Cycling Books

"Cycling around Ireland in search of traditional music, David Wilson follows the coastline from Presbyterian Islandmagee to Gaelic Cape Clear and back up north from Dublin to Belfast. Ireland, a Bicycle, and a Tin Whistle takes us on a journey across wild open spaces and through crowded pubs and festivals that pulse with energy and life. This is the Ireland of... More fiddles, harps, and flutes, butterflies on bog roads, Country-and-Irish songs, Ulster Fries, storytelling, yarnspinning, and jigs and reels to the crack of dawn. As he travels through the North, Wilson gets beneath the surface to portray both the tragedy and comedy of everyday life inside the Protestant and Catholic communities. Aware of the polarized image that each side has of the other, he emphasizes the importance of finding common ground and asserting the middle against the extremes. Just as traditional Irish music is characterized by ornamentations and elaborations on a melodic theme, Ireland, a Bicycle, and a Tin Whistle is full of variations and wanderings on the theme of the trip itself. And just as traditional Irish musicians will follow a sad slow air with a lively foot-tapping reel, Wilson's mood ranges from the nostalgic and reflective to the irreverent and mischievous. If there is a lament in one ear, there is always a song in the other." (review from MSN Shopping site)

"Ireland, a Bicycle and a Tin Whistle is part travelogue, part social commentary, with a bit of history, a lot of Irish character and a strong thread of music running throughout. Wilson's colorful, descriptive prose at times approaches poetry in its style. Read this book for a real slice of Irish culture; it will sharpen your desire to see Ireland and its people for yourself, or it will bring your own memories of Ireland into distinct and vivid focus.
Whether or not you've been to Ireland, whether or not you ever plan to go, you could do much worse for yourself than to see it through Wilson's eyes." (review from Rambles - A Cultural Arts Magazine)

Lucky for us, Mr. Wilson stops drinking enough for most of the trip to tell us of his musical journey round the coast of Ireland. He writes well and integrates some Irish history into his personal experiences. Best of all he seems to hit all the musical hotspots on the west coast from Donegal, where he hears Altan, past Sligo and Westport and Matt Molloy's pub to Clifden, where he hears Kevin Burke and Andy Irvine in a pub session, down the coast to the once wonderful Doolin where he hears a loser singing James Taylor songs, then on to the traditional music mecca of Miltown Malbay and the Willie Clancy festival. His descriptions of sessions are great and he knows his tunes. He works in some history of Irish music as he pedals his bike through potholes, up hills in blasting rain, and across sunny vistas. There's some laugh out loud humor but he doesn't imitate the Dave Barry style (as in McCarthy's Bar). Too often he descends into drunken oblivion and tells us all about it, as if to make sure we appreciate the truth behind the stereotype of the drunken Irish. Minus a star for the hangovers.

I've been to Ireland twice and when I go I never have a hotel reservation, a set itinerary or a care in the world. I immerse myself in the culture and people of Ireland and go where the locals/journey takes me.

Before I go I like to read about similar journeys through the greatest country on the planet. Mr. Wilson has captured what it's like to travel through the countryside, cities and coastal villages of Ireland. It's not just the scenery that endears people to the emerald isle... it's the people, their sense of humor, outlook on life and how they spend their day.

If you want a book that puts you in the middle of an Irish pub with a "three-pint-buzz", listening to traditional music with perma-grin on your face... then grab Mr. Wilson's tale of his Irish Journey. A great read for the plane ride over.

Honestly, this is one of the finest non-fiction cycling books on the Tour de France that one could own. While the photographic clarity is outstanding, the foldout "in-scale" maps are supurb. Authorship is genuine, descriptive, and insightful. A must for any library!

This is really an interesting book if you like the tour de france. It is every bit as good as the 1998 TDF by velo news. This book provides stage by stage analysis in a very readable format and Frankie A.'s diary for each stage. The first part of the book also contains a great deal of insite into Lance A.'s health problems.

If you're going to buy this book, buy the 1999 TDF video also so you can watch a stage after reading the analysis. It really enhances reliving the TDF experience.

