Tim Mulliner decides to forgo the lightweight touring bicycle and expensive modern accompaniments and get back to basics. Starting in Nepal, he purchases himself a Hero - the largest manufactured bicycle in the world. After pushing his bike over the Himalayan foothills, Tim dissects India from north to south passing through some of the poorest and richest regions in India. Me and My Hero tells the story of Tim's impressions of rural and urban India as he struggles to come to terms with the rigid caste system that still dictates life for many. It details the rigour and joy of travelling by bicycle in what is arguably one of the most colourful and fascinating countries in the world.

With the ever expanding popularity of cycling over the last few years, LEJOG, Land's End to John o'Groats for those experiencing a puzzled frown, has become an ever increasing challenge for budding cyclists. After a trekking expedition to the Himalaya with a school group, shortly before I retired, I decided to use LEJOG as a means of raising money for CAN (Community Action Nepal) after I retired. However, I had no desire to gaze at endless miles of tarmac each day, surrounded by earth shattering juggernauts and impatient motorists, exposing my lungs to saturation with noxious fumes. So I decided to attempt the whole challenge on Sustrans routes, shown by those little blue signs with a bike on which seem to be popping up everywhere and are also now being developed at an encouragingly healthy rate. Avoiding busy roads and using only country lanes, canal tow paths and disused railway tracks I planned the adventure to last three weeks carrying everything I needed to be self-sufficient apart from the luxury of a bar meal in the evening and a flat pitch on a designated campsite with hot showers. My journey through the British countryside turned out to be more of an adventure than anticipated, from confrontations with a herd of 'Escape to Freedom' cows to attacks by the most savage of all animals - the Scottish midge. Meeting many different characters throughout my journey generated many humorous episodes. When cycling long stretches it was easy for my mind to deviate from the task in hand to recall past memories of the places I'd just cycled through, recollecting incidents that made me laugh out loud even twenty or more years after they occurred. There were days and occasions when I hit rock bottom and felt like giving in but I found that, thankfully, the vast majority of people I asked and who offered assistance were only too keen to help and encourage me on my way. Unfortunately there were still a few, no matter how exhausted I looked, who seemed to relish in making me feel even more dejected - which fortunately for me made me even more determined. LEJOG is well within the capabilities of most people who are reasonably fit and inspired and the adventure experienced entirely on British soil is well worth the effort if you have a spare three weeks. I hope that I can inspire you with this book.

This book is wildly funny. I lost track of how many times I laughed out loud. - Kathleen, Amazon Reviewer Author Al Macy is a character and a tightwad with a unique sense of humor. He and his wife squirreled away enough money to retire early, do interesting things, and take unusual trips. As he puts it: "Every day I wake up with nothing to do, and by the end of the day, I've only gotten half of it done." During his working life, Macy was a neuroscientist, computer game programmer, jazz trombonist, chef, CEO, piano player, clam digger, and technical writer. The book is a journal of a car/bicycle/camping trip from California to St. Louis and back, but Macy promises that "if it starts sounding like one of your brother-in-law's boring slide shows, I will stop this book, and we'll turn around and go home. I mean it." Interspersed with the journal chapters, you'll find thought-provoking life tips, stories from the past, and descriptions of Al's wacky inventions. You'll hear poignant anecdotes about what happened when doctors discovered a golf-ball-sized tumor in his wife's brain and how everything they owned burned. Here's an example of one of those chapters: Chapter 47 - Puking in a Thunderstorm Here's a mishap that illustrates the saying "You're on an adventure when you wish you were home wishing you were on an adventure." In 1982, Lena and I were visiting her folks in Sweden, and we went on a ryggsacksfotvandringtur. To speak Swedish, all you do is take a bunch of English words, screw around with them, and squeeze them together. For example, in the big word in the last sentence, the only real foreign part is "rygg" which refers to one's back. Other than that it's just "Back - sack - foot - wandering - tour," meaning "wandering around on foot with a pack on your back," or "backpacking." Apparently we have 1,019,729.6 words in English (.6 really?). In Swedish, the total depends on how you count them. Is "ryggsacksfotvandringtur" one word, or just five words stuck together? Most Swedish dictionaries have around a half-million entries, but if you count words that are Velcroed together, it has many more. Speaking of Velcro, it was discovered when Georges de Mestral went for a fotvandringstur, and noticed the burrs that stuck to his pants. The word "Velcro" was added to our dictionary in the year nineteen something-or-other. I've learned that the phrase "Velcro forehead" refers to the overly dramatic gesture of tilting your head back and holding the back of your wrist against your forehead ("Oh, woe is me "). Can you tell that I'm worried that this chapter is too short, and I am desperately looking for stuff to add? So anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah, Lena and I were on a shortbackpackingtripinthemountainsofsweden. On our route to the more desolate sections, we passed houses that had sod growing on the roof. And when I say sod, I don't mean the neat, well-mowed stuff you buy at the nursery. I mean long messy grass, other small plants, cuckoo birds, and gophers. And these weren't museum displays put up for tourists, people were really living in these things. It's where we get the saying "People who live in sod houses should throw stones, but no stones from the roof, please." This was a great place to foot wander, but when we were the farthest from the car, Lena got sick (really sick), and both Lena and the heavens opened up at the same time. It gave me a case of Velcro forehead, and my main memory of that trip is of continually taking tiny plastic snack bags of vomit out and dumping them in the streams of water surrounding the tent. Luckily Lena's Scandinavian constitution won out over the bugs, and the next morning she was all better and ready to drag me home, out of the wilderness. So, we had a generalgoodtimedespitethepukingadventure. If that kind of humor appeals to you, you need to buy this book. And if you're still on the fence, please use the Look Inside feature or download a free sample to your

