The Rouleur Longreads Podcast: Learning to Fly from Rouleur 20.6

The Rouleur Longreads Podcast: Learning to Fly from Rouleur 20.6

Daniel Stewart nearly made it as a pro cyclist. He recalls his time in cycling’s ratrace, its colourful characters, beauty and bleakness. The sport’s loss is writing’s gain

Illustration: Eleni Dabo Longreads Longreads podcast Rouleur Longreads Words: Daniel Stewart

Laka

"I didn’t want a Stone Age ecosystem, a ready-meal career path. I wasn’t for UCAS statements, study placements, three-year degrees and guessing how to succeed.

I needed anarchy. A world with a clear winner: always the strongest, the smartest, finishing first. Throw away the protocols, policies, processes… no thanks to 9am and waiting for the clock to strike five.

I craved a wave of noise, colour and zeal. Klaxons, chaos and bup, bup, beeeep. Moments to unfurl on a team car bonnet, opportunities to be hurled like live grenades: forward and back until they explode.

I wanted to be riding, or lying down,
Lying down, or sitting up,
Sitting up, or eating up,
Anything else
Was wrong.

This awe-inspiring, time-consuming wave is cycling. I wanted to ride that wave, to achieve perfection.

I wanted to be a professional cyclist."

Not just any cyclist either, but the second coming of Sean Kelly. It didn't go quite as Daniel Stewart had hoped, however. For the longread taken from our latest issue, the Irishman reflects on his turbulent time in the ratrace.

The Rouleur Longreads Podcast brings you selected long form articles from the magazine, especially recorded for Rouleur. Don’t stop what you’re doing – do it while listening to the world’s best cycling writing.

The latest in this series is ‘Learning to Fly’ by Daniel Stewart, from Rouleur 20.6. Download the Rouleur app and use the code LEARNINGTOFLY to read the whole issue free of charge.

*This podcast contains some swearing and adult themes*

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SPONSORED BY LAKA


We are delighted to have Laka as a brand partner of the Rouleur Podcast.

Laka is a team that looks out of each other. Laka’s collective cover is made for cyclists, for life on and off your bike. Laka has flipped outdated traditional insurance on its head.

No more fixed upfront premiums. Instead, your monthly contributions are based on the collectives’ claims that month. Your max monthly price is capped, but the savings are all yours. Plus, 80% of your money goes straight back into the collective: fixing, replacing, helping, whatever. And the other 20% keeps their wheels spinning. It’s as simple as that.

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If you are new to Laka, you can get a £10 credit by signing up today. Just use the discount code: rouleur

Illustration: Eleni Dabo Longreads Longreads podcast Rouleur Longreads Words: Daniel Stewart

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