If you're looking for a book on bike racing or just biking in general, you might not like this one as it is a detailed analysis of the TDF.

For the price, you really get a great value.

I do recommend the book. The first part was kind of boring but when it gets into the tour itself that's when the emotional part starts. Wilcockson and Pelkey do an excellent job bringing the excitement of the tour to the reader. They are the anchormen, narrating the action. But the fact that we also have Andreu's diary pages there too, that gives us the action from a participant point of view. Tons of useful information, a lot of interesting details. If you like biking, this is the book for you. On the other hand, if you cannot tell the difference between a 55 and an 11 you better get something else to read.

I'm an avid follower of the Life Is A Road series and can't wait for the next book. Daniel Meyer shares his road experiences, life lessons and humor while giving you the feeling of being there. As a rider, I can relate to some of the adventures he has experienced and look forward to making my own journey through this great country. It's not about where you are going....it's all about how you get there! Time to ride....

S. Brown "Hobbit" wrote:
"should only be read by people that really understand what it means to ride a motorcycle, not just own one."

I disagree with this. I understand what he's trying to say here, but I believe that these stories can be read by any and all who enjoy a good adventure tale, and who desire to be in touch with the human spirit. The reader need not know how to "ride" a motorcycle, or even own one for that matter. All that is required is a yearning for a good read.

Daniel Meyer sets a good pace in his writings and fashions a well paved journey all the way through to the end. With wit and sincerity, he creates a new and wondrous aspect of this world that many would not expect from a so called "motorcycle trip book", but are pleasently suprised to discover.

Pick up any (or all) of his books... you won't be disappointed.

David

Dan's stories allow the reader to picture not just the surroundings on his rides, but his feelings and emotions. The stories are diffently not traveloges, but diary entries that should only be read by people that really understand what it means to ride a motorcyle, not just own one.

Mountain Bike Mania by Matt Christopher is about a boy named Will who loves to watch TV. Will loves to eat candy-covered popcorn while he waits for his mom to get home.
When Will goes to school, he gets bullied a lot. Then Will discovers a mountain biking club. Then Will asks his mom for a new mountain bike.
I liked the book because I have a mountain bike at home. There was a lot of biking action. I would recommend this book because it was interesting.

I thought that Mountain Bike Mania was a pretty cool book.
I really like to ride Mounatin bikes and I felt as though I was the one riding the bike in the story. You really felt like you were in the middle of the action. I like the way Matt Christopher writes and would like to read another one of his books. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to ride mountain or dirt bikes.

This book is about a kid (Will Mathews) who is very lousy and in't good at any sports. But one day he goes hiking only to see three mountain bikers that are having a blast. After Will saw them he jouined the club that they were in and soon was having as much fun as the people they saw. Unfortunatly his friend hates to mountain bike and that startes a whole mess that no one knows if it will be over. This book was so good that I read on my own.(I don't like to read that much) If you are looking for a good book and love sports (speceialy mountain biking) then I strongly, absolutly recomend this book to all yong sports lovers for this is the book for YOU! Although the book is not fully about mountain biking(I do wish that it had) it was still a great book. Of course their are probably better books out their that have your name on them and some of them might be one of Matt Christerphor (the aothore)

This book is really great and extremely helpful. In contrast to other books I have purchased on mountain biking trails, this book was much more "user friendly" - it has perforated pages, so you can tear out the maps of the trails. The maps are packed with valuable information, such as descriptions of the terrain, difficulty rating, mileage, points of interest, etc. I have discovered many great new mountain biking areas thanks to this book. Very highly recommended.

Now in a newly revised and expanded edition, Mountain Biking In New Jersey by Christopher Mac Kinnon presents and showcases forty-five off-roads rides for mountain biking enthusiasts. Detailed maps as well as general rules of the trail enhance this excellent resource for routs to pursue for health, fitness, and sheer fun. If you are a biking enthusiast anywhere in New Jersey, then Mountain Biking In New Jersey is the bike guide for you!

