1987, Joe Parkin was an amateur bike racer in California when he ran into Bob Roll, a pro on the powerhouse Team 7-Eleven. "Lobotomy Bob" told Parkin that, to become a pro, he must go to Belgium. Riding along a canal in Belgium years later, Roll encountered Parkin, who he described as "a wraith, an avenging angel of misery, a twelve-toothed assassin". Roll barely recognized him. Belgium had forged Parkin into a pro, and changed him forever. A Dog in a Hat is Joe's remarkable story. Parkin lays it all out: the drugs, the payoffs, the betrayals, the battles for contracts, the endless promises, and the glory of racing day after day. A Dog in a Hat is the unforgettable story of the un-ordinary education of Joe Parkin and his love affair with racing, set in the hard place in the world to be a bike racer.

In 1987, Joe Parkin was an amateur bike racer in California when he ran into Bob Roll, a pro on the powerhouse Team 7-Eleven. "Lobotomy Bob" told Parkin that, to become a pro, he must go to Belgium.

Riding along a canal in Belgium years later, Roll encountered Parkin, who he saw as "a wraith, an avenging angel of misery, a twelve-toothed assassin". Roll barely recognized him. Belgium had forged Parkin into a pro bike racer, and changed him forever.

A Dog in a Hat is Joe's remarkable story. Leaving California with a bag of clothes, two spare wheels, some cash, and a phone number, Parkin left the comforts of home for the windy, rainswept heartland of European cycling. As one of the first American pros in Europe, Parkin was what the Belgians call "a dog with a hat on" -- something familiar, yet decidedly out of place.

Parkin lays out the hard reality of the life--the drugs, the payoffs, the betrayals by teammates, the battles with team owners for contracts and money, the endless promises that keep you going, the agony of racing day after day, and the glory of a good day in the saddle.

A Dog in a Hat is the unforgettable story of the un-ordinary education of Joe Parkin and his love affair with racing, set in the hardest place in the world to be a bike racer. It is a story untold until now, and one that you will never forget.

In this brutally frank book, Joe Parkin puts readers in the whirlwind of the extreme world of professional bicycling, starting with his first visit to his team doctor, where, strapped to a metal table and monitored by humming electrodes, his future as a professional racer is coldly determined. Parkin pulls no punches, celebrating the glory of bike racing at its best, but also exploring the harsh reality of the life behind it. The author covers it all from an insider's perspective: the drugs, the payoffs, the races bought and paid for, the misery of training, the physical agony of racing, the battles with team owners for contracts and money, the endless promises, and the betrayals by enemies, teammates, and friends. Set in Belgium, the epicenter of all that's daunting and dazzling about the sport, "A Dog in a Hat" is one American's story of his love affair with professional cycling.

In 1987, Joe Parkin was an amateur bike racer in California when he ran into Bob Roll, a pro on the powerhouse Team 7-Eleven. "Lobotomy Bob" told Parkin that, to become a pro, he must go to Belgium. Riding along a canal in Belgium years later, Roll encountered Parkin, who he described as "a wraith, an avenging angel of misery, a twelve-toothed assassin." Roll barely recognized him--Belgium had forged Parkin into a pro, and changed him forever. This is Joe's remarkable story. Parkin lays it all out: the drugs, the payoffs, the betrayals, the battles for contracts, the endless promises, and the glory of racing day after day--the unforgettable story of the un-ordinary education of Joe Parkin and his love affair with racing, set in the hardest place in the world to be a bike racer.--From publisher description Joe Parkin was an American bike racer who left the familiar comforts of home to compete at the highest professional level in Belgium. This memoir describes the true life of the professional bike racer. It tells the hard reality of the life - the drugs, the payoffs, the betrayals by team-mates, and the sheer physical agony of racing day after day.