In this book, he gives riders of all abilities an insider's guide to getting fitter, faster, and on to the champion's platform. With photographs and illustrated exercises, The Ultimate Ride helps build a strong foundation for incremental leaps in fitness, times, and techniques. Nutritional advice, goal-setting methods, and mental exercises complement the physical training tips, to make this the only cycling fitness book an enthusiast will ever need.

    Covering every aspect of training, he helps riders maximize their experience and minimize problems.

    Complex relationships with teammates, personal and professional obstacles, and a terrible disaster cause the young cyclist to redefine his limits. An insider's perspective on the world of professional bicycle racing reveals that the required tactics and skills create a culture in which pain is the ultimate currency and endurance is the most powerful force. The intense pressure the competitors experience offers an instructive look at personal formation beyond the sports world.

    Now leading cycling journalists Roy M. Wallack and Bill Katovsky have assembled into one essential resource everything cyclists needs to know to bike for a lifetime. These experts present groundbreaking information on medical research, training techniques, nutrition, and technology and equipment trends that impact the sport at every level. They also assess the risks and provide informative solutions to many bike-related conditions that have been overlooked, sensationalized, or are just emerging, including impotence, osteoporosis, weakened immune systems, sore backs, depression, and even fractured relationships. Also featured are a dozen in-depth interviews with cycling legends, such as Gary Fisher, Ned Overend, John Howard, Missy Giove, Eddie B, and Marla Steb. This authoritative guide to getting the most out of your bike riding will appeal to cycling enthusiasts of all ages and abilities, and is a must-read for everyone who loves to get on a bike to compete, to keep fit and promote longevity, for fun, or simply to get from point A to point B.

    Matt Rendell's vivid and entertaining narrative of the Tour de France combines the Tour's golden legends with tales from its dark side, capturing the true and often surreal spirit of the world's most arduous race.

    This comprehensive approach shows the 50 essential core workout exercises that will build strength and endurance in the key core muscles for cycling—no gym membership required.Professional cyclist Tom Danielson used to have a bad back. He shifted in the saddle, never comfortable, often riding in pain. Hearing that core strength could help his back, he started doing crunches, which made matters worse. He turned to personal trainer Allison Westfahl for a new approach. Danielson and Westfahl developed all-new core exercises to build core strength specifically for cycling, curing Danielson’s back problems. Better yet, Danielson found that stronger core muscles boosted his pedaling efficiency and climbing power.Using Danielson’s core exercises, cyclists of all abilities will enjoy faster, pain-free riding. Cyclists will perform simple exercises using their own body weight to build strength in the low back, hips, abs, chest, and shoulders without adding unwanted bulk and without weights, machines, or a gym membership. Each Core Advantage exercise complements the motions of riding a bike so cyclists strengthen the right muscles that stabilize and support the body, improving efficiency and reducing the fatigue that can lead to overuse injuries and pain in the back, neck, and shoulders.Beginner, intermediate, and advanced training plans will help bike racers, century riders, and weekend warriors to build core strength throughout the season. Each plan features warm-up stretches and 15 core exercises grouped into workouts for injury resistance, better posture, improved stability and bike handling, endurance, and power. Westfahl explains the goal for each exercise, which Danielson models in clear photographs.Riding a bike takes more than leg strength. Now Tom Danielson’s Core Advantage lays out the core strengthening routines that enable longer, faster rides.

    In these pages both everyday riders and pros tell their stories of freak accidents, animal attacks, sabotage, idiotic decisions, eerie or unexplained incidents, and other jaw dropping, adrenalin-pumping calamities. These stories bring to life the strange things possibilities that await, once we step on the pedals of our road, mountain, or commuter bikes. A sampling of misadventures in this collection includes the stories of: the mountain biker who follows a bull and then gets gored by it; the twenty African Americans who pioneered cycle touring by completing a Transamerica ride in 1897, but wait - this story gets strange...; the large rat that leapt on top of a woman's bike and slapped her repeatedly with its tail; an inside-the-head narration by a professional racer as he rides a brutal race, and then gets humiliated in changing room afterwards; the recreational cyclist who accidentally rides deep into a prison yard; the computer programmer who crashes a stationary bike during his first spin class; the bike messenger who can't call it quits even after getting hit by eight cars; and, the man who carefully spreads out tacks on the route of an all female race in an attempt to get a date. These stories will make you wonder, drop you to the floor laughing and leave you shaking your head with disbelief.

    The gear you select and how you use it can mean big results—or bigger disappointment.FASTER takes a scientific look at triathlon to see what truly makes you faster—and busts the myths and doublespeak that waste your money and race times. In this fascinating exploration of the forces at play in the swim-bike-run sport, astronautical engineer and triathlete Jim Gourley shows where to find free speed, speed on a budget, and the gear upgrades that are worth it.FASTER offers specific, science-based guidance on the fastest techniques and the most effective gear, answering questions like: •    Which wetsuit is best for me? •    What’s the best way to draft a swimmer? •    Should I buy a lighter bike? •    Deep dish or disc wheels? •    Are lighter shoes faster? •    Who’s right about running technique? Gourley reviews published studies in peer-reviewed journals to show what scientists have learned about swim drafting, pacing the bike leg, race strategy for short and long-course racing, and the fastest ways to handle transitions.FASTER will change how you think about your body, your gear, and the world around you. With science on your side, you'll make the smart calls that will make you a better, faster triathlete.

