Take one very large guy. Add booze, cigarettes, and an extreme amount of junk food. Mix in a wry, self-effacing wit. Throw in a bike. The result? Heft on Wheels, a potently funny look at turning your life around, one insanely unrealistic goal at a time.
Not that long ago, Mike Magnuson was a self-described lummox with a bicycle. In the space of three months, he lost seventy-five pounds, quit smoking, stopped drinking, and morphed from the big guy at the back of the pack into a lean, mean cycling machine. Today, Mike is a 175-pound athlete competing in some of the most difficult one-day racing events in America. This irreverent and inspiring memoir charts every hilarious detail of his transformation, from the horrors of skin-tight XXL biking shorts to the miseries of nicotine withdrawal.
"Heft on Wheels is an unforgettable book about getting from one place to another, in more ways than one.

Mountain Biking Northern Arkansas is a mountain bike guide that focuses on singletrack trails in northern and central Arkansas. This guide features 21 trails with information on trail difficulty, trail length, expected ride time, trail type, driving directions, detailed trail description, and general information including services available at or near the trail. Fifteen of the trails in the guide have never been published before. If you're looking for a definitive guide to mountain biking trails in Arkansas, this book will take you there.

From a U.S. Olympic coach, physiologist, and veteran cyclist comes Performance Cycling--the ideal training manual for the several million coaches, cyclists, and endurance athletes of all ages and abilities who want to rev up their RPMs and go for personal gold. With techniques utilized by national champions and Olympians, this unique, cutting-edge guide covers the proven ways to make any body perform for maximum endurance and toughness.

Like a modern-day Don Quixote, Joe Kurmaskie—bike adventurer, writer, and twelve-year-old boy trapped in a man’s body—wanders the world on two wheels, often with hilarious results, in Riding Outside the Lines.
A jaunt through such far-flung locations as Ireland, Australia, Mexico, South America, and beyond, here is a collection of tales woven together with one central theme: the world is a much smaller place when you view it from the seat of a bicycle.

Whether he’s weekending in the buff after accidentally stumbling into a nudist colony wedding, knocking back red wine in tin cans with a gun-toting ex–bounty hunter, combing the countryside in a quest to find the all-girl bagpipe squad he met in his dreams, or playing a rousing game of ice golf on the frozen tundra, Joe Kurmaskie writes of his gonzo global trek in a spirit infused with insight, good humor, and optimism. Riding Outside the Lines encourages travel buffs and armchair explorers alike to get on your bike and see the beauty of our planet and the colorful souls who populate it.

This comprehensive cycling guide uncovers scenic back roads for both touring and mountain bikes through the heart of the Southern Appalachians: from North Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina to Southwest Virginia. Encompassing the Blue Ridge Parkway and Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the region offers scenic and historic tours along valley floors, exhilarating ridgetop rides, and challenging treks through rugged mountains. Rogers describes road bike rides at Georgia's historic Chickamauga National Battlefield; high, wild vistas from the transmountain Cherohala Skyway; and a new greenway system spanning Maryville and Alcoa, Tennessee. Mountain bikers will love the classic tours on the Tsali and Bent Creek trails systems, as well as two new trail systems along Tennessee's Ocoee River. Also included are Virginia's popular Virginia Creeper and New River Trails. Routes range from the little known to the well traveled, from level road rides to challenging mountain trails. Each ride description will include mile-by-mile directions; a detailed map and mileage cue sheet; information on difficulty and terrain; and notes on the natural and historic features you'll encounter along the way.

A book like no other, Paul Fournel's "Need for the Bike" conducts readers into a very personal world of communication and connection whose center is the bicycle, and where all people and things pass by way of the bike. In compact and suggestive prose, Fournel conveys the experience of cycling--from the initial charm of early outings to the dramas of the devoted cyclist. An extended meditation on cycling as a practice of life, the book recalls a country doctor who will not anesthetize the young Fournel after he impales himself on a downtube shifter, speculates about the difference between animals that would like to ride bikes (dogs, for instance) and those that would prefer to watch (cows, marmots), and reflects on the fundamental absurdity of turning over the pedals mile after excruciating mile. At the same time, Fournel captures the sound, smell, feel, and language of the reality and history of cycling, in the mountains, in the city, escaping the city, in groups, alone, suffering, exhausted, exhilarated. In his attention to the pleasures of cycling, to the specific "grain" of different cycling experiences, and to the inscription of these experiences in the body's cycling memory, Fournel portrays cycling as a descriptive universe, colorful, lyrical, inclusive, exclusive, complete.

Subsequent to hiking the whole Appalachian Trail, which took 47 hikes over many years, and having bicycled alone across the USA in four separate trips, Paul Wittreich decided that he wanted to do a long distance adventure in one shot.

The result was a two-month bicycle ride across Canada from the Pacific at Vancouver Island to Nova Scotia and the Atlantic. In the next summer, he topped it off by going to the end of Trans-Canada Highway, Mile 0, in St. John's, Newfoundland. The adventure took him through all ten of Canada's provinces, including Prince Edward Island.