I have mountain biked all over the US and have used a number of ride guides to show me the way. While this book is acceptable, in that it does list the trails, I find it very difficult to use. My biggest gripes are about the ride organization, the directions to the rides, and the lack of detail in the illustrations/maps. I would advise the author to pick up John Zilly's "Kissing the Trail" to see how a ride book should be done.

The rides are not well organized. Most books group rides by locality or by difficulty (or both!), but this one does it alphabetically--not useful to those new to the area. Along those lines, the author makes the initial effort to number rides in the table of contents to correspond with the overview map of New Jersey but fails to carry it through in the rest of the book. The result? The poor reader cannot easily flip amongst the rides and figure out where they are on the NJ map. Instead, he has to cross-reference all the rides to locate them.

Directions to the rides are rather poor. As has been pointed out in a review of the previous edition, the author assumes you know a lot about NJ. I have to use Google or Mapquest to really figure out how to get there.

The maps and illustrations leave something to be desired. I feel the clarity that the author attempts to offer sacrifices the detail needed to help both locate the ride and to keep from getting lost. Also, while the perforated maps are a nifty idea in concept, the reality is they don't hold up well to the sweat and mud of mountain biking. Your best bet is to leave the original behind and take a copy with you.

definitely a must for a n.z. bound cycling adventure. this book keeps it all simple and clear without what you don't need. i cycled 4100km in n.z. by mixing and matching routes from the book and found it very useful. the only down side is the not very convenient format and the lack of good route maps which is not a big deal altogether. good luck.

Yes, I am a Kiwi [native New Zealander]and have found this book extremely valuable for planning a tour around both islands. I could find out all the information, but why reinvent the wheel?? It is all laid on here..including an insight into our customs and language.

In brief..... you want to bike around NZ??? GET THIS BOOK!!

In February '97 me, my bike, and this book covered 1300 miles of New Zealand. I used this book extensively to plan my route by mixing & matching the routes covered in the book. obtw, in New Zealand you don't need a map, you only have a couple of roads to choose from and this book covers just about everything you need. I highly recommend it and appreciate the effort Bruce put into the book.

When we first found out that RAGBRAI #27 was going to come to Tripoli, IA on the morning of July 29, 1999 for breakfast, I was tapped to develop the web pages for the Tripoli RAGBRAI Committee. This is not terribly surprising because I'm really the only one here who does this stuff. Anyhow, RAGBRAI has long been sort of a not-quite-so-cottage-anymore industry in this state. Personally, I've never really ridden it from end to end. I've managed to get away and ride it for a day or two ever now and then over the years and that, unfortunately, has been about it. I recall when it first started back in 1973. I think we all thought it was pretty amazing that anybody would want to ride from one end to the state to the other on a bycicle. In those days, I think a lot of people viewed it with just a bit of suspicion. I suppose there a few who still view it with a bit of suspicion. In the years since, I've moved away, moved back, moved away, and moved back to Iowa. Some places where I've been, the only things they know about Iowa have to do with the Presidential Primaries and RAGBRAI. And, no, we don't grow potatos here...that's Idaho your're thinking of. Buckeye State?...that's Ohio. RAGBRAI has cured a lot of people of the notion that Iowa is flat, by the by. There have been times, over the years, when I think I found RAGBRAI to be irritating as well as interesting. When you have to get somewhere in a car, and RAGBRAI is between you and your destination...you might want to reconsider your travel plans. But, mostly, we just love RAGBRAI, in this state. John Karras (formally of the Des Moines Register and along with Donald Kaul one of the RAGBRAI "key instigators") has written a pretty good book, here. If you've never heard of RAGBRAI, or witnessed the spectacle of 7 or 8,000 people moving down the road enmass on byicycles you might not think this to be a remarkable thing. But, after reading this book you will probably feel like you want to get acquainted. No doubt, you, too, will probably show up here, one of these summers huffing and puffing along with everybody else down Iowa's sylvan highways and byways (hopefully with the wind to your back) from west to east where you will triumphantly dip your bike tires in the Mississippi River. If you want to experience a "Moment Of Triumph" in your life...this is probably a good one to aim for. I felt pretty triumphant doing that, one time, and I didn't even go the whole trip. If you've ridden RAGBRAI, this book should bring back some good memories. RAGBRAI has become kind of like an old friend who comes around just once a year. But it's an old friend with unusual grace. It comes by, it visits for a while, and then it leaves. When it's gone you tend to think, "Well...that was okay."

