Top 10 Cycling Books

Just Ride, A Radically Practical Guide to Riding Your Bike

by Grant Petersen

SPORT
2012
PAPER
212 PAGES

Bicycle commuter, reformed racer and proprietor of Rivendell Bicycle Works in Walnut Creek California, Grant Petersen covers equipment, health, safety and attitude in 87 short and illustrated, often provocative essays: number 30: Control Your Quick Release (a major cause of serious incidents); number 47: Bags, "When I see a bicycle without a bag (or basket) on it, I see a bike that can't do much beyond moving you down the road, and that's not enough." Paul Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, gets to the point: "Grant Petersen Strips Away the BS." (BCY22, $13.95)

Cyclopedia, It's All About the Bike

by William Fotheringham

SPORT
2011
HARD COVER
432 PAGES

The distinguished journalist and cycling fan William Fotheringham brings humor and substance to this irresistible compendium, organized A-to-Z. With maps and illustrations. (BCY27, $25.00)

It's All About the Bike, The Pursuit of Happiness on Two Wheels

by Robert Penn

SPORT
2012
PAPER

A paean to craftsmanship and tradition. En route to building his dream bike (oh, what a brilliant quest!), Robert Penn explores the culture, science and history of the bicycle. (BCY25, $14.00)

The Essential Touring Cyclist, A Complete Course for the Bicycle Traveler

by Richard A. Lovett

REFERENCE
2000
PAPER
160 PAGES

Whether you're heading out for five hours or five months, this vividly illustrated and resource-rich guide to bicycle touring delivers. With hints for planning your tour, safe riding techniques and advice on traveling with your bike. (BCY01, $16.95)

The Rider

by Tim Krabbe

LITERATURE
2003
PAPER
148 PAGES

Originally published in Holland in 1978, The Rider became an instant cult classic, selling over 100,000 copies. Brilliantly conceived and written at a breakneck pace, it is a loving, imaginative and, above all, passionate tribute to the art of bicycle road racing, tracing in vivid, realistic detail a 150-km race across Europe. (BCY32, $14.99)

It's Not about the Bike, My Journey Back to Life

by Sally Jenkins | Lance Armstrong

BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
2001
PAPER
304 PAGES

Not just an inspirational account of Armstrong's battle with cancer, this memoir reveals the athlete's scrappy youth, coming-of-age, marriage, fatherhood -- and a great deal about the elite world of championship cycling. (GEN258, $16.00)

French Revolutions, Cycling the Tour De France

by Tim Moore

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
2003
PAPER
277 PAGES

British humorist, travel writer -- and woefully inexperienced cyclist -- Moore attempts to tackle the Tour de France, all 2,256 miles of it, in this hilarious, irreverent travelogue. (FRN387, $15.99)

Three Men in a Boat and Three Men on the Bummel

by Jerome Jerome | Jeremy Lewis

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
2000
PAPER
361 PAGES
FAVORITE

Written in 1889, "Three Men in a Boat" (to say nothing of the dog!) is a laugh-out-loud account of a man-powered voyage along the River Thames, full of detail on life and lore. A Longitude favorite. (GBR28, $12.00)