CYYYCLES - THE BOOK
Context:
(version
française
du contexte ici).2014–2023 ︎︎︎ The beginning.
I started shooting bikes in 2014 to learn how to use a camera, because I wanted to become a professional photographer. I soon realised that the world of cycling was the perfect subject for this:
I could photograph bikes leaning against a wall, capture all their little details, take a portrait of their owner, or photograph them whilst they were racing them, by day, by night… Absolutely everything was possible.
In the end, I really got into it, and I’ve never stopped taking photos ever since. These photos have gradually become the most precious things I have in life. I didn’t do much with them at first apart from posting them online.
But from the very first one, I archived them in their original format because I always thought I might do something else with them someday.
October 2023 ︎︎︎ The turn of events.
I’ve obviously developed a taste for cycling, and not just for photographing bikes. I’ve bought several (see my bikes), and as the years have gone by, I’ve been cycling more and more. 2023 was the year I have been cycling the most since I first got into cycling.
Then, in October, I was involved in a very serious accident that nearly killed me. I won’t go into the details or the exact circumstances, simply because I don’t know them.
But basically, at around 11 pm, whilst cycling home after a group ride around Paris, I was knocked down by a motorist.
The impact sent me straight into a coma, from which I only came out three weeks later. The medical team couldn’t say whether I would survive.
But I woke up. It felt like waking up from a 30-minute nap, but it was actually a three-week nap. When I was asked if I could say how old I was, or what year it was, I didn’t have an answer. For weeks, I couldn’t speak, walk, or even simply stand up without help.
I later learnt that my mother was talking about organ donation with the medical team at one point. So the situation was rather serious.
November 2023 ︎︎︎ Realisation.
After spending several days collecting my thoughts, I remembered that I photographed bicycles. When I realised that I could have disappeared forever, I also realised that the same would have happened to my photos, as they only existed online. It was a thought I didn’t really like.
I wondered: how can I make sure my photos will still be around after I die?
The answer is simple: turn them into a book!
A book, so that the existence of my photos no longer depends on my own.
Read the latest updates about this book at the bottom of this page.
My bike and helmet after the accident︎
The solution that will make my photos last forever︎
This book saw the light in January 2026.
When I started working on it, I was still in hospital. It kept me busy during the long months of rehabilitation, when I didn’t have much else to do.
Thanks to Polygraph for bringing it to life.
IN NUMBERS:
× 21x21cm
× 294 pages
×
1300 photos
× 10 years covered
× 2 years spent working on it
FOUR SECTIONS:
︎Section 1/4
STAGED PICTURES -
140 pages.
Staged photos, where the whole image matters, and almost everything is calculated/planned:The bikes, the background, the environment, up to the corners. Almost nothing is left to chance.
︎Section 2/4
EVENTS - 66 pages.
Photos shot during cycling events.Here, unlike staged photos, nothing is planned.
Almost everything depends on chance, and being in the right place at the right time, and ready to shoot.
︎Section 3/4
TRIPS - 70 pages.
Photos taken during my few bike trips.Sometimes a bit staged and planned, but always with a good dose of chance.
︎Section 4/4
BONUS SECTION:
10 pages, 0 bikes.But bikes were often only a few meters away.
THE COVER:
The cover went through several phases. The earliest versions looked fine on digital images, but not so good once printed - I'm referring to the purple versions you may have seen at some point. Here is the final version, which is exactly the opposite:
CYYYCLES printed in white ink, on mass-dyed textured paper, making it look like road markings.
It looks much better in your hands than it does in these photos.
Watch this film to find out more about my photos, about this book, and about the accident that triggered its creation
︎
× UPDATES
×
- DECEMBER 2025 UPDATE -
Pre-order is over!This project began in January 2024, and in December 2025, the pre-order phase is now complete.
All the pages have been printed, and should be put together to become actual books in January 2026.
So, that was about two years of work, planning and reflexion on how to organize everything so it doesn’t look too messy.
Goodies included!
For everyone who preordered it, it will come with small envelopes marked with my logo, created using linocut printing, with some stickers inside.
- JANUARY 2026 UPDATE -
Here they are! I have just picked up the finished books, and they look perfect.
200 books in 7 boxes, 200kg in total. Before sending/handing them to people who ordered them, I now have to finish preparing the lanch event exhibition that I want to make for the occasion, which should happen in February
Here are some details of this event:
Around 200 prints in two different formats (lots of small prints and a few larger ones) will be displayed, continuous screening of most of the films I've made so far (40+ minutes, but thet are kind of difficult to print in a book), lots of cool bikes, some of which can be seen in the books, and of course the books.
(PS: the launch event happened in March 2026, see some photos a bit further).
- MARCH 2026 UPDATE -
The book launch party & exhibition happened this month at Mass Works in Paris, during a week, with many people and cool bikes. Thank you!
How to get this book ?
For now (August 2026, as I write this), you can’t.
It was a Europe-only pre-order thing.
BUT, I printed a few extra copies. They might come back at some point. I’ll let you know about it on Instagram @cyyycles and on this website.
I may also run a reprint at some point, in a few years maybe, so keep your eyes open!
And if I keep shooting bikes and don’t end up under a car, a second book will probably see the day at some point!
︎