This book was great-it really captured the spirit of the ride! It was very interesting to read about the evolution of the "Grand-daddy" of all bike rides. RAGBRAI is many things to many people and this book touches on quite a few. If you have ridden in the ride, you will enjoy this book-it even makes you hungry for a POOOORK-CHOOOOP! You'll want a copy of this.

When we first found out that RAGBRAI #27 was going to come to Tripoli, IA on the morning of July 29, 1999 for breakfast, I was tapped to develop the web pages for the Tripoli RAGBRAI Committee. This is not terribly surprising because I'm really the only one here who does this stuff. Anyhow, RAGBRAI has long been sort of a not-quite-so-cottage-anymore industry in this state. Personally, I've never really ridden it from end to end. I've managed to get away and ride it for a day or two ever now and then over the years and that, unfortunately, has been about it. I recall when it first started back in 1973. I think we all thought it was pretty amazing that anybody would want to ride from one end to the state to the other on a bycicle. In those days, I think a lot of people viewed it with just a bit of suspicion. I suppose there a few who still view it with a bit of suspicion. In the years since, I've moved away, moved back, moved away, and moved back to Iowa. Some places where I've been, the only things they know about Iowa have to do with the Presidential Primaries and RAGBRAI. And, no, we don't grow potatos here...that's Idaho your're thinking of. Buckeye State?...that's Ohio. RAGBRAI has cured a lot of people of the notion that Iowa is flat, by the by. There have been times, over the years, when I think I found RAGBRAI to be irritating as well as interesting. When you have to get somewhere in a car, and RAGBRAI is between you and your destination...you might want to reconsider your travel plans. But, mostly, we just love RAGBRAI, in this state. John Karras (formally of the Des Moines Register and along with Donald Kaul one of the RAGBRAI "key instigators") has written a pretty good book, here. If you've never heard of RAGBRAI, or witnessed the spectacle of 7 or 8,000 people moving down the road enmass on byicycles you might not think this to be a remarkable thing. But, after reading this book you will probably feel like you want to get acquainted. No doubt, you, too, will probably show up here, one of these summers huffing and puffing along with everybody else down Iowa's sylvan highways and byways (hopefully with the wind to your back) from west to east where you will triumphantly dip your bike tires in the Mississippi River. If you want to experience a "Moment Of Triumph" in your life...this is probably a good one to aim for. I felt pretty triumphant doing that, one time, and I didn't even go the whole trip. If you've ridden RAGBRAI, this book should bring back some good memories. RAGBRAI has become kind of like an old friend who comes around just once a year. But it's an old friend with unusual grace. It comes by, it visits for a while, and then it leaves. When it's gone you tend to think, "Well...that was okay."

This is a great book for learning how to ride. It is very informative and fun to read. My only complaint would be that it does not teach you how to do tricks. But it's by far the quickest way to learn unicycling.

This book has helpful tips and photo illustrations, as well as useful advice on avoiding bad habits. It is written for a complete beginner, and includes information about selecting the right kind and size unicycle. I bought it hoping that a magic trick to make this easy would be revealed--but of course the "trick" is to practice--for hours and hours.

I bought this book to learn some more about unicycling but found that I already learned all that it had though I Could have used it when I started so I would recommend it for the beginner.

Very detailed, I found "serious cycling" easy and enjoyable to read. Ideal for the self - coached athlete, it helps personalize your cycling program depending on your present abilities. While reading you find that there is much more to training and becoming a better rider then you first thought, but it puts the "why" into training in addition to the "how" giving a better understanding and appreciation with what changes your body must undergo to be a better cyclist.

