Mountain Bike Like a Champion
by Ned Overend, Ben Hewitt, Ed Pavelka

"This book is loaded with Ned's secrets for a lifetime of great rides. It's destined to be a classic."--Juli Furtado, two-time world mountain bike champion

Bike for Life: How to Ride to 100
by Roy M. Wallack, Bill Katovsky

MICHAEL FRANK, Deputy Editor, Bicycling and Mountain Bike
A great, funny page-turner that you simply don’t expect.

STEVE BOEHMKE, Mountain Bike Hall of Fame inductee
What a great book!

SAL RUIBAL, USA Today cycling writer
Bike for Life could be the most important book in your life.

The Triathlete's Guide to Bike Training (Ultrafit Multisport Training)
by Linda Wallenfels

This training manual is designed to take a triathlete's cycling performance to the next level. It includes step-by-step guides for setting up the bike for a perfect fit, analyzing strengths and weaknesses, and working out training plans geared toward getting athletes in peak condition for their races. It also provides clear descriptions of core training and flexibility exercises to reach a personal-best performance, as well as calculations to work out the goal events and race-specific limiters.

Bike Racing 101
by Kendra Wenzel, Rene Wenzel

Bike Racing 101 is an excellent resource for those cyclists with a basic knowledge of the sport, and a strong desire to take it to the next level. This book guides you through the process, from getting licensed, to understanding road racing events, to the necessary equipment. From there, this easy-to-read book (that's filled with up-to-date photos), helps you, the future racer determine your goals, choose your first race, and even guides you through basic training. Bike Racing 101 gives you the background knowledge to increase speed, power, and endurance as well as the basics of nutrition and hydration. All the aspects of racing are covered in this book and it prepares you for everything to expect in a race, it even has a section on learning how to crash! With an insider's perspective, it makes racing seem much less intimidating. The back of the book is full of helpful resources as well, complete with a glossary of related terms and suggested websites. This is a must-have for any cyclist with the desire to race!

The Lance Armstrong Performance Program: Seven Weeks to the Perfect Ride
by Lance Armstrong, Chris Carmichael, Peter Joffre Nye

It's hard to argue with success; it's even tougher to emulate it. But if you want to train like a Tour de France winner, you couldn't do much better than learning the tricks of the trade from two-time champion (1999 and 2000) Lance Armstrong.

In The Lance Armstrong Performance Program: Seven Weeks to the Perfect Ride, Armstrong teams up with his coach, Chris Carmichael (whom the U.S. Olympic Committee named 1999's Coach of the Year), to offer the ultimate insider's guide to becoming a better rider, based on the regimen Carmichael has been fine-tuning for Armstrong since the early 1990s. Noting that athletes of all levels focus best when aiming for specific goals at the end of short windows, the authors describe the performance program as consisting of "three specialized weekly training programs that build on your current fitness level" followed by a week of "recovery riding between each program." They provide an easy-to-administer fitness-level self-test in the form of a three-mile time trial (beginner, intermediate, or advanced), and they then define the key operative terms that make up the bulk of the actual training, including Tempo, HighSpin, PowerIntervals, Sprints, and Training Zone. A brief section of workbook-style pages provides readers with a user-friendly outline for the entire seven weeks.

Here is week 3 for an intermediate rider:

• Monday: day off.
• Tuesday: 1 hour in zone 2 with 20 minutes Tempo on flat terrain.
• Wednesday: 30 minutes in zone 1; recovery ride.
• Thursday: 1 hour in zone 2 with 15 minutes Tempo on flat terrain.
• Friday: 45 minutes in zone 2 with 10 minutes HighSpin on flat terrain.
• Saturday: 1 hour in zone 2 with 15 minutes Tempo on flat terrain.
• Sunday: 1.5 hours in zone 2 with 30 minutes on hilly terrain.

Though clearly the focus, the performance program itself makes up less than a third of the book. Other subjects covered include cycling equipment, essential maintenance and repair, riding in bad weather, road hazards, mental toughness, and the pros' eating habits both on and off the bike, to name just a few. What the book is not is the story of Lance Armstrong's remarkable recovery from testicular cancer (see his autobiography, It's Not About the Bike, for that). Rather, Armstrong and Carmichael have produced a detail-packed training manual, sprinkled with photographs and tales of the racing life, for those who spend a large percentage of their time on two wheels--or dream of it.

