Bike for Life: How to Ride to 100 (Paperback)

by Roy M. Wallack (Author), Bill Katovsky (Author) "BIKE FOR LIFE's agenda is simple: wouldn't you like to ride a century when you turn a century?..." (more)
Key Phrases: poor bike fit, proper bike fit, internal flotation, Tour de France, San Diego, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
A great, funny page-turner that you simply don’t expect. -- MICHAEL FRANK, Deputy Editor, Bicycling and Mountain Bike

Bike for Life could be the most important book in your life. -- SAL RUIBAL, USA Today cycling writer

What a great book! -- STEVE BOEHMKE, Mountain Bike Hall of Fame inductee

Product Description
Do you want to ride to 100? Bike for Life!

Ride a century when you turn a century. That’s the promise offered by nationally-known bicycle journalists Roy M. Wallack and Bill Katovsky in Bike for Life, a blueprint for using cycling to achieve longevity, fitness, and overall well-being. America’s largest participatory sport combines physical and mental challenges, relaxation, achievement, adventure, and social interaction as it unifies different generations and demographics in fitness and fun. To get the most our of your riding time, steer clear of the sport's potholes, and enjoy a long lifetime of fitness, Bike for Life's comprehensive plan includes:

• Cutting-edge training strategies for best-ever fitness at any age • An anti-aging strength plan to revive muscularity and reaction time • An exclusive 10-step cycling-specific yoga routine • How to beat common injuries like Cyclist’s Knee and Biker’s Back • Famous coaches’ climbing, cornering, handling and eating tips • A cure for cycling-related sexual problems in men and women • 16 ways to stop the scary cycling-osteoporosis connection • List of must-do hill climbs, mass city rides, and cross-state events • Rx for Relationships: Reconciling cycling and significant others • How to survive mountain lions, bike-jackers, poison ivy, headwinds, & more

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (May 8, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569244510
• ISBN-13: 978-1569244517
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #15,010 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must for All Cyclers, February 24, 2006

By	Zorana Bakovic - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is one the best book I have read about biking, and I actually still read it almost every day, checking out different aspects related to cycling - health issues, nutrition advises, and especially exercises and stretching before and after every ride. The book answers almost all of my questions, and considering the fact that I am a women and over 50, but still very ambitious to get better on the road, I find it so very useful - I could say necessary.

The only thing lacking in the book are photos or at least drawings in the chapters on exercises and yoga for cyclers. Maybe it is just me, but only reading the text-descriptions is not enough. Despite that, I would highly recommend the book to all cyclers, regardless of age. I learn enormously from it!

34 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lotta bang for the buck, November 19, 2005

By	sportfit.com "sportfit.com" (los angeles, ca) - See all my reviews

Bike for Life reads like a lifestyle magazine, categorized by topics designed to pique interest but follows up with depth reserved only for the New York Times or National Geographic. The authors know how to take a position without turning it into religion. Completing a Century ride on your 100th birthday appears within reach, but maybe not if your only activity is cycling.

It's likely that if you're a cyclist or triathlete you've already read both authors, Roy Wallack and Bill Katovsky. Both have been fixtures in the publishing world for years. In fact, Katovsky started Triathlete and Inside Triathlon, and Wallack was one of Triathlete's premier editors. You'll likely recognize each of their distinctive literary voices from chapter to chapter, and feel a pleasant familiarity not unlike the sense you get when James Earl Jones's voice shows up in a commercial. At once you feel at ease.

Simply, Bike for Life posits that cycling is an integral part of longevity but not a panacea. While aerobic fitness can be maximized riding, even into our golden years, other aspects of fitness and bicycling must be addressed. Strength training and flexibility fill in the gaps of cycling's physiological deficiencies. The right bike fit solves the hand, wrist,neck, back, foot and numb nethers issues plaguing many of us, which, if ignored either kill the enjoyment or take us off the bike altogether. And, cycling related benefits notwithstanding, this book is a user's manual for us all, cyclists or otherwise, because it details a cornucopia of secrets to long term health and fitness. It's like having all of those pertinent articles that we read and wanted to save (but never did) compiled and organized for our periodic reference.

Not only, entertaining interviews introduce us to legendary, mature riders who, whether setting records or just climbing into the saddle, embody an ideal, inspiring confidence in our own future, by their achievement, while their peers sidle up to canes and walkers. The authors' personal experiences aim their book squarely at you and me, recreational riders and age-group competitors who want to milk as much fulfillment and adventure as we can from our time turning the cranks. For what it's worth, I took the 34 mile, 10,000 ft. Haleakela volcano (on Maui, HI) climb challenge right off the pages of Bike for Life, essentially at Roy's behest. Now I have indelible imprints of a 4 hour ride from Mayberry to Mars that'll keep me company long as my memory remains - at least 'til my 100th birthday.

There's at least one typographical error. Spinal erectors - those muscles running the length of our vertebral column - are mis-described as spiny erectors. This bothered me - one who's found errors in the Webster's Third International Dictionary (really) - but probably not anyone else.

Bike for Life is a great read, a great reference tool and a great gift - I've given away a half dozen copies so far. As a triathlon coach, personal trainer and avid reader I recommend this book.



Christopher Drozd
Beverly Hills, CA

[Disclosure: I'm featured in this book, but receive no compensation from the authors or publisher. I bought all of the copies I gave away. Further, it took me over six months to get around to writing any sort of review.]

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read if you love to bike!, August 11, 2005

By	Jame Moore (Washington) - See all my reviews

I just logged in to Amazon to look for some Lance Armstrong books, and I bumped into this title. A fellow-cyclist got me this book from Amazon, shortly after it was published. WOW! What a read. I couldn't put it down. I don't know what's been better for my cycling these days taking my thor-plex or this book. Ok, taking my thor-plex has, but the book is right up there with it. Guys and gals get this one. It is loaded with important information and excellent tips. The health information will be of tremendous use to you - all the talk on the human growth hormone (HGH) convinced me to get YF-8 in my diet and to drink plenty of water.

Read the book and let us all know how you enjoyed it, as other have done here much more eloquent than I.