    You may have tried and failed in the past to make running stick, but never the less you are determined to master it. You may tell yourself that “running is hard”, or “I’m just not a runner”, but the truth is that anybody can learn to run if they have the right approach. You will likely have many questions; “how do I build up my running distance?”, “how do I stay motivated to run?”, “how do I warm up and cool down?”. All of these and more are covered off within the pages of this book along with a step by step guide to building up your running to 60 minutes. There is more to learning how to run than just going out and seeing how far you can go three days a week. Some people will undoubtedly have success with this method, but for most beginner runners it takes a little more guidance and support to truly master the art of running. More and more beginners are deciding to take their first steps and learn how to run. Races are popping up all over the place geared towards beginner runners and it remains one of the most accessible sports around. Learning how to run should be a fun and rewarding experience in itself, not just a means to achieve a goal. Beginner’s Luck is a complete program that teaches you everything you need to build your confidence as a runner. The program itself removes the pressure of having to stick rigidly to a set rate of progress, and instead allows you to progress at your own pace. If you are a beginner runner who would like to learn how to run for up to an hour AND surprise yourself as to how easy it really is, get Beginner’s Luck and start out on your journey today.

    Soon wielding syringes, this forty-something husband and father of two children becomes the doper next door.During his yearlong odyssey, Tilin is transformed. He becomes stronger, hornier, and aggressive. He wades into a subculture of doping physicians, real estate agents, and aging women who believe that Tilin’s type of legal “hormone replacement therapy” is the key to staying young—and he often agrees. He also lives with the price paid for renewed vitality, worrying about his health, marriage, and cheating ways as an amateur bike racer. And all along the way, he tells us what doping is really like—empowering and scary.

    Lance's return road to glory took courage, determination, and a top-notch training program. Now Lance's winning strategies-- developed with coach Chris Carmichael-- can be yours, too! Whether you're a cycling novice or a competitive racer, The Lance Armstrong Training Program will teach you how to:* find the right bike for your body* know when to brake (only as a last resort!)* corner, climb, and descend like a pro* develop your explosive power to sprint* incorporate cross-training into your schedule* build necessary mental toughness...* and much more!Simple and focused, Lance's proven program will transform you into the rider you want to be-- in just seven weeks!

    The McGann's passionate and insightful writing evokes the raucous cast of riders, promoters, and journalists thrusting through highs and lows worthy of opera. This volume stands out as a must-read book for anyone seeking to appreciate cycling's race of races." -Peter Joffre Nye, author of The Six-Day Bicycle Races: America's Jazz Age Sport and Hearts of Lions "There are LOTS of books on the Tour de France. An increasing number of them are actually written in English. However, of those, none educates Americans about this grand spectacle�s rich past. The Tour de France has a history as fascinating and sordid as Rome�s and it is high time someone undertook to explain this to our American sensibility. Our guide for the trip is a man with a ravenous appetite for both world history and bicycle racing, just the sort of person to paint a Tour champion with the dramatic grandiosity befitting Hannibal himself." -Pat Brady, Editor, Asphalt Magazine At the dawn of the 20th Century, French newspapers used bicycle races as promotions to build readership. Until 1903 these were one-day events. Looking to deliver a coup de grace in a vicious circulation war, Henri Desgrange�editor of the Parisian sports magazine L�Auto�took the suggestion of one of his writers to organize a race that would last several days longer than anything else, like the 6-day races on the track, but on the road. That�s exactly what happened. For almost 3 weeks the riders in the first Tour de France rode over dirt roads and cobblestones in a grand circumnavigation of France. The race was an electrifying success. Held annually (suspended only during the 2 World Wars), the Tour grew longer and more complex with an ever-changing set of rules, as Desgrange kept tinkering with the Tour, looking for the perfect formula for his race. Each year a new cast of riders would assemble to contest what has now become the greatest sporting event in the world.

    8-page photo insert. 2 maps.

    

    Whether Your Goal Is 30 Miles or 3,000From Edmund R. Burke, Ph.D., and Ed Pavelka - two of the country's top cycling experts - comes the most comprehensive guide ever to achieving the strength, skills, and strategies you need for long-distance riding. Whether you're training for day rides, centuries, or cross-country trips, The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling helps you choose the right equipment, train step-by-step, and map out your riding strategy so that you can go the distance.Discover how to: * Make the most of every hour on your bike* Build your mileage base efficiently* Customize your training to suit your personality and physical capabilities* Build extra training time into your hectic schedule* Avoid injuries and the dangers of overtraining* Achieve the mental edge you need to ride farther and faster* Train for both road and off-road touring* Choose cycling gear that goes and goes* Eat for the long haul-- nutrition before, during, and after your ridesTo help you achieve your riding goals, The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling gives you complete, step-by-step training programs for riding a half-century, century, double century, and beyond. You'll also find strategies and techniques for special situations, such as riding in bed weather and riding at night. Published by the world's leading authority on bicycling, this informative guide is a must-have for all cycling enthusiasts.