Bicycling Magazine's Complete Book of Road Cycling Skills : Your Guide to Riding Faster, Stronger, Longer, and Safer
by Ben Hewitt

Maybe you're a novice who has yet to squeeze into that first pair of sexy Lycra shorts. Or perhaps you're a seasoned racer who is seeking ways to become stronger and faster. Whatever the case, you will be well served by Ed Pavelka's comprehensive guide, which takes the reader on a highly readable ride through road cycling--from the basics of handling and maintenance to the subtle intricacies of racing. Instead of asking the reader to take his word on every subject, Pavelka has gathered a cast of Olympians and renowned mechanics to tackle whichever topic reflects his or her strongest suit. Besides the basics, chapters also include in-depth advice on sprinting, hill climbing, using heart monitors effectively, training indoors during the wintry months, and even surviving your commute in the concrete jungle. If that's not enough, Pavelka has devoted an entire section to medical concerns, including overtraining, sore knees, and saddle sores.

The Ultimate Ride : Get Fit, Get Fast, and Start Winning with the World's Top Cycling Coach
by Chris Carmichael, Jim Rutberg

All the cycling world would love to know Lance Armstrong's training techniques and share in his incredible drive and personal will to win. Now, they-and any fan, reader, casual or dedicated cyclist-can learn all the invaluable training tips, state-of-the-art techniques, indispensable nutritional advice, and revelatory goal-setting and mental exercises that Lance and his personal coach have perfected during their four victories in the Tour de France. With photographs and illustrations throughout, Carmichael explains a step-by-step program to get you fit, fast, and on the road to becoming a champion in your own right. This is the must-have fitness/cycling book of the year.

Chris Carmichael is an endurance coach and adviser to Olympic athletes and teams around the world. He is Lance Armstrong's personal coach, as well as coach to athletes of all levels. During 1997 and 1998, Chris dedicated his time and talents to shaping Lance Armstrong's return from cancer to professional racing. In 1999, he founded Carmichael Training Systems (CTS) to bring quality coaching to elite athletes and active people alike.

Jim Rutberg works at Carmichael Training Systems.

Smart Cycling : Successful Training and Racing for Riders of All Levels
by Arnie Baker

This is a terrific book for those interested in getting to be stronger on their bikes. Arnie Baker starts off with helpful information on the body and different kinds of trainings - leg speed, strenth/hills, endurance - not the typical drink lots, ride with traffic, and always wear a helmet bike book! Very readable with sound advice. A large part of the book is devoted to wind/magnet trainer workouts. He has specific workouts for different results. I have done a number of them and they have been excellent for building my strength and leg speed. I used to avoid doing indoor workouts so much, that I would loose my base fitness level in the New England snowy months. Now I look forward to my 2-3 weekly workouts of about an hour each - before this book I never lasted more than 40 agonizingly boring minutes. I look forward to continue doing these workouts at night, even when the weather gets warmer and I can't get out to ride during the work week. I've been telling my training partners about this book, maybe I shouldn't, so I can surprise them with my strength!

Training for Cycling: The Ultimate Guide to Improved Performance
by Davis Phinney, Connie Carpenter, Peter Nye

If you want to learn how to reach peak cycling performance, listen carefully to Davis Phinney and Connie Carpenter. Phinney, a two-time Tour de France stage winner, was named the winningest racer in U.S. history by VeloNews, and Connie Carpenter, an Olympic gold medalist, is no slouch either. Together they have compiled a comprehensive guide to cycling that will not disappoint. Chapters include specific instructions for everything from basic training to cycling nutrition to the nitty-gritty of racing tactics. The guide is written in the first person, and because it is authored by two people, this can sometimes lead to confusion. But when milking the gurus for knowledge, a little confusion will seem well worth it.

