Downhill: The Life Story of a Gravity Goddess

by Marla Streb and Dashka Slater

In 1994, Marla Streb left her promising career as a biomedical researcher to climb onto a bicycle and hurtle herself down the side of a mountain at speeds topping fifty miles an hour. And at the age of 36, she continues to compete and win against women ten years younger at the highest levels of her sport-downhill mountain biking. Astonishingly enough, this is not the most intriguing aspect of Marla Streb. Downhillchronicles her life before racing-her...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0452284589
• ISBN13: 9780452284586
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: Plume Books
• Length: 326 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

This bike is about so much more than biking!

Marla Streb's autobiography might be the last book you'll read in a while. Why? Because after reading it, it's quite likely you'll find yourself out doing things, being active, and really sucking the marrow out of life--instead of sitting around reading. It happened to me. I was an avid reader. Then I read her book. I loved it and had to ration it out so I didn't read it all in two sittings. Then, out of habit when I finished reading it, I stocked up on books at the library. Several chapters into one, I realized, "Why am I reading about other people doing things that I could go out and do?"You don't have to aspire to be a pro mountain biker to be able to appreciate and enjoy this book. I'd recommend this book to anyone who has felt lost or to anyone who isn't quite sure he/she's enjoying his/her life as much as possible. Marla's been there, and found a way to achieve happiness. It's an inspirational book just as much as it about sports and about one person's journey to personal greatness.Marla isn't just a super-fast cyclist... she's smart as a whip, funny, kind, patient, friendly, supportive, generous, very self-aware, and not self-centered. Buy this book! If you love it, buy another copy and donate it to your local library so other people can be inspired as well!

Goddess finds way along the bikepath

"Until I started down this path I was lost". So Marla Streb begins "The Life Story of a Downhill Gravity Goddess." Anybody, who's maybe lived a little bit, poked around in the dark for more years than necessary, doing what never felt right in the first place, will be able to cord right away with Marla's feeling lost, then feeling lost no more. And that fact, maybe more than any other contained in this book, is what put the hook in this reader from the get go. Contrary to what the title of this work proclaims, I believe this book could be just the first chapter to be added to in a larger volume of contributions from Marla Streb. This is not a book penned by a celebrity talking about how great they are. This is a book written from the heart about the subject of life from someone who learned young just how precious life is. With this book Marla has contributed something special back the sport that she excels in. By reading this book and learning more about her path, you may see and learn more about your own.

I couldn't think up a non-cheezy title...so this will do!

This book was a great read. Marla is one talented girl, she is very honest about everything from personal choices, professional direction, drinking, training, relationships, everything. Which anyone who rides comtemplates. She debunks the notion that racers are superhumans, and really reveals a lot in this personal journey. I think that anyone can relate to this on a whole bunch of levels. I ripped through this book in record time. From the riding in europe, to breaking collarbones, career paths, longterm significant others, she does what a lot of us do...using cycling to figure out what happiness is and sort out all of life's big questions. Give this book a go.