Cycling Books

I'm a seasoned ex-elite racer. I bought this book with great enthusiasm, but found it to be oriented to the novice rider. It didn't add as much as I though it would, in fact, after my 10+ year career, it didn't add anything!

There are better books for bicycle racing out there: Eddie B.'s Bicycle Road Racing is my favorite, even if it's 20 years old.

This book tells about training, bicycle equipment and very little about racing itself.

..but brings very little value if you have been in cycling for a while and experienced your first race already. I would suggest joining a good racing team instead

I'd recommend this book. As an junior racer many, many years ago, I was able to reflect on some of the advice that was gained 'the hard way', ie- by making mistakes. Defininitely a good read for someone starting out in racing.

There's no better place to start if you want to learn to race bikes. A lot of what's out there is very interesting but targeted towards a more advanced racer. It's all too easy to lose sight of the fundamentals. This book will help you pick the equipment you need without going overboard, improve your understanding of training and recovery, and work a training plan into your life without burning out. It's full of detailed discussion of essentials like how to execute an attack and make it stick. The chapters on improving fundamental skills like climbing, cornering and descending are complete, detailed, and effective, as are the chapters on strategy and tactics. Road racing, time trials, criteriums and stage races are each given a full chapter that will to help you develop a tactical sense that you can apply when the situation arises. I'm midway through my first serious season and the more I get out and race the more mileage I get out of this book.

If you want to get into bike racing but have no idea where to start this is THE book for you. It's a complete over view of all the basics you need to know to get into the sport including a check list to see if you are even ready to race. Gets into basic training concepts and racing tactics. However, if you are a seasoned cyclist, you probably won't find much new here. Being new to the competitive side of the sport this last year, I found this book to be an extremely important guide.

There isn't a lot in this book that cannot be found from the internet, or from doing your own research into various east bay trails or parks. For instance, all the East Bay Regional Parks covered in this book can be found at the EBRPD website. Every EBRPD trail map can be downloaded from the website (the trail maps are more detailed than the ones in this book), and all the pertinent cultural and geographical information can be read at their website.

However, the point of this book is that all that research has been done for you. You can pick up this book and get good ideas for simple hikes and much of the pertinent information without having to spend time doing all that work yourself. If this book were $50, then maybe I'd think twice, but for under $20, I have used this book many times to get general ideas of areas/parks/trails to hike. I usually supplement this book with a better trail map, but having information about much of the east bay in one concise book is very nice.

PROS:
-simple guide, with breakdown of distance, approximate time, and a decent trail map
-nice range of east bay trails/parks covered
-good descriptions of the hikes, with more than just factual "data" type information.
-takes the hard work out of reseraching various EBRPD parks or other east bay parks and planning out routes, etc.

CONS:
-trail maps are just ok. No distances are given on the maps, and lacks a lot of detail.
-no elevation profiles. In today's age of GPS and topo software out there, I almost expect books nowadays to have elevation profiles, or at least the amount of elevation gain.
-more of a "general idea" guide than a specific trail guide/map.

I like it. Clear descriptions. A few pages per trail. Not too long, not too short. Gives you lots of options for various types of trails. Like the maps and the layout. Highly recommended.

I really like this book and have found some great trails from it, but the one major downside to this book, in my opinion, is that it does not tell you the elevation differences for the trails. When I'm picking out a new trail, I like to consider both the mileage AND the elevation because it makes a big difference, big enough for me to not buy this book (I borrow it from the library on occasion). Other than that, this book is good.

I'm really enjoying this book. I've been hiking in the east bay for long enough that I was in something of a rut and this book is really breaking me out of it. It has good coverage of the area, with one or two good trails per park instead of concentrating in any given area. The hikes are mostly loops, and the distances and difficulty measurements are more realistic than some of these books where the author seems to be trying to show how tough they are. The trail descriptions are actually interesting and there are nice maps, again unlike most hiking books.

As far as Bay Area hiking books go, this is the best one I have for the East Bay. However, it is not my *favorite* hiking book. There are a lot of parks & trails that you just won't find in regular Bay Area hiking books. I like that. BUT, I found the trail descriptions long winded & sometimes confusing. What I often do with hikes from this book is find the park & get a real map to sort out my route before I leave my car. Then I leave the book in the car. I just use it as a sort of pre-hike guideline for mileage & scenery, etc.

