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I Want to Ride My Bicycle (and I bet you do, too)

Tuesday, Mar 25, 2014 at 1:27pm

Spring is right around the corner, and I'm guessing those of you with bicycles are itching to get out and ride in the warm weather and sunshine, without several layers and without ice. Before you mount up and ride out, though, you might want to read up with some of these new bike books to prepare and inspire yourself.


Riding a bicycle from coast-to-coast is one of those bucket-list goals that many dream but few fulfill. During the summer and fall of 2011, at the age of fifty-seven, Bruce Weber, an obituary writer for The New York Times, cycled across the United States alone. Life Is a Wheel is an inspiring and reflective diary of a journey in which the challenges and rewards of self-reliance and strenuous physical effort yield wry and incisive observations about cycling and America, not to mention the pleasures of a three-thousand-calorie breakfast.


When Rwandan Adrien Niyonshuti crossed the line in the men's mountain bike race at the London Olympics last year, he did so bearing both the hopes of a nation and the scars of the 1994 genocide. The fact that he was thankful just to finish -- in 39th place -- is just one reason why Tim Lewis's fascinating story of Rwandan cycling Land of Second Chances isn't a typical rags to riches, triumph against adversity tale. It is the story of the Rwandan cycling team, the people behind the team, and a metaphor for a struggling nation. Lewis follows Niyonshuti, who was only seven years old during the genocides, to his successful finish; his coach Jonathan Boyer (first American to race in the Tour de France); all around cyclist Tom Ritchey; and Rwandan President Paul Kagame. Their struggle to create a national cycling team and its benefits to the community is told in this true story about "finding redemption in the eyes of the world."
(Please note that this book will be released in mid to late April. Contact us today to pre-order a copy.)


You will never fear the unknown landscape of bicycle repair on the road with the Essential Road Bike Maintenance Handbook by Brian Fiske tucked in your pannier. This portable handbook distills the core fundamentals and serves as a guide to repairing and maintaining your bike. It focuses specifically on instructions with step-by-step photos, troubleshooting tips, links to videos and helpful sidebar material. The book is clearly organized from front of bike to back with colour-coded page tabs serving as a visual table of contents to key bike areas so that readers can quickly and efficiently find the information they need.

Categories: Saskatoon, Winnipeg, New Releases

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Life Is a Wheel

- Bruce Weber

Hardcover $29.99
Reader Reward Price: $26.99

Based on his popular series in the New York Times chronicling his cross-country bicycle trip, bestselling author Bruce Weber shares his adventures from his solo ride across the USA.

Based on his popular New York Times series, bestselling author Bruce Weber shares the adventures of his solo bicycle ride from coast to coast.

Riding a bicycle across the United States is one of those bucket-list goals that many dream about but few fulfill. During the summer and fall of 2011, at the age of fifty-seven, Bruce Weber, an obituary writer for The New York Times, made the trip, alone, and wrote about it as it unfolded mile by mile, a vivid and immediate report of the self-powered life on the road.

Now, expanding upon the articles and blog posts that quickly became a must-read adventure story, Weber gives us Life Is a Wheel, a witty, inspiring, and reflective diary of his journey, in which the challenges and rewards of self-reliance and strenuous physical effort yield wry and incisive observations about cycling and America, not to mention the pleasures of a three-thousand-calorie breakfast.

The story begins on the Oregon coast, with Weber wondering what he's gotten himself into, and ends in triumph on New York City's George Washington Bridge. From Going-to-the-Sun Road in the northern Rockies to the headwaters of the Mississippi and through the cityscapes of Chicago and Pittsburgh, his encounters with people and places provide us with an intimate, two-wheeled perspective of America. And with thousands of miles to travel, Weber considers-- when he's not dealing with tractor-trailers, lightning storms, dehydration, headwinds, and loneliness--his past, his family, and the echo that a well-lived life leaves behind.

Part travelogue, part memoir, part romance, part paean to the bicycle as a simple mode of both mobility and self-expression--and part bemused and panicky account of a middle-aged man's attempt to stave off, well, you know--Life Is a Wheel is an elegant and beguiling escape for biking enthusiasts, armchair travelers, and any readers who are older than they were yesterday.

Bicycling Essential Road Bike Maintenance Handbook

- Todd Downs, Brian Fiske, of Bicycling Magazine Editors

Trade paperback $16.99
Reader Reward Price: $15.29

Cyclists will never fear the unknown landscape of bicycle repair on the road with this condensed edition of the perennial Rodale favorite,The Bicycling Guide to Complete Bicycle Maintenance and Repairby Todd Downs. This edition features a compact trim size that fits easily in a kit bag or pocket and is packed with information on maintaining and repairing bicycles that is suited for any traveling cyclist.

This portable handbook distills the core fundamentals and serves as a guide to repairing and maintaining one's bike, focusing specifically on instructions with step-by-step photos, troubleshooting tips, links to videos, and helpful sidebar material. The book is clearly organized from front of bike to back with color-coded page tabs serving as a visual table of contents to key bike areas so that readers can find quickly and efficiently the information they need.

Bicycling Essential Road Bike Maintenance Handbook edited by Brian Fiske is the perfect troubleshooting guide for every cyclist--beginner or intermediate--and will provide a welcome relief to any cyclist faced with unexpected issues on the road.