6 Week Bike Fit is a weight training program specifically developed for cyclists. Cycling is a whole-body workout, and to obtain maximal cycling fitness, weight training is a must. Inside is a weight training program with step-by-step instructions and pictures that will transform you into a stronger, faster, leaner and more confident cyclist in just 6 weeks.

The Bicycle Cowboy When you have sung all the songs you can remember, debated the world's problems, prayed about everything you can think of, well the truth is, hours on a bicycle turn into days and then weeks, and you begin to look for ways to entertain yourself. One beautiful morning while riding my bicycle between Mile City and Plevna Montana, I saw deer, antelope, horses and a lot of cattle. As I rode along I noticed herds of cattle gathered next to the fence that lined the road. The cattle always looked at me, during those cool early hours of the morning, as if I was supposed to do something for them. That's when I got the idea - They are waiting to be fed Then I thought again - But wait They have miles and miles of pasture grass and an abundance of water, why would they be waiting for someone to feed them. Another thought came to mind - Maybe they are curious about this person riding by on a bicycle. That was an 'aha' moment. They might think I'm on a horse. Maybe they think I'm there to herd them to another place. Then I got the idea - What if I could herd the cattle up the fence line as a cowboy would do on a horse. I began to whistle, holler, and shout: "Get up Yaw " Well lo and behold the cattle began to moo, move, and then run as I circled back behind the herd and then alongside until I was leading them over the hills, through gullies and streams until they came to a fence. I thanked them for the fun and continued riding while they stood there bewildered. That's when I decided I was - The Bicycle Cowboy; after all, how many other people have herded cattle on a bicycle?

Each year hundreds of intrepid cyclists line up for the 3.000 mile Race Across America, which is billed as the "toughest bicycle race in the world." STEP ON IT is the story of Amy Shonstrom, who, as a member of a four woman team set out to establish a new record. From Oceanside to Annapolis, the race plunges into the heart of America, on a non-stop journey. She endures blistering temperatures in the Sonoran Desert, climbs the high mountain passes of the Rockies in the dead of night, survives 50 mph winds on the Kansas plains before reaching the steep grades of the Appalachian Mountains. Amy is one of only a handful of women her age to have ever undertaken the race. In order to do so, she must squeeze hundreds of hours of training while cycling thousands of miles, which she accomplishes while working full time as a high end real estate broker in her hometown of Denver. Her team, Love, Sweat & Gears, is supported by 12 crew members including her husband Michael. With 2 vans and a large RV capable of sleeping 10 people, the group hop scotches across the country, keeping one rider on the road at all times. Hit by unfavorable winds at the start, the team begins to claw back time as they descend the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. Will they be able to sustain 20 + mph speeds as they cross the Great Plains, pass the Mississippi River and close in on the steep climbs of the Appalachian Mountains? Will they eclipse the 6 1/2 day record set in the prior year? Find out from this engrossing story of one woman's adventure.

It Takes Two to Tandem Louise and Nev, have been linked for 32 years through their wedding vows. Now Louise is going to be linked to Nev through the steel of a tandem bike frame as they ride for sixteen days, travelling 880 miles through the United Kingdom, from John O'Groats to Lands End. Nev with a history of success in mountain bike racing is determined to do this trip. Louise, concerned about keeping up with his superior prowess isn't so sure. The tandem bike, will force them to ride together and face a new challenge of working completely in unison. As if muscle fatigue wasn't enough to contend with, the summer of the ride was to be one of the wettest in the United Kingdom since records began. Louise, in the subordinate rear position, blocks out the long miles of tedious leg rotations with recollections of travel in these regions, embarked on in their early years of married life. Train journeys link the British cycling epic with loops of tandem riding in Tuscany and Provence. While at a more relaxed cycling pace, the hauling of luggage and the inability to meet train schedules while travelling with an oversized tandem in tow, presents further obstacles and tribulations that threaten the very core of their relationship.

Bike With Your Dog tells dog lovers how to safely bike with their dogs and have fun at the same time. For many high-energy dogs, a walk on the leash is simply not enough. Dogs love to run and biking enables them to get the exercise they need. This handy guide shows you how to spend high quality time with your dog, get exercise, and enjoy the outdoors - all at the same time.

Bike With Your Dog tells dog lovers how to safely bike with their dogs and have fun at the same time. For many high-energy dogs, a walk on the leash is simply not enough. Dogs love to run and biking enables them to get the exercise they need. This handy guide shows you how to spend high quality time with your dog, get exercise, and enjoy the outdoors - all at the same time.