I used an earlier edition of this book for a trip from Genoa to Barcelona in September 1989, and for a trip from Lisbon to Tangiers in May 1990. I was 23/24 at the time, and had never toured on my own prior to those trips. The book was perfect: good advice for purchasing/maintaining a tour bike, good description of routes and side trips, good advice on special little things to see and do along the way (I think I used it in conjunction with the relevant 'Lets Go' guides). I had two fantastic adventures. Somewhere along the way I lost my book so, nearly 20 years later, I am buying a new copy to share with my husband and daughter.

The copy I was looking at had been reprinted in 2005, so I assumed it would be pretty up to date. I was a bit taken aback when they suggested that I could make cassette mix tapes of songs to give to friends I met along the way. Even moreso when they were telling how you could arrange in advance with friends to have mail sent to you at certain post offices you would pass by along the way, and how nice it was to be able to keep in touch that way. Also they gave addresses you could write to asking for maps and tourist information to be mailed to you before your trip. And then there was mention of cycling through Czechoslovakia. On closer inspection it was a second edition that had five reprints between 1993 and 2005, but they've still managed to leave it completely un-updated.

I'm sure a lot of the basic directions would still be fine, but keep in mind it hasn't been updated in nearly two decades, and so a lot of the information isn't to be trusted. You may as well get an old copy second hand rather than a new book.

I found the book to be quite informative, however there is one problem that I found. The reader/rider can only do the tour in the direction in which the tours take place in the book due to the fact that the directions are given one way. I just finished a tour using this book and thought that I may be able to maneuver from the end of a tour and go toward the beginning with the help of some good maps. If I had a one Euro cent for every time I got lost I would have been Trump by the end of the trip. I did a tour in the U.S. with maps and directions that went both directions... north AS WELL AS south and east AS WELL AS west. The directions are impossible to follow unless you are going in the Whitehill's prescribed direction. Aside from that, information regarding campgrounds and distances is extremely on target and helpful.

I used their first edition for my first bike trip in 1991, and can't recommend it enough. I really didn't have any other bike book then, and this one got me across Italy, through part of France, and across Germany. I used the same edition a couple years later, and it was still helpful.

The advice was all clear, particular the directions--what to look for, where to turn. Maps were good. I've had time over the years to compare it to a couple other bike touring books, and this was clearly the best. Roads change, of course, and I hope to see new editions.

I used the 1991 book to plan my 2002 solo biking trip from Salzburg, Austria to Budapest, Hungary. 11 years later I found their directions were still quite accurate. That trip was an absolute delight.

I am now planning another solo bike trip in September 2006 that will follow the Whitehill's route from Brussels Belgium to Versailles, France to Angers, France and back to Versailles.

Biking has become an increasingly popular hobby -- even more so these days with the astronomical prices of gas. Now in a newly updated third edition, "Ride Guide: New Jersey Mountain Biking" by mountain biking expert Joshua M. Pierce is a comprehensive guidebook to mountain biking rails throughout the Garden State. The twenty-six rides include both low-impact and hard-core trails that take the rider through the varied and occasionally spectacular terrain that New Jersey offers. "Ride Guide: New Jersey Mountain Biking" is enhanced with the inclusion of practical information as to levels of trail difficulty, turn-by-turn cue sheets and maps, as well as accurate and succinct descriptions of topography, trail conditions, and points of interest. Also very highly recommended for regional bike enthusiasts is Joel D. Sendek's "Ride Guide: Mountain Biking in The New York Metro Area, third edition" (9780933855267, $15.95).

This isn't necessarily a review, since I am the author, but I thought that this new edition warranted a comment. I completely rewrote this book over the past year for this third edition. If you look at the previous reviews of the book, I address all of the issues brought up by reviewers. I re-rode, re-plotted and re-measured every mile of trail in the book. I added nine new parks that include every place to mountain bike that I know of in South Jersey (including Estell Manor, Gloucester Community College and Wharton State Park).
New Jersey gets a bad rap from lots of people, but the truth is there is a lot of excellent riding in the Garden State.

A more discriptive title would be, "Ride Guide Mountain Biking the Counties of Northern and Central New Jersey." For those of you living in the southern part of the state...look elsewhere. All of Southern New Jersey is ignored.

Wharton State Forest is the largest single tract of land within the New Jersey State Park System. It covers part of Atlantic, Burlinton, and Camden counties and has some great off road riding. Lebanon St. Forest is historic and includes a major section of the 50 mile Batona trail. A major mountain bike publication listed Lebanon St. Forest in an article called "Five Great Places to Ride Double Track." These areas' as well as the rest of Southern New Jersey are completely ignored in "New Jersey Mountain Biking"

Hey Josh, buddy. Come on...if you're going to write a book about riding in New Jersy, how about including the rest of us!

