Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Best 10 Cycling Books for Christmas

If you have a cycling geek around you, a simple and good way to make him or her happy is to offer a cycling book.
First, a book is quite a safe gift, assuming anybody can read it, offering a bicycle part is more tricky as there are so many chances for the item being not compatible or not the right size or color etc...
A book, cyclist usually spend their money on parts, eve if they would enjoy reading a book, money goes to the bike to always upgrade it, maintain or update it.

Go for a book as Christmas present, it is safe bet.

There are so many different types of bicycles these days, it is difficult to recommend 1 book for all, but cyclist have in common that it require the rider to push on the pedals to move forward.

The top 10 cyling books for this season are:

1- Bike Snob: Systematically & Mercilessly Realigning the World of CyclingBike Snob: Systematically & Mercilessly Realigning the World of Cycling
Cycling is exploding in a good way. Urbanites everywhere, from ironic hipsters to earth-conscious commuters, are taking to the bike like aquatic mammals to water. BikeSnobNYC cycling's most prolific, well-known, hilarious, and anonymous blogger brings a fresh and humorous perspective to the most important vehicle to hit personal transportation since the horse. Bike Snob treats readers to a laugh-out-loud rant and rave about the world of bikes and their riders, and offers a unique look at the ins and outs of cycling, from its history and hallmarks to its wide range of bizarre practitioners. Throughout, the author lampoons the missteps, pretensions, and absurdities of bike culture while maintaining a contagious enthusiasm for cycling itself. Bike Snob is an essential volume for anyone who knows, is, or wants to become a cyclist.

2- Training and Racing with a Power Meter
Training and Racing with a Power Meter
In only a few short years, power meters have become an essential training tool for amateur and pro cyclists and triathletes. The first edition of Training and Racing with a Power Meter was largely responsible for popularizing what was once an arcane technology understood by only a few elite coaches and trainers. Now the updated and revised second edition provides significant updates on technology, software tools, training protocols, and workouts, making the benefits of power-based training available to everyone. The new edition also includes specific information for triathletes—the fastest-growing segment in endurance sports—including a complete triathlon training plan. Other significant updates include reviews of the latest hardware, refinements and additions to training plans, additional case studies, more on monitoring fitness and chronic training loads, and revised and clarified artwork, charts and tables throughout. Training and Racing with a Power Meter, 2nd Ed., will continue to be the definitive guide to the most important training tool ever developed for endurance sports.

3- The Cyclist's Training Bible
The Cyclist's Training Bible
"Periodization," nutrition, stretching, peaking--who knew that so much went into riding a bike? Joe Friel's The Cyclist's Training Bible is jam-packed with information, easily the most authoritative book on cycling to date. Friel, a lauded coach and masters athlete from Colorado, adopts the principles of Dr. Tudor Bompa, whose periodization training methods were used first by the dominant Eastern European athletes of the 1960s before becoming popular in the United States.

4- Ride Your Way Lean: The Ultimate Plan for Burning Fat and Getting Fit on a Bike
Ride Your Way Lean: The Ultimate Plan for Burning Fat and Getting Fit on a Bike
Bicycling’s resident Fit Chick delivers a weight-loss plan designed to help readers lose 30, 50, or even 100 pounds by riding a bike and eating sensibly

Forget gym memberships and running shoes. The best way to lose weight is on a bike. In Ride Your Way Lean, Bicycling magazine columnist Selene Yeager provides readers with a comprehensive cycling plan that allows them to shed fat, streamline their bodies, and hone their skills on a bike. Cycling is gentle on the joints, easy to do with friends and family, and burns literally thousands of calories without being a bore or cause for suffering.

A weight-loss program for people who want to drop pounds of fat while learning a new sport, this book offers training plans that turbocharge metabolism along with complementary nutritional advice. Each chapter is seasoned with anecdotal tips, success stories, pitfalls, and other advice from real people who have ridden themselves lean.

5- Bicycle Diaries
Bicycle Diaries
A round-the-world bicycle tour with one of the most original artists of our day.

Urban bicycling has become more popular than ever as recession- strapped, climate-conscious city dwellers reinvent basic transportation. In this wide-ranging memoir, artist/musician David Byrne-who has relied on a bike to get around New York City since the early 1980s-relates his adventures as he pedals through an engages with some of the world's major cities. From Buenos Aires to Berlin, he meets a range of people both famous and ordinary, shares his thoughts on art, fashion, music, globalization, and the ways that many places are becoming more bike-friendly. Bicycle Diaries is an adventure on two wheels conveyed with humor, curiosity, and humanity.

6- It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life
It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life
The inspiring journey of world-class hero Lance Armstrong, from the dark night of advanced cancer through his dramatic victory in the 1999 Tour de France, and beyond.

