Rating: 
Summary: Something for Every Cyclist
Review: "The Ultimate Ride" provides not only cycling and fitness information for the elite rider, but also for the weekend enthusiast who wants to make the most of his skill. I found the book exceptionally well organized and clearly useful. It is unfortunate that "reviews" are posted which seek to discredit the author by someone who most likely has not read the book nor can spell the author's name correctly. I would hope anyone who wants an honest review will rely on accurate sources.
Rating: 
Summary: Part Infomercial, Part Genius
Review: About 40% of this book presents the best written summary that I have seen on bicycling-related nutrition, physiology, tactics, and training. The other 60% is an infomercial for the Carmichael Training System (CTS). The book presents its information in a very redundant fashion, frequently repeating the same points over and over. For season veterans of bicycling who read a lot, you won't find too many new revelations to justify purchasing the book, however, the few that you do find may make it worth it. For those who are newer to the sport and who want to improve, I'd recommend this book. The best parts of this book are easy to read and have invaluable information. Skim the other 60% unless you want to pay for CTS coaching and need to understand more about it.
Rating:
Summary: Carmichael shows why he's the Lombardi of cycling!!
Review: Chris Carmichael is a genius in the world of cycling. This book is clear, concise and makes sense. I've known Chris Carmichael for almost 2 years (he was my personal coach) and the information presented in this book is largely the same as he instructed me personally on a daily basis. While we no longer work together, he truly inspired me to do things I never thought I could do. Chris, if you read this... thanks. Chris, call or email if you ever want the real story.
Rating:
Summary: Carmichael shows why he's the Lombardi of cycling!!
Review: Chris Carmichael is a genius in the world of cycling. This book is clear, concise and makes sense. I've known Chris Carmichael for almost 2 years (he was my personal coach) and the information presented in this book is largely the same as he instructed me personally on a daily basis. While we no longer work together, he truly inspired me to do things I never thought I could do. Chris, if you read this... thanks. Chris, call or email if you ever want the real story.
Rating: 
Summary: Carmichael's pitch for CTS, good info but could be better
Review: I figure if Chris Carmichael is coaching Lance Armstrong, then he probably has some worthwhile things to share with the rest of us wanna-bes. If you have little or no understanding of cycling, training periodization, nutrition, tactics, or sports psychology, then you will definitely benefit from Carmichael's book. For those of us with a little background in these topics, you will probably enjoy reading the book, but its unlikely that you will garner any new insights to bicycle training or racing. I agree with my fellow raters - this book is an advertisement for Carmichael Training Systems (CTS). If you want (can afford) a coach, don't bother buying the book - pay a coach. I buy books so that I can learn enough to put together my own plan. If you want to do that, I recommend Joe Friel's outstanding The Cyclist's Training Bible (fantastic training plan advice, emphasis on goals, periodization, nutrition, etc.)or Smart Cycling by Arnie Baker (great indoor trainer workouts). Carmichael's book will make for good reading for any cycling buff, but you won't find out any "secrets" about Lance's program, and you will get more for your money with the other two books. Plus who wants to pay for CTS advertisement??
Rating: 
Summary: Simplistic and Purposefully Incomplete
Review: I would assume that most people who buy this book do so because they're looking to self-train themselves and need some guidance on how to do so. That, at least, is the reason I looked into it. Unfortunately, the Ultimate Ride is inadequate for such a purpose.
Carmichael emphasizes that periodization is the best way to organize your training year. However, he gives you no advice on how to actually do this. He tells you its important, but doesn't get into the hows and whys of it. He gives examples of training months (4 total), but offers no insights on planning subsequent months, or on linking months together coherently. He tells you that you should gradually increase "workout stimulus" in a stairstep fashion, but doesn't describe how to actually do it.
This is the biggest problem with Carmichael's book- he tends to tell you that things are important, but doesn't bother describing how to put them into practice. As a cyclist you already KNOW that these things- training principles, cycling techniques, skills, etc.- are important- that's why you bought the book to begin with! What you need to know is HOW to improve them. This is where Carmichael fails.