I took up mountain biking last summer (1999). It has been a great source of challenge and pleasure to me.

Finding this book has made such an adventure out of biking in NJ! It is well-written, has great maps with the mileage and turns and a good rating system so you know what you are getting into before you leave. Driving directions to the spots and explanations of where to park, whether or not there is a fee... it's got everything you need to know. He really did a good job of researching the book and a nice touch is the inclusion of other nearby sites (relevant to the place you pick).

One possible improvement: There's a map of NJ showing all the sites, it would be nice if the page numbers were listed there and the trail ratings were also included on the map. As it is now, you need to go to 3 different pages to find all of that info. Hardly worth mentioning, but if there was one thing to make it better, that would be it, in my opinion.

I gave this book a token 2 stars because I wasn't actually able to try any of the trails for myself...So, I don't know how good the trail maps or descriptions are. All I can report is that there isn't anything here for those of us in the soutern part of the state! For mountain bikers in S. Jersey, I recommend Bob Di'Antonio's "Mountain Bike America: Greater Philadelphia Area." This book covers some S. Jersy rides as well as nearby Philadelpha and Eastern Pennsylvania.

If you're interested in traveling the world, this is the way to do it. This book was inspirational and tremendous.

A very enjoyable book. Not so deep & philosophical like a Bruce Chatwin or Peter Matthiessen travel journal, but it is much more approachable and readable. He writes the real story about travel - the hassles and hardships you endure to see and experience people and places that forever change the person you are. It inspires us to travel on a budget without trivializing the sheer time and labor involved.

Written in a simple, readable style, it is a page turner for sure.

This book started off with great Promise, of an adventure. However,the writer was all over the map, Figuratively, and did not seem to be able to flesh anything thing in detail. A mish mash of ideas and things thrown together for a book. Yes there was adventure there, He maybe should have hired a ghost writer instead of spending five years for this effort, I think money would have well spent if he had done this. I am sure that the slide show is much better.

Bruce Junek writes well, and Tass Thacker's photographs are excellent. They give you a good idea of the people and places they visit. They are also very kind and likable people.

Whether they are trekking, biking, meeting the locals, learning the languages, eating the local food (occasionally becoming ill!), you really like these two people. This cannot always be said of other adventurous types who might seem self-centered or petulant. And while not many will want to duplicate their entire trip, there are parts of it that could be easily copied (e.g., Nepal, New Zealand and Australia).

Wish they'd had even more time to explore and write about their adventures.

Bruce & Tass (authors) tell their cycling story in such a way that can only inspire the spirit of travel in each of us! We all dream to experience the world: the authors allow us to travel with them on their bicycles...13 miles/hour...1 new culture a day. Through this narrative and collection of photos we are able to see literaturaly the world thru their legs & eyes...and dream of the day we too can slowly traverse the thousands of miles that we pretend to be obsticles in the pursuit of that dream.

i am currently tour-cycling across the united states. started in neah bay, wa and going first to wash. d.c. then to nova scotia, canada...only to bike back to my native minnesota thru canada. 7000 miles in 5 months. have fealt so much of their experience. appreciate their allowing me to follow them along their personal journey into their hearts and around the globe. this book is such a great companion and model for what my trip has been and will be with every mile. thank you!

I bought this book for my 14 year old grandson. He said ,"Grandma you finally sent me a book I want to read!!"

I found this book surprisingly useful as I read it. There are tons of photos and they help a ton to explain the different trick walkthroughs. The explanations are clear and simple and can help ANY skater improve on his game. I enjoyed it.

Two thumbs up,

Caleb
www.myboardshop.com

Actually I intended to order another book "Ramp Plans: Learn How to Build Vert Street Mini Launch and Bowls (2000 Edition)", but by mistake seem to have ordered this one instead without realising it before it arrived. Must be my mistake where as I should have noticed this in the confirmation email I got. Still, better luck next time...

This book is not a beginner book butit is agood book when u
know how to ollie& all beginner tricks.

I like this book because it does give some information about some tricks. It show's some good skateboarding tricks. What i don't like is it doesn't give that many picture.