Periodization, training modes, keeping diaries and more... The nutrition section I found to be a little "old school" but, nevertheless, interesting and backed by studies. This information is aimed at the "serious cyclist" and may be too much for someone not willing to put forth the 15+ hours a week.

Burke, a well known name among cyclists, gives very detailed and sometimes complicated advice about how to train, how to create a training schedule for various goals, how and why to make a training diary, etc. Readers should be aware that his advice is aimed at the very serious cyclist, and his training schedules range from those for serious collegiate cyclists (~15hrs/week) to professionals (~25+ hrs/week). His advice is sound, but it may be more than most people really need. His peak mileage (feb) is 2000miles--that's 500 miles per week!

A big question for me when buying my first book on training for racing, was "Who provides the most reliable and important information?" I have seen Dr. Burke quoted in a variety of sources including Bicycling magazine, Velo magazine, and Chris Carmichael's web site. So I had the impression he is respected in the sport. Further, when reading his writings in other sources, he has gone into the underlying physiological processes that contribute to one's performance on a bike. As such, I decided to purchase his book based on his apparent credibility and the depth of information he provides. Strengths of his book include its excellent coverage of what goes into training for competitive cycling. From beginning "base training" to sprint training, periodization, and planning one's training for the entire year. He also speaks at length on nutrition, equipment/rider aerodynamics, body positioning on the bike, and adjunct training methods. Again, there is an emphasis on underlying physiological processes including some discussion of relevant research. I would say the book's weaknesses lie with it's failure to address racing tactics. Certainly, you learn about what is happening with the body at race pace, but this book will not tell you about positioning for a sprint or pacing one's self for a time trial.
In short, buy this book if you are serious about racing and want to enhance your knowledge of what goes into training for competition. Don't buy this book if you want to learn about tactics.

This is my fourth book in the "Short Bike Rides" series. This one, especially, was well worth the purchase time, several times over. There were several things that I learned from the book that I did not see online or in other books. At least, without many hours of additional searching. Very worthwhile.

This book serves as a decent guide for cycling beyond theconfines of New York City. It is definitely geared towards the tourist or out-of-towner who is looking to tour certain areas of New York via a bicycle. However, as a longtime resident and cyclist of this fine city, I would hightly recommend AGAINST such an endeavor. As anyone who's at least visited New York City can tell you, traffic and other cyclists wait for no one, and pedestrians are even more of a hazard than anything on wheels. Pedaling slowly and taking the time to stop and view the sites is extremely dangerous.

All that aside, the detailed descriptions and historical explanations of what you encounter on these trails is very interesting. Listing the facilities that are available to the rider is a plus. After downing liters of water it's always good to know where that public restroom is! The maps are easy to read and the authors give you clear instructions of where and how to get to the trails, either by car or public transportation. I found that this guide serves better for the sections dealing with the counties and boroughs outside of Manhattan. Since there was so much great detail into the sights and surrounds along these rides, I wish that there had been just a bit more about biking the routes, not just the basic explanation of "hilly", etc. Overall this is a nice book to have for easy weekend rides.

Just as a little footnote. The authors say to ride on the right side with traffic. In New York City this is only partially usefull advice. While biking in NYC, yes, always ride with the traffic. If it's a two-way street, stay on the right. However, if it's a one-way, (which most of the streets and avenues are), stay on the left. The drivers see you better and you have less of a chance of getting "doored." Also, the bike lanes are always on the left... They have a link from their website that will lead you to some city-issued throughly detailed maps of New York City, complete with all the bike paths, all color coded so that you know which are bikes only, which are shared roadways, and which are shared but pecarious, etc. Plus the maps are free!

I've been a cyclist for more than 20 years and there are few ride guide for the New York Ciity that presents detailed routes as well as this book does. The authors are obviously seasoned veterans who have spent more than their fair time pedaling the NY-NJ-CT tri-state region. Maps are clear and the step-by-step "Directions at a Glance" make following the routes almost foolproof. This is a far better way of bringing the reader along for the ride than many other books on the subject.

Highly recommended!