In addition to keeping a continuous chronicle, he took panoramic photos with his WideluxTM camera. The resulting pictures visually encompass scenes of 140 degrees to portray the sweeping breadth of Canada.

J. B. Wadley's career as a cycling journalist spanned more than 40 years and encompassed every aspect of the sport. The first British writer to cover the Tour de France and the great one-day Classics, his were the words that first put us in among the continental peloton. But he was equally at home among crack-of-dawn time-trialists, trackmen, randonneurs and record-breakers. His enthusiasm embraced them all, and he wrote about each aspect of cycle sport with an authority and an inimitable eye-witness style that never failed to convey its particular drama. All of this is reflected in this selection of his work, drawn from his early days as a young reporter with The Bicycle, through the years when he edited Sporting Cyclist and then International Cycle Sport, to his last major book, My 19th Tour de France.

Around Birmingham is one of 20 titles in the new Philip's Cycle Tours series. The series is directly derived from the highly successful Ordnance Survey Cycle Tours series, but has been updated and improved, with a new focus on the needs of cyclists and the cycling market in the 21st century.Each book in the series contains 20 routes, both on-road and off-road, taking you along low-traffic or traffic free roads, tracks and paths. The route takes you through some of the most beautiful countryside and prettiest villages in Britain, and past some of the finest and most interesting houses, churches, castles, gardens and monuments in the land.Around Birmingham provides a rich variety of rides in the heart of England. Rides pass through the open country of the Tame Valley, the uplands of Warwickshire, the former Forest of Arden, undulating west Leicestershire, the Lickey and Clent hills, and the heath and woodland of Shropshire and Staffordshire.A unique feature of Philip's Cycle Tours is the superb Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 mapping showing the routes of the rides. This mapping not only gives the detail and clarity you need to follow the route with ease and safety, but allows you to plan short-cuts and detours, to look out for new places of interest, and to become truly involved in the lansdcape you are cycling through. The mapping now shows National Cycle Network routes and National Long-Distance Footpaths.Clear directions are given alongside the mapping, and cross-profile diagrams make planning the pacing of each ride an easy task, even for the beginner. Extra information includes an introduction to the area of the route, nearest railway stations, places of interest with descriptions, guides to refreshment stops, and clear indications of distance, grade and terrain.The books are beautifully and practically designed, with colour photographs throughout the ultra-clear layout.Main map scale: 1:50,000

A "live vicariously through me" adventure book about a teacher's journey across America in the summer of 2000 on a bicycle. A stimulating blend of history, cycling facts, and personal experience interspersed with heart-warming scenes of America's people and places.

The Appalachian Mountain Trail, from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mt. Katahdin, Maine. Over two thousand miles of some of the toughest terrain in America, a six-month journey by foot. I will attempt to pedal this infamous mountainous trail in only two weeks! A journey never before attempted on a mountain bike. Terrain and elements will test my endurance. My body never before pushed to extreme limits. Leaving civilization and all the comforts behind. Armed with only a backpack and a sleeping bag, this warrior will set out to do what no man has done before. An adventure of a lifetime!

From Philadelphia to the Amish country, this all-new guide to cycling eastern Pennsylvania's scenic roads includes tours for both road and mountain bikes. Patricia Vance has explored hundreds of miles of roads in eastern Pennsylvania to find the most scenic, uncrowded, and enjoyable cycling on both paved and dirt roads. Areas covered include: Philadelphia Valley Forge The Brandywine River Valley Bucks County The Poconos The Endless Mountains Pennsylvania Dutch Country Gettysburg Rides range in length from a 10-mile spin through the row houses of Old City Philadelphia to a 55-mile ramble in the rolling hills of the Pocono Mountains. Each chapter includes a detailed map, mile-by-mile tour directions, and information on mileage, terrain, and difficulty, as well as nearby bicycle rental and repair shops. An overview chart at the beginning of the book provides information at a glance to help you choose a tour. And throughout, Vance provides fascinating commentary on the history and culture of this picturesque region. 25 black & white photographs, 26 maps.

The natural beauty of Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket is best appreciated from the intimate vantage point of a bicycle: sand dunes and beaches, cranberry bogs and pine forests, wildflower meadows and tidal creeks, and above all, the ever-present sea. Susan Milton has completely updated this guide to include tours on back roads and little-traveled paths. They avoid the crowds and traffic that can plague the Cape, taking riders instead along scenic lanes and past quiet harbors. Each chapter includes a detailed map of the tour, mile-by-mile directions, and information on the area's maritime heritage and natural history, as well as places to eat, stay, and repair or rent a bike. 31 up-to-date maps, includes tours for both mountain bikes and road bikes. The first edition of this book was titled 25 Bicycle Tours on Cape Cod & the Islands.

