Ben Hewitt

Bicycling Magazine-s Complete Book of Road Cycling Skills - Your Guide to Riding Faster- Stronger- L

3 stars (Literary equivalent to the energy bar) - This book is broken down into short chapters which can each be read in about three to five minutes. Like Bicycling magazine itself, it manages to be accurate and somewhat helpful, albeit completely insubstantial. I found that reading this book inspired me to ride, which is always a good thing. The subject of road cycling, however, is treated in such a superficial and scattershot manner that the book will probably be of little long term benefit. Like a cliff bar, it's sugary, fast acting, short term fuel for the road. 3 stars (A good book for the the strait racing bike. ) - This book was written primarily for the strait road/race bicycle, (the one with the curved handlebars). If this is your bike I recommend it, even more so if you intend to race. However, except for a brief topic of converting a mountain bike for the road, there is no mention of hybrids in the book. Maybe the book was made before they were available, hence the info on converting a mountain bike for the road. If you have a road bike with upright handlebars, (hybrid, comfort, touring), you won't find any mention of your bike in the book. And the pictures and info in the chapter on bicycle parts is all geared toward the road/racing bike. However the book is still worthwhile reading, particularly the chapters on safety, and road skills, dealing with exhaustion, heat, and cold among other helpful topics. I wouldn't recommend it for the advanced cyclist, or those that don't have a dedicated road/race bike, as a first book. But there is still some good stuff here. The black and white drawings of streetwise safety ideas I found particularly helpful. fiannor 1 stars (rather embarrassing...) - I guess for $11-12 you can take your chances with the book, but I don't believe you will learn much from it unless you are absolutely new to bicycling. But even then do not expect too much. As another reviewer said, many suggestions are rather simp...
Rodale Books :: bicycles :: Sports & Recreation & Cycling :: Training :: Sports & Recreation :: Sports :: Cycling - General :: Bicycle racing :: Ben Hewitt :: :: Bicycling Magazine-s Complete Book of Road Cycling Skills - Your Guide to Riding Faster- Stronger- L

The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling - Build the Strength- Skills- and Confidence to Ride as F

5 stars (The long and very long of it) - So you're getting old and fat and still are as compulsive as ever, what do you do? If you've been successful in the racing circuit a decade ago, cycling doesn't seem such a bad idea. Still, those years that you could ride 30 miles in an hour make your current 20 look rather pathetic. No problem, go far. With this philosophy in mind I bought this book by Pavelka and the late Burke two years ago to get some instruction on long distance riding. After doing a complete 200/300/400/600 Brevet series and 24 hour fleche ride earlier this year, I can assure you the value of this text. While this book contains sections that are aimed at cyclists with a significant experience in the over 100 mile range, it is very much an introductory text. All aspects are discussed in a simple, but elementary fashion. Bikes, position, nutrition, training schedules, night riding, injuries etc. etc. Unfamiliar with distances beyond the 200 mile mark, the continuous hammering on nutrition and injury may seem overbearing, but once you have been there and done that you will appreciate the wisdom of the authors' words. Some reviewers have commented on the introductory level of this book. That is correct. Yet, I would like to counter that this book contains all the instruction needed to go the distance. Especially, when it comes to training schedules, those provided here are just guidelines. It goes without saying that those who train at least 20 hours a week, will be moving on to the more racing oriented literature for more targeted information. In all a very clear, no nonsense book. Next year Boston-Montreal-Boston will be on the agenda and I am pretty certain that it will help me over Middlebury Gap. 5 stars (Thorough Lessons to Learn the Easy Way) - This book pretty much covers it all, from how to adjust your saddle to what to do about hallucinations on your ultra long-distance ride. Although I have a fair amount of experience training for centuries...
Rodale Books :: Sports & Recreation & Cycling :: Training :: Sports & Recreation :: Sports :: Cycling - General :: Cycling :: Ben Hewitt :: Edmund R Burke :: :: The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling - Build the Strength- Skills- and Confidence to Ride as F