I suspect this failure is intentional. The reviewer below who likened the book to an infomercial was spot-on. Carmichael is trying to sell his training program, CTS. The reason this book is so spotty is that he wants you to go out and join his program to get the answers and the training that this book leaves you hungry for. This is pretty shoddy business, if you ask me.
I give it two stars because there is a smattering of helpful information, such as nutritional concerns and some good workouts. But much of the book consists of stuff you already know, or is filled with "Ra-ra-you-can-do-it-you're-the-champion-110-percent!!!" pop sports psychology that you could get from any junior high gym class. Extremely disappointing, can't even recommend it for absolute novices.
Rating:
Summary: An improvement / innovative ideas / needs index and pictures
Review: In a review of Chris Carmichael's previous book, "Lance Armstrong Performance Program: Seven Weeks to the Perfect Ride", I (as JDWEB) said that it was excellent, but didn't go far enough for serious athletes. I think that problem has been largely corrected in this book, and I am happy with this purchase. What I really like in this new book is that he presents some novel ideas on the subject of training, and explains them in sufficent detail. He also goes into more detail on key subjects such as nutrition (talking about about amounts of protein per kg of body weight, for example, not just in terms of dietary percentages). I have studied LOTS of books on training, and I do quite well as an athlete given my age (39) and limited number of hours of training available. I've been periodizing my workouts with macrocycles and microcycles right back to the Lemond days, for example. This new book is the first one I've seen in awhile with FRESH ideas on what intensity to train at, and how to find that level for yourself. CC (aka "The Kid") tells us how he had to train LA in a less stressful way, and why it works. For example, you improve your power fastest if you train just under your Anaerobic Threshold, rather than at it or just over. That was a surprise to me. CC also bases his training intensities not on Max Heart Rate, which everyone else has written about ad naseum, but instead on your heart rate during a 3 mile time trial. This is especially relevant to me, as my muscular development for running is ahead of my development for cycling, so my intensity for cycling is lower than for running (the muscles are a bottle neck). This is cool stuff that makes sense, and very relevant to triathletes, too, as you can see. The book was mostly disappointing in that it didn't have an index, so you couldn't look for "rest" and find all the references in the text, for example. That's a hinderance. The book also needs explanatory pictures of some bike handling techniques, as I said in my review of his other book. But overall, this book is very valuable in demonstrating a new approach to training, and worth every penny.
Rating:
Summary: Part Infomercial, Part Genius
Review: My wife got me this for Christmas. Good thing she did. I would not have picked it up on my own, since I already own too many similar works for running and triathlon. This is a great work because Chris works nutrition, base training, peak training and competing into a complete package. Its short, concise, easy to read. I throughly enjoyed it, and even in the dead of winter in upstate NY, I am applying many of the tips and techniques he provides. I dont think this book is for the amateur, first time cyclist. But for seasoned riders with a few years experience its a must have.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly helpful and insightful
Review: My wife got me this for Christmas. Good thing she did. I would not have picked it up on my own, since I already own too many similar works for running and triathlon. This is a great work because Chris works nutrition, base training, peak training and competing into a complete package. Its short, concise, easy to read. I throughly enjoyed it, and even in the dead of winter in upstate NY, I am applying many of the tips and techniques he provides. I dont think this book is for the amateur, first time cyclist. But for seasoned riders with a few years experience its a must have.
Rating:
Summary: Good book, could use better presentation
Review: Some of the reviews really dissed this book. I thought it was pretty good. I have read several others and would suggest Friel's book is the best overall, but I thought Carmichael did a better job of discussing the importance of aerobic base, raising threshold power, and focusing each period on developing a specific capacity. Interestingly, his method for raising threshold power seems much different than Morris (but similar to Friel, I think). He also presents some topics such as riding in a pack that Friel doesn't really cover. I guess his past as a pro comes in handy for this.
The book sounds like it is going to be one long commercial at first, but don't worry too much, that does get better.
It could use some better illustrations, charts, etc, but overall I thought it worth reading if you are interested in structured training.
He has a couple interesting stories about training some of the pros, their experiences, and how they related to their subsequent seasons. He should write a book on this stuff someday. That would be an interesting read.
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