Sports & Recreation : Cycling

In Chasing Lance, acclaimed journalist and bestselling author Martin Dugard tells the extraordinary story of Lance Armstrong's final race, guiding us on a 2,240-mile journey through the French countryside, up the rugged peaks of the Pyrenees, all the way to one final ride down the Champs-Elysées. Never before has the Tour de France been captured so fully and vividly. We are there among the rabid fans as they cheer riders on; in the frenzied media room, where journalists plot to score an interview with the fiercely private Armstrong; and deep inside the heart of the peloton as the Discovery team's top lieutenants sacrifice themselves to protect their leader. Dugard was granted the most exclusive press credential offered by the Tour's organizers, so he had total access to the riders, their teams, the courses, and the back rooms. As a result it's all here: the daring breakaways and heartbreaking crashes, the mind games and the intense competition, the strategy and the courage. We see Lance Armstrong's fearsome drive, his jubilation when his most loyal teammate wins a stage, and his rocky relationships with young, up-and-coming American riders. But Chasing Lance is not just an account of Armstrong's triumph. Dugard gives us the full Tour, from the yellow jersey up front to the strugglers who finish last; from the quiet countryside to the Paris pavement; from the lavender fields of Provence to the fields of drunken tourists who have come not only to see if Lance can win one last time, but to consume as much fine wine and cheese as possible-an endurance contest of a different sort. A gripping portrait of a champion at sunset, an illuminating exploration of what it means to persevere-on the road and in life-and a vibrant journey through France, Chasing Lance takes us to the Tour, and inside the mind of Lance Armstrong, like no other book ever has. more...

Price: $9.99

On a journey begun twenty years earlier, Daryl Farmer, a twenty-year-old two-time college dropout, did what lost men have so often done in this country: he headed west. Twenty years later and seventy pounds heavier, with the yellowing journals from that transformative five-thousand-mile bicycle trek in his pack, Farmer set out to retrace his path. This is his story of pursuing that distant summer and that distant dream of home, where home is endless space, a roof of big sky, and a bed of dry earth. more...

Price: $26.95

The Mississippi River flows through this book, interlacing with the bicycle adventures of Barb and Ted. The insistent energy, majesty and abundance of the river became a metaphor for the explorers who see what they missed beforetheir roots from New Orleans to Minnesota. The willful river's meanders encourage them to sample pecan pies, spend time with a mortician in Missouri, cheer barges through the river's many locks, and overcome seven broken spokes. more...

Price: $6.50

More women than ever before are jumping on their saddles to enjoy one of the fastest growing sports in the country-and to improve cardiovascular fitness, control their weight, and liven up their social lives. At the same time, cycling remains very much a "man's sport," an intimidating world that can be difficult for women to navigate. Now celebrity spokeswoman Selene Yeager covers all the basics-for all ages and fitness levels. Women will learn... - How to find the perfect bike and other essential equipment. - How to shift, spin, climb mountains, and get back down. - Training techniques that take it up a notch. - What to eat off-and on-a bike. - Competition craziness-race information and strategies. - Why guys who work in bike shops act the way they do. - And more! more...

Price: $15.00

At the turn of the 20th century, hundreds of handsome, lightning-fast racers won the hearts and minds of a bicycling-crazed public. Scientists studied them, newspapers glorified them, and millions of dollars in purse money was awarded to them. Major Taylor aimed to be the fastest of them all. more...

Price: $24.00