The Adventure Of Two Lifetimes by Peggy Newland Goetz and Brian Goetz, with June Meyer Newland, is part travelogue, part memoir, and all excitement as it tells of an American husband and wife who embarked on a bicycle tour from New York to California. The Adventure Of Two Lifetimes also transcends generations, viewing the great journey through the eyes of mother and daughter and son-in-law. An exciting, fascinating, and unique look at America from the point of view of highly dedicated and exuberant people, The Adventure Of Two Lifetimes is rewarding, enjoyable, thoughtful, and occasionally inspiring reading!

I hated this book. I admit I didn't finish it, but what I read was dreadful. These people seem to be so impressed with themselves, you'd think no one but them had ever cycled across the country. I'm somewhat upset that I have to give the book one star, because there doesn't seem to be a 'no star' rating.

This is not the type of book I normally read. It arrived in the mail and I had a hard time putting it down. Life passes us by all too quickly. This shows us to stop and smell the roses. Brian is my cousin. They stopped at our house on the trip through Nebraska. They were tired but happy. I hadn't seen Brian for years since life took us to different parts of the country. We had a wonderful but all too short visit. Any time I hear about someone taking a long bike trip I have to tell them about this adventure. Now I have a book to recommend. It's great!

I enjoyed this story immensely. Peggy's descriptions made me want to get out and really SEE these places, minus the Winnebago of course. Sweat Boy, nice job and good info on the "gadget" aspect! Enough to give me some understanding without causing my eyes to glaze. Alternating the writing between the two authors, together with the infusion of June's writings, made the book an easy read. And June, what a character! She reminds me of Steinbeck's Mary Talbot from Cannery Row.

A true picture of how traveling by bike can focus on the scenery not the speed. 40 years of contrast in highways, stores, accommodations, but little change with people wanting to help. Not only should we take time to "smell the roses" but we should enjoy the poeple of this country. What will the next generation depict of our country's scenery/pollution, roads/superhighways, and people? Will fear of assault, roads blocked to bicycles, hotels unwilling to take in exhausted travelers, prevent future bicycle travel? Let's hope not. This kind of adventure should always be available.

This book offers practical advice while it gets the reader excited about the fun of biking. America needs to get off the couch and get peddling--here's a book to help you get started. Pick up one for a friend while you're at it!

I thought this was a well written an informative book. The gentleman that poorly reviewed the book above admits to not knowing anything about writing and should admit to not knowing anything about reading as well. As a published author I can say I know how difficult it is to get something published, and If Mr. Talbert got a publisher to publish this book then he certainaly has got something right there. I thought the book read well and made me want to go right out and ride my bike. It is a must read for anyone who wants to loose weight and have fun doing so.

This book would have made a great little magazine article in one of the general-interest publications. As a book, it is sadly lacking. I'm no writer, and any time I feel I could've written the same book, it doesn't say much for the book! There is not sufficient technical information for those seeking learning. There are any number of other books on bicycling that explore the emotional/spiritual side better and in more depth. Same goes for health benefits. What are we left with, then? A good magazine article that has been 'plumped' into 78 pages and a few chapters. Spend the money instead on two or three bicycle magazines and learn more!

The author tried to lose weight through other exercise routines for years: it was only when he got a bike that he's lost weight and realized health. This first-person account shares his experiences and explores his education on bike equipment and routes. A good starting point for any would-be biker.

My sister read this wonderful book, bought a bicycle, and now she rides 60 to 70 miles a week. She sees the trees and flowers, hears the birds, and for the first time in her life, she knows how much wind there is and from what direction it's coming from. Me too. Bicycling is a marvelous physical exercise, but, as the author says, it's also a mind cleanser. Let's ride!

I've been a avid cyclist for nearly three decades and am always looking for some new insights in order to be a more efficient and stronger cyclist. This handbook comes from the publishers of Bicycling [1-year]which also has relevent information for cyclists. Recently I've included some new training methods and cross training into my normal cycling routine and I found this book beneficial. You can pick and choose your information as the concise format lends itself to browsing the book. It is a small book that you can take most anywhere and pull out to get some information. The tips are very often redundant and common sense ,especially if you have been cycling for a very long time. However there is always something new to learn or just something you may have overlooked even if you are veteran cyclist. An example is just your basic riding postion. The book suggests that on even on your easy ride days you can improve your riding technique by taking note of certain things. For example, I tend to ride with my elbows out(doesn't seem like a big deal but it is)so I now pay attention to this riding quirk and constantly correct my technique. Eventually a better riding technique will be second nature and I won't need to compensate. I picked up some good advice for the gym regarding working on certain cycling specific muscles, the role of the calves and the heart and soul of your stroke, the quads. The suggested excercises for the quads has helped especially since one(step up)some can be done at home from a bench or an elevated firm place.The power and force training sections were concise but filled with useful information. No matter what level of cyclist you are you will be able to benefit from this handbook for improving you riding skills. If you are new to cycling than I would highly recommend this book for a basic handbook for nearly all facets of cycling.

