Arthur Lamy

During the 20 years that I have been an author, I have written articles, books, brochures and web content on a number of subjects for an equally broad range of clients, such as: Jersey Tourism, IPC Media, Seaflower Books and Francis Frith Books.

Most things I have written have been commissioned. The subject matter has usually been the history, environment and culture of the Channel Islands, where I live. As a qualified tourist guide I have an extensive knowledge of the Channel Islands. I have produced a number of brochures and walking guides for Jersey Tourism, including the epic 110-mile ‘The Channel Island Way’: a walking guide that circumnavigates the coastlines of all the islands, and includes details of cafés, bus stops and points of interest.

For most of my working life, I managed a small cycle shop in Jersey’s capital, St.Helier. In addition to this, I raced bicycles in massed start events and time trials, and was local veteran mountain bike champion for a number of years. I also did some cycle touring. These experiences resulted in ‘Jersey Cycles – Explore the island by bike’, which was published by Roger Jones at Seaflower Books in 2002. Subsequently I have written a wide range of articles for Cycling Active and Bicycle magazines, among others.

With that in mind, it will come as no surprise that my latest book — ‘Rides of Passage’ — written with my eldest son, Matthew, is about cycle touring. In fact, probably the biggest surprise is that it is written about somewhere other than Jersey!

It is fair to describe it as much more than an average cycle touring book. Only a small portion of the book is devoted to the routines imposed by our method of travel. The rest is devoted to our journey through life; as a teenager becomes a married man with a family, and as a father sees his children leave home and becomes a grandfather.

I know that this sounds quite serious but rest assured it is delivered in a light-hearted way, and hopefully everyone will find something in it that gives food for thought.