The first speaker in the Far Away Places series is Ricardo Marin Ruiz, presenting “Cycling in Spain” Thursday, September 21 at Barnes and Noble Booksellers.

Ruiz, an avid cycler, earned a doctorate in English philology at the University of Castilla-La Mancha and now teaches English at the School of Industrial Engineering there.

“We are very excited to have Dr. Ruiz as a part of our series,” said Dr. Brian Coutts, department head of WKU Library Public Services and organizer of the speaker series. “His personal experience and historical perspective of the Spanish cycling culture and its effects on Spain should prove quite fascinating.”

Ruiz takes part in many races as part of an amateur cycling team, and will be talking about Spanish cycling. In his talk, he’ll explore the historical origins and later development: more specifically, what we know today as cycling began in Spain by the end of the 19^th century and how its later development was influenced to a great extent by the Tour of Spain (La Vuelta a España) as well as the incredible performance of several Spanish riders, who have raced in some of the best teams in the world. Then, its current condition as social and cultural phenomenon and as generator of economic growth.  Lastly, the talk will finish with a brief account of a personal experience that may well be an example of how cycling can be a passion and almost a way of life.

The Far Away Places speaker series, sponsored by Friends of the WKU Libraries, is free and open to the public. For more information go to library.blog.wku.edu and search Ricardo Marin Ruiz.