Serious Training for Endurance Athletes
by Rob Sleamaker, Ray Browning

Whether you swim, run, cycle, cross-country ski, or compete in multievents, SERIOUS Training for Serious Athletes is the tool you need to become the best possible endurance athlete. Use these 7 components of the SERIOUS system to enhance your training:

• Speed workouts

• Endurance or Easy Distance training

• Race/Pace sessions to test your fitness level

• Intervals of high-intensity workouts on flat terrain

• Overdistance sessions of prolonged, low-level activity for base building

• Up/Vertical intervals to enhance mental and physical toughness Strength workouts for overall and sport-specific conditioning

SERIOUS Training for Serious Athletes shows you how to design a personalized year-round training plan by modifying the SERIOUS plan designed for your sport. You'll finally have a sure-fire method to reach peak racing condition safely and predictably.

SERIOUS Training for Serious Athletes provides the coach, trainer and athlete with solid guidelines for designing personalized training programs. Author Rob Sleamaker has analyzed the world's best systems of endurance sport training and devised this program by combining the most effective elements of each. SERIOUS Training for Serious Athletes includes sport-specific training recommendations for cyclists, distance runners, swimmers, canoeists, biathletes, triathletes, and all other endurance athletes.

"The information [in this book] is well-organized and can prove to be a great asset in your training program if you are a serious athlete."

Fitness and Sports Review International

"Whether your aspirations are to pursue endurance sports at the local level or to become a world champion, SERIOUS Training for Serious Athletes is a marvelous resource for analyzing, evaluating, and critiquing your training program. . . I am certainly fortunate to have read it months before my competitors will have access to it."

Dave Scott 6-time winner of the Ironman Triathlon

"This is it! . . . the book I have always wanted to recommend to the many athletes and coaches who want to develop sensible and systematic approaches to endurance training for competition."

E.C. Frederick, PhD coauthor of The Nike Cross Training System

"All athletes--regardless of sport--should turn to this book to learn how to create their optimal training program."

Kate Delhagen Health and fitness editor, Runner's World

Heft on Wheels : A Field Guide to Doing a 180
by Mike Magnuson

A few years ago, the closest Mike Magnuson thought he would get to participating in a sporting event was sitting in the local bar, slamming pitchers of beer and watching the NFL playoffs on TV. He was thirty-eight years old, smoked a pack a day, drank a case or two of beer a week, and carried 250 pounds of weight on his five-foot-ten-inch frame. Getting on a bicycle for a peddle around the block could have been dangerous in his condition, let alone trying to keep up with a group of racer-fit riders for forty-five miles at a clip, but that is just what Mike decided to do. He was sick of it all—the booze, the cigarettes, and the heft. He could have been seriously hurt. But he wasn’t. In Mike’s words, he was merely “handed his proverbial fat ass on a platter” three times a week and kept coming back for more.

Heft on Wheels charts in hilarious detail every curve in Mike Magnuson’s 180-degree journey from the big guy at the back of the pack to the lean, mean racing machine setting the pace for the group. Along the way we meet his friends, colleagues, and family and learn how even a healthy obsession can have its uphill climbs. For a start there’s the starvation diet and the nicotine patches, not to mention the skin-tight XXL cycling outfit and the insanely unrealistic goal of completing the Bridge to Bridge Incredible Cycling Challenge—proudly billed as “100 Miles of Pure Hill”—within the year. Yet, through it all, Mike never loses his sense of humor (though after having a quick conversation with God on one particularly grueling hill, he does believe he has come within spitting distance of losing his mind).

Filled with triumph, heartbreak, and hilarity, Heft on Wheels is an unforgettable book about getting from one place to another, in more ways than one.

About the Author
MIKE MAGNUSON teaches creative writing at Southern Illinois University, in Carbondale, and has written for Esquire, GQ, and Bicycling. He is the author of two novels and a memoir.

Bicycling Magazine's Training for Fitness and Endurance (Bicycling Magazine)
by Joe Kita (Editor)

If the most basic training guides are no longer useful to you, Training for Fitness and Endurance might be just the ticket. There is nothing general about its approach, which clearly lays out a path for every would-be champion to achieve maximum power, endurance, and optimum nutrition. The first two parts of the four-part guide tackle the specifics of your day-to-day training, while the latter two cover the maintenance of your new fitness level and a slew of commonly asked fitness questions.