In 1996, twenty-four-year-old Lance Armstrong was ranked the number-one cyclist in the world. But that October, "The Golden Boy of American Cycling" was sidelined by excruciating pain. Tests revealed advanced testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain. His chance for recovery was as low as twenty percent.

Armstrong embarked on the most aggressive form of chemotherapy available and underwent surgery to remove cancer that the treatments couldn't reach. Five months after his diagnosis, he resumed training under a cloud of uncertainty, and the path back to competition wasn't smooth. It took a ride with friends through the mountains of North Carolina for Armstrong to rediscover his genuine love of the sport, and to rededicate himself to its pursuit.

Scarred physically and emotionally, Lance Armstrong considered his cancer "a special wake-up call," one that crystallized for him the blessings of good health, family, friends, and marriage. In October 1999, just months after his astonishing triumph in the Tour, his wife, Kristin, gave birth to their son, Luke David Armstrong.

Filled with the nutritional, physical, emotional, and spiritual details of his recovery, It's Not About the Bike traces the wondrous journey of one of America's greatest athletes to a singularly inspiring appreciation of life lived to the fullest.

7- Zinn & the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance
Zinn & the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance
Zinn & the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance is the world’s best-selling book on mountain bike maintenance and repair. This smartly organized and clearly illustrated guide—now in two colors for easier reference—can make a bike mechanic out of anyone.

Lennard Zinn’s expert advice makes quick work of mountain bike repair. Newcomers and experienced mechanics alike will benefit from the hundreds of illustrations, the exploded views of how components go together, and Zinn’s practical, time-saving tips. Zinn’s friendly advice and years of experience make tackling even the most daunting task fun and easy.

All the latest high-tech equipment is covered in this new edition, but Zinn does not neglect older bikes. Indeed, no matter what mountain bike you may have in your garage, chances are you’ll find it—and the way to fix it—in these pages.

8- The Bicycling Guide to Complete Bicycle Maintenance & Repair: For Road & Mountain Bikes (Bicycling Guide to Complete Bicycle Maintenance & Repair for Road & Mountain Bikes)
The Bicycling Guide to Complete Bicycle Maintenance & Repair: For Road & Mountain Bikes (Bicycling Guide to Complete Bicycle Maintenance & Repair for Road & Mountain Bikes)
The fully revised and updated sixth edition of the best-selling guide to bike maintenance from the world’s leading authority on cycling

Whether they own the latest model or a classic with thousands of miles on it, beginner and experienced cyclists alike need a guide that will help them get their bikes out of the shop faster and keep them on the road longer. For more than 20 years, The Bicycling Guide to Bike Maintenance & Repair has done just that.

With troubleshooting sections to quickly identify and correct common problems, 450 photographs and 40 drawings to clarify all the step-by-step directions so even the complete neophyte can get repairs right the first time, and Web sites and phone numbers of bicycle and parts manufacturers, this is truly the ultimate bicycle repair and maintenance manual. Now better than ever, the newest edition contains the latest information on component kits and carbon fork specifications.

9- The Time-Crunched Cyclist: Fit, Fast, and Powerful in 6 Hours a Week
The Time-Crunched Cyclist: Fit, Fast, and Powerful in 6 Hours a Week
As cycling's popularity grows with men and women in their thirties, forties, fifties, and beyond, the traditional ideas about training for endurance sports need a new approach to reflect the daily challenges faced by parents and working professionals. In The Time-Crunched Cyclist, Chris Carmichael presents that new approach to cycling training. Using elements from the same program he designed for Tour de France winner Armstrong, this guide shows how to build competitive cycling fitness on a realistic schedule -- a schedule that fits into the busy lives of today's active middle-agers. Complete with training plans, case studies, nutritional guidelines, and success stories, "The Time-Crunched Cyclist" shows cyclists how to push the pace in the local group ride, have fun, and perform well in local races, or tackle a challenging 100-mile fundraiser ride without committing to a high-volume training program.

10- Mastering Mountain Bike Skills - 2nd Edition
Mastering Mountain Bike Skills - 2nd Edition
Mastering Mountain Bike Skills is your guide for riding better, faster and more confidently on all terrain. World champion racer Brian Lopes and renowned coach Lee McCormack provide you with all of the key techniques and skills you’ll need to take your ride to the next level.
The high-quality photo sequences and demonstrations combined with race stories from Brian Lopes will give you the tools you need, whether you’re a recreational rider looking to rock the trails with friends or a rider looking to beat the competition. Let Mastering Mountain Bike Skills help you ride with more confidence and have more fun.

Tell me how you like them.

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