This book is a good starting point for training for cycling. It gives the reader an overview of training and the different approaches there are to training. It drives home the point that each individual is different and that you need to customize a training programt to fit your own needs and abilities. Again, though, I felt it was a good starting point. Giving you a taste of what's out there, introducing you to terms, and what you should be thinking about as you design your own training plan.

As you become more serious about training for cycling, I recommend picking up A Cyclist's Training Bible by Joe Friel.

A great book for cyclists who do not have access to million dollar training facilities. The author takes a no nonsense approach to training that anybody can follow providing they have a bike a stationary trainer and a desire. I found this book very useful. The best part was the author included a section on mountain biking. Thanks!

It's been a while since I last flicked through this book, which tells you something about it. It's a good book, no doubt about it, but I bought it at the same time as another book "The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling" (see my review on that one too!). That book overshadows this one, as it goes into more detail and THAT is the one I find myself re-reading. First and foremost as one of the authors is the same, a lot of the stuff is doubled up.

Note that this book is only 110 pages long and the pages are fairly small. Once again, every page or so, bits of the book are worthy of being highlighted.

If you read bicycling magazine often (which I don't) you probably already know a lot of the content. If you've been cycling for several years (10 for me), I think a lot of the tips can be described as common sense, such as keeping your cadence around 90rpm, consuming carbohydrates and staying hydrated...

But I get the feeling that it tries to cover too much ground. This is more of a book that uses point form. It does get to the crux of the matter quickly, but I prefer to understand /why/ a method works, not just be told that it works, so go do it. Be aware that not all of the techniques discussed here will suit your style of riding. I mean I'm never going to practise sprints. I'm wondering now if I did all they suggested on a ride, I wouldn't enjoy it anymore. Practise you're breathing, cycle for two minutes with alternate legs, concentrate on achieving a flat back posture, pull back then up on the pedals... too much to think about at any one time.

Don't expect to find many weekly training plans in here. For me that was good news, as I've never followed one. I think it all depends on how you're feeling (not to mention the weather and other things that crop up).

One annoying thing, the rest of the world uses metric units: some people, like me, have absolutely no idea how much a fluid ounce is. For the rest of the planet, 1oz = 28ml of water.

Bottom line: I'd say get this book if you've fairly new to cycling and keen to learn ways of improving - take what you want from it and don't worry about the rest.

I really enjoyed this book and found it very helpful for improving my technique. It's a fast read and deserves to be read a couple of times. The author/editor points out that there are several conflicting opinions given, but like anything in life you need to find the one that works best for you. It's good to see that the editor didn't think he had to just give the most popular opinion. I highly recommend this book for riders looking to step up their training.

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I recommend this book to any cyclists interested in racing or fitness. If you ride for fun, this book is probably the only fitness book you will need for cycling. If you are planning on racing, but you don't know much about cycling training, this is an excellent book to start with.
This book is divided into two parts.
The first part introduces the rider to cycling fitness, and how it is accomplished. This involves explaining your max heart rate, VO2 max, and lactate threshold. It also explains the basics of cycling fitness, such as building a base, increasing speed, and raising your lactate threshold.
The second part of the book gives three 30 week workout plans, building towards some sort of event or race. The three workout plans are aimed at beginners, intermediate bikers, and more advanced riders.
This book does not emphasize power meters, but it does recommend a heart rate monitor. It also rates workouts according to perceived effort.
This is a good book.
David

Good common sense development in this book. Too often these books come out and decide that the person they're talking to is in better shape than Armstrong or is about to get on a bike for the first time. It's good to see that she is aiming at giving good workouts with adequate recovery and a constantly growing workload.

Nice work Ms Barry.

I've been riding too many years to count but still enjoy doing two tough road rides over hills per week on a new Trek Madone. I bought this book in an effort to ratchet up a notch with some useful tips about training, diet, etc. Big mistake! There's nothing useful in this book for an experienced recreational rider unless you want to become a racer, in which case go for it - there's plenty of technical advice here that may help a riding zealot. But there's little of interest for someone who enjoys biking and just wants to improve a bit.

Descriptive begginer and advanced training programs, easy to follow instructions, straight to the point.