Getting Back on the Bike: A Journey of Grit, Grace and Getting up Again
R360.00
In Getting Back on the Bike, former South African cycling champion and two-times world masters gold medallist Cathy Carstens shares her deeply personal and inspiring journey through triumph, tragedy and transformation. What begins as a childhood love of sport evolves into a powerful life metaphor – a story about perseverance, healing and rediscovering one’s true purpose. Her remarkable career reflects a lifelong dedication to excellence, endurance, resilience and the true spirit of the sport.
For athletes, dreamers and anyone who’s ever needed a reminder that it’s never too late to begin again – this book will inspire you to get back on your own bike, whatever form it takes.
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Getting Back on the Bike
When life knocks you down, how do you find the strength to rise – again and again?
In Getting Back on the Bike, former South African cycling champion and two-times world masters gold medallist Cathy Carstens shares her deeply personal and inspiring journey through triumph, tragedy and transformation. What begins as a childhood love of sport evolves into a powerful life metaphor – a story about perseverance, healing and rediscovering one’s true purpose. Her remarkable career reflects a lifelong dedication to excellence, endurance, resilience and the true spirit of the sport.
From the thrill of competition and the heartbreak of career-threatening injury, to the long and painful road of rehabilitation and the aftermath of a painful and complicated divorce, Cathy’s journey mirrors the emotional terrain of anyone who has faced loss, disappointment, or the collapse of long-held dreams. But through it all, she learns that the real victories are not measured in medals or records, but in resilience, gratitude, and the will to rise each time we fall.
With candour and humour, she takes readers behind the scenes of elite sport – the discipline, dedication and sacrifice – but also into the quiet moments of doubt, faith and self-discovery that shape a champion’s heart. Along the way, she explores universal themes: identity, purpose, courage, and the power of perspective. More than a sports memoir, Getting Back on the Bike is a book about life – about finding balance, meaning and joy even when the road ahead seems uncertain. It’s about the grace to accept what you can’t control, the strength to keep going, and the wisdom to know that sometimes falling is part of the journey to becoming whole.
“An inspiring book by someone who has done it all and won out.”
PHIL LIGGETT, MBE
“A profound example of how to overcome any challenge life presents.”
JOHN KEHOE
INTERVIEWS
Gugs Mhlungu speaks to CathyCarstens: Sat 24 Jan
702 Weekend Breakfast with Gugs Mhlungu
Marc Falconer shares a review and interview with his cycling hero, Cathy Carstens on Fine Music Radio 101
FINE MUSIC RADIO – BOOK CHOICE: Opus Newsletter march 2026
https://www.fmr.co.za/podcasts/book-choice/
Arnold Geerts: Thursday 5th February
| Weight | 372.80 g |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 15.2 × 22.8 × 2 cm |
| Cover: | Softcover |
| Published By: | Yes!Press Publishing |
| ISBN: | 9781049214030 |
| Pages: | 252pp (229 B&W + 23-page Colour Gallery) |
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Meg Donald –
I’ve just finished reading your book, its brilliant. I would have read it in one day if I had the available hours in one stretch. I felt like I was walking alongside you.
Barry van Slot: –
Am SO ENJOYING your book — I can’t put it down.
Sjoe! you have been through a lot, and also telling the whole story and still keeping on, going on. For me so far the take away is your faith and that God has your back.
You have done a great job balancing the telling of the pain, but still not taking the reader into the darkness.
Adelle –
I finished your book! I’m blown away by your strength and determination. Your cycling journey is truly inspiring!
I enjoyed your many varying adventures capturing your essence. Your journey is a reminder that we are capable of more than we think despite the many challenges life brings.
Jasper –
As a long-standing accounting and tax client of mine, it has been a privilege to read Cathy’s story from a different perspective — not through balance sheets or numbers, but through grit,
perseverance, and lived experience. Reading her journey was deeply inspiring, especially her honesty about fear, pain, and doubt, and how each obstacle became part of a larger process of personal transformation.
Marianne Nicol –
Your book is profound! Your writing style is entertaining and never a dull moment. It is un-put-downable, you don’t want to stop reading. And you build it up so excellently towards the end with great depth and honesty and courage. It is inspiring, not just for sports people but for all. Your book touched my soul and my heart.
Brian –
Cathy, I want to compliment you on your book – it’s not just for cyclists, its for
everyone! I wish I could have read it when I was young – it would have helped me so
much!.
Kathy Jay –
I can highly recommend this book to cycling and non-cycling friends alike. It is an easy read filled with a lot of rich life insights. I found it a fascinating peek into the mind of an elite athlete. A wonderful depth of physical and mental resilience sees Cathy overcoming a chain of life events in an inspiring and humbling way. From winning the Argus Cycle Tour 5 times in a row to touring Europe, founding a physiotherapy practice, raising a family, competing internationally and leading life in between, her story just drew me in and kept me wanting to find out what was next.
Colleen Bond –
Thank you for sharing your story and wisdom. What a wonderful and inspirational
read. Congratulations! Your wisdom and sharing your story will, I am sure, be one of the best gifts many of us may receive as we navigate our own paths.
I am inspired, humbled and grateful to know you from years ago, and now, having insight into your journey, I feel you have shared tools and given me the inspiration to get on and overcome my hiccups and disappointments which I have allowed to become a handbrake.
Maryke Bezuidenhout –
Oh I so loved the book! Your story…. Crazy that you can still ride your bike!!!
“I salute you brave brave woman of immense inner and outer strength”…that phrase from your book jumped out at me.
It also helped me to make a brave decision only yesterday to walk Babiaans Canyon hike
with the Wilderness girls. I was doubtful of my capabilities. Then I made a firm decision to commit (do my bit to get ready, strong and fit) and to completely surrender to it. DONE. My head my biggest enemy!
Heidi de Swardt –
I am really enjoying reading your book. Very inspiring and it motivated me to get back on my bike. I had my first cycle in 4 years. Needless to say, I was in agony for 2 days, and being 10kg heavier didn’t help… but I’ll work on that.
Khayakazi Thomas –
Contrary to what I expected, the book wasn’t about cycling lessons (which I thought I needed after deciding to start cycling a few weeks ago -months before my 30th birthday-without ever having been on a bike!). Yet it turned out to be exactly what I needed!
Thank you for daring to live with such courage, and for sharing it! I feel far less afraid of what lies ahead than I did when I first picked up the book. Truthfully, I’m not the same woman anymore.
Erica Jones – Manhattan Book Club –
I recently discovered Getting Back on The Bike: A Journey of Grit, Grace and Rising Up Again, and I was genuinely inspired by your remarkable story. Your memoir is far more than an account of athletic achievement. It is a heartfelt reflection on resilience, personal transformation, and the courage to embrace new beginnings, even after life’s most difficult setbacks.
I especially admired the way you blend your experiences as a champion cyclist, physiotherapist, and consciousness coach into a narrative that is both uplifting and deeply relatable. Your journey through triumphs, challenges, and remarkable comebacks offers readers not only an engaging sports memoir but also meaningful insights into perseverance, purpose, and authentic living. The message that life’s greatest victories often emerge after our hardest falls is both powerful and encouraging.