With a varied terrain that includes the forested slopes of the Allegheny Mountains, hilly farmland along the Pennsylvania border, pine-filled woodlands along the upper Chesapeake Bay, and the flat expanses of the Eastern Shore, Maryland is perfect for cycling adventures. For this completely revised and updated second edition, Anne Oman has traveled throughout the state to assemble 25 trips, including four new tours, ranging from a day's outing to a weekend inn-to-inn tour. Visit the wild ponies of Assateague Island; spin through Antietam National Battlefield and other historic sites; explore the streets of Baltimore and Annapolis; or raise your pulse on a hard ride around Sugarloaf Mountain. The rides range in length from 5 to 95 miles. Each tour description includes a detailed map, as well as information on mileage, terrain, where to eat and repair a bike, and natural and historic highlights you'll see along the way. 4 new tours in this edition. 20 black and white photographs 26 maps

This is the third in a series of local biking guides, joining Aire Valley Biking Guide covering the neighbouring area down towards Keighley and Bradford. This new title deals with Wharfedale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, based on the popular visitor centre of Grassington. The six selected runs average a modest 8 miles each, and concentrate on quality of terrain and surroundings in preference to quantity and 'head-down' mileage. Places visited include Linton, Mastiles Lane, Bolton Abbey and Appletreewick. As much of the routes as possible are off-road, and surfaced sections are largely on quiet country lanes. All have been checked for accuracy and legal access. There is relative ease of accessibility from the West Yorkshire and East Lancashire towns to this favourite valley of the Dales. Concise route descriptions and sketch maps are complemented by background information and illustrations capturing the flavour of the surroundings. The rides have easily located starting points and wherever possible feature refreshment halts along the way. The author's many years of walking in the district have served as a useful pointer to the best biking routes.

"Bicycling Magazine's"
"Nutrition for Peak Performance"
"Eat and Drink for Maximum Energy on the Road and Off"
Nutrition ranks as one of the most asked-about topics by "Bicycling" magazine readers. Now, the magazine's top experts show you how to eat strategically before, during, and after your ride to keep you at your physical peak.
Discover how to:
* Beat the bonk.
* Determine if you need supplements.
* Choose the right amount of carbos, fat, and protein for you.
* Follow five different diets for five different rides.
* Determine if sports drinks are worthwhile.
* Avoid the top five worst foods for cycling.
* Control your weight effectively-- without losing energy.
ABOUT THE EDITOR
Ed Pavelka has been riding bicycles for fun, fitness, and competition since the mid-1970s. His professional writing career includes 20 cycling books. He was "Bicycling" magazine's executive editor for 10 years and served as the magazine's director of new ventures.

The flowering of the cherry blossom is a powerful symbol of hope in Japan. The first buds open in the south in March and within six weeks the whole country has celebrated the blossom's return as a signal of new beginnings; the new academic year begins and young workers traditionally embark on their first jobs. Intrigued by this unique national celebration, and by Japan's rapid modernisation in the last sixty years, Lowell Sheppard sets out on a six week adventure through the 2000 mile length of the country, following the flowering of the blossom as it progresses north. Travelling on a bicycle, he experiences at close hand both everyday Japanese life and the glorious visual feast of the blossoms as he visits 100 viewing sites before the season is over. But when it ends, the sense of national disillusionment is tangible... This intimate encounter with the Japanese at their least inhibited reveals how they are coping with the transition from modernity to post-modernity and asks whether hope is to be found, or whether it is as elusive and fleeting as the cherry blossom.

Discover the story of Britain's ultimate cyclist and his ill-fated race during the 1967 Tour de France, from the bestselling author of Half Man Half Bike Tom Simpson was an Olympic medallist, world champion and the first Briton to wear the fabled yellow jersey of the Tour de France. He died a tragic early death during the 1967 Tour. A man of contradictions, Simpson was one of the first cyclists to admit to using banned drugs, and was accused of fixing races, yet the dapper 'Major Tom' inspired awe and affection for the obsessive will to win which was ultimately to cost him his life. Put Me Back on My Bike revisits the places and people associated with Simpson to produce the definitive story of Britain's greatest ever cyclist. The fully revised and updated edition of William Fotheringham's classic biography features a new foreword and postscript further exploring the truth behind the legend. 'The best cycling biography ever written' Velo 'A beautiful explanation of why Simpson's legend still exerts such a powerful hold' Sunday Times

Bicycling is becoming an ever-more popular option as some national parks are closing roads to cars. This complete adventure guide to the national parks of Oregon and Washington features 58 road and mountain bike rides through the parks' most spectacular natural areas. The stunning geographical diversity of Washington and Oregon is perfectly captured by their national parks and recreation areas, and the best way to explore these spectacular national treasures is to get out of your car and onto a bike. David Story has sought out routes of all levels and lengths for both road bikes and mountain bikes in this new guide. From the arid sagebrush landscape of John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, to the glaciers capping Mount Rainier National Park, to the volcanic legacy of Crater Lake, to the temperate rain forest of Olympic National Park, the national public lands of the Pacific Northwest offer stunning views, invigorating air, and a mix of easy to strenuous rides. These riding opportunities can only improve with time, as the parks continue to restrict automobile use to better preserve and protect their natural beauty. Each of the 58 ride descriptions include a detailed map, tour directions, information about the trail or road surface, sights along the way, and the length and difficulty of the ride. In addition, a trip-planning appendix for each park tells you where to stay or camp, do your laundry, eat, buy supplies, and repair or rent a bike.