From Booklist
With every book, this British writer inches ever closer to mastering Bill Bryson's unique mixture of travelogue and comedy. His latest offering finds the author on the roads and highways of France, Switzerland, and Germany, a 36-year-old novice cyclist trying to complete the Tour de France. Not the actual Tour de France, that is. Moore set off on the course several weeks before the actual race began, just to see if he could finish all 2,256 miles of it. Like his previous books, Frost on My Moustache (2000) and The Grand Tour (2001), this is not so much a travelogue as a travel situation comedy. Like the protagonist of a sitcom, things just keep happening to Moore: he finds himself in the unlikeliest of places, meeting the unlikeliest of people. He charts his tour progress with an impish wit, never taking anything too seriously, and is engagingly honest about his own shortcomings as a Tour de France cyclist. (He cheats, in other words.) Moore, and the reader, develop a greater understanding of what it takes to be a true tour cyclist: equal parts determination, stamina, and lunacy. His descriptions of the places he visits make these small towns and villages seem instantly familiar; the people he encounters become as real as our closest friends. About halfway through the book, we realize that it doesn't really matter whether he finishes the course; getting there is all the fun. A must for fans of offbeat travel books by the likes of Bryson, Calvin Trillin, and Tony Hawks. David Pitt
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FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Professional athletes are few; countless are those who'd love to be one. In French Revolutions, hack cyclist Tim Moore rides the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong be damned. The salty, spirited Brit's hilarious travelogue charts 3,000 kilometers of biking through the desolate French countryside and up and down the forbidding slopes that make and break cycling champions.

After huffing and puffing his way up the first mountain, Moore rides himself into shape and eventually covers the course at about half the speed of the pros. This is by no means a minor accomplishment. Moore doesn't actually race the Tour de France -- he cycles the course in the weeks prior to the event -- but he does stress his 35-year-old body day in and day out, under a baking sun and in freezing rain, to the point of absolute exhaustion, and he conveys the sense of bonking with glorious aplomb. Looming in Moore's psyche is Tom Simpson, the British cycling champion who put forth such effort that he collapsed and died during the 1967 Tour.

To achieve authenticity, Moore goes so far as to grab an ephedrine rush from hay fever medication and relieve himself while riding, like racers do. It's a strange way to chase a dream, but given that he lacks the talent to race the Tour de France by conventional means, Moore gets props for making it his own. (Brenn Jones)

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Not only is it the world's largest and most watched sporting event, but also the most fearsome physical challenge ever conceived by man, demanding every last ounce of will and strength, every last drop of blood, sweat, and tears. If ever there was an athletic exploit specifically not for the faint of heart and feeble of limb, this is it. So you might ask, what is Tim Moore doing cycling it?

An extremely good question. Ignoring the pleading dictates of reason and common sense, Moore determined to tackle the Tour de France, all 2,256 miles of it, in the weeks before the professionals entered the stage. This decision was one he would regret for nearly its entire length. But readers-those who now know Moore's name deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Bill Bryson and Calvin Trillin-will feel otherwise. They are in for a side-splitting treat.

French Revolutions gives us a hilariously unforgettable account of Moore's attempt to conquer the Tour de France. "Conquer" may not be quite the right word. He cheats when he can, pops the occasional hayfever pill for an ephedrine rush (a fine old Tour tradition), sips cheap wine from his water bottle, and occasionally weeps on the phone to his wife. But along the way he gives readers an account of the race's colorful history and greatest heroes: Eddy Merckx, Greg Lemond, Lance Armstrong, and even Firmin Lambot, aka the "Lucky Belgian," who won the race at the age of 36. Fans of the Tour de France will learn why the yellow jersey is yellow, and how cyclists learned to save precious seconds (a race that lasts for three weeks is all about split seconds) by relieving themselves en route. And if that isn't enough, hisaccount of a rural France tarting itself up for its moment in the spotlight leaves popular quaint descriptions of small towns in Provence in the proverbial dust. If you either love or hate the French, or both, this is the book for you.

French Revolutions is Tim Moore's funniest book to date. It is also one of the funniest sports books ever written.

FROM THE CRITICS

St. Martin's Press - New York Times Book Review

[Moore's] adventures are — in the best sense — off the beaten track. Thank goodness for that.

Kirkus Reviews