<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Bicycling Medicine
Review: An excellent text that should be mandatory reading for all cycle instructors [indoor and outdoor]. Well researched with excellent bio-mechanics and safety issues covered.Highly Recommended by this Exercise Physiologist
Rating:
Summary: Essential advice for tour leaders and participants
Review: Dr. Baker casts a properly jaundiced eye on current "health" fads (botanical/herbal preparations, hormones, vitamins, etc.) and keeps the discussion focused on sound medical practice and nutrition. I'm not a racer in any sense; but I've suffered my share of "road rash" and hit my personal wall more than once while distance touring. Dr. Baker's advice is helpful for both prevention and treatment. If you want to understand what fuels your muscles; how to treat a sprain; when, where, how, and how often, to train; what "crotchitis" is and how to treat it -- this is your book. It's going into my library of core training materials for our staff.
Rating:
Summary: The BEST Advice
Review: I love to ride long distances, and I love to ride as often as I can, but you will never see me out racing. I want to be as healthy about it as possible, to stay as fit as I can, and to know what I should to do to be a better rider. This book has been a big help to me in pursuing those desires. I have read it over several times, and I always get something new from it. I've read other books that cover the same or similar ground, and this is the best. Baker is a very clear writer, and he's not completely sucked into racing like other bicycle health writers. This is full of useful advice, told in a friendly yet authoritative way, and inspiring as well.
Rating:
Summary: The BEST Advice
Review: I love to ride long distances, and I love to ride as often as I can, but you will never see me out racing. I want to be as healthy about it as possible, to stay as fit as I can, and to know what I should to do to be a better rider. This book has been a big help to me in pursuing those desires. I have read it over several times, and I always get something new from it. I've read other books that cover the same or similar ground, and this is the best. Baker is a very clear writer, and he's not completely sucked into racing like other bicycle health writers. This is full of useful advice, told in a friendly yet authoritative way, and inspiring as well.
Rating: 
Summary: A little disappointed
Review: Maybe I had too high expectations for this book. A lot of solutions (eg lower back pain) are: change bicyle fit, but don't elaborate how and why! Also, women should not stay in the drops too long if they anticipate a romantic evening? It's not a bad read but I was hoping for more solutions and insights than it offers.
Rating:
Summary: Really for "Riders of All Levels." Incredibly complete.
Review: So many books on cycling health or training start with an assumption that your last name is Merckx, Armstrong or LeMond. Biking is, in my opinion, the most excellent way for someone overweight and in poor cardiovascular health to get into shape, as few other activities allow someone to ease into better performance. Being one of those people, I was persuaded to buy Bicycling Medicine because the subtitle said "for riders of all levels." This book is true to its title. The author, Arnie Baker, is a physician, a competitive cyclist and cycling coach. I liked his very conservative view of medicine. He does not hype techniques and products, and gives a balanced view of advantages and disadvantages of the subjects. (After reading the effects of too much vitamins, you will probably not want to take supplements again.) He honestly discusses the limitations of medicine and medical testing. The book is divided into five parts, and further divided into 81 mini-chapters. Each chapter tackles one subject in a succinct manner - short, easy, but adequate. Most chapters starts with "What We're Talking About" that introduces and defines the subject before delving more deeply into it. Some of the subjects are nutrition, energy use vs. effort, vitamins, performance aids, heart rate training, muscle physiology, optimum cycle fit, injury treatments, medical problems and general health. The range of topics covered is simply astounding. Baker even discusses how to urinate while riding, which side of your body is best to sleep on, and how to shave your legs. He discusses gender-specific topics honestly and maturely, as you would expect from a physician. The book is sparesly illustrated, and does not require many additional figures, but if you need lots of glossy photos of racers cutting through corners to keep your attention, you won't find them here. Most of the figures in the books are of a cartoon character demonstrating a very complete array of stretching exercises. My complaints are very few, and are to be considered more of suggestions for later editions. A couple of additional figures could be helpful in the bike fitting sections. I was a little confused by "...angle from the horizontal formed by the knee at the bottom on the pedal stroke." (p.119) I think I get it, but I'm still not quite sure. "Handlebar angle" on p.149 could have been illustrated. On p. 97, energy and power are confused. This is important to an engineer such as myself, and I think the author understands it, too, but got lazy at this point with the terminology (work is energy and is therefore not measured in Watts, which is power). On pp. 110-111, while I understand efficiency very well, I am kind of lost by his definition of economy. And the related example confuses me more. Is economy energy per distance, or energy per speed? "Fewer calories are needed to travel at the same speed" doesn't make total sense without establishing the distance over which the speed was maintained. Figure 1-4 has "Low," "Medium," and "High" exercise intensities on the x-axis of the graph, and in the text he defines these as 65%, 75% and 90% of maximum heart rate. Why not just put those value on the graph? Again, I consider these complaints minor. I recommend this book to everyone who is beginning cycling and wants to cycle for fitness, or has any desire to measure and improve his performance. It is a fantastic starting point. After reading this book, you will have enough understanding to ask other questions or to seek out more in-depth resources on the subjects that interest you most. Someone with years of cycling involving some sort of training may find the book somewhat basic, though, but it may still be a useful, very general, reference.
Rating:
Summary: Belongs on your bookshelf so you have it when needed
Review: Well-written, comprehensive. Baker "knows his stuff". He writes with the authority of a physician and the wisdom of a practicing cyclist. Read the book for the topics of immediate interest and then store it for rapid access when needed. My personal experience: I ride daily. One day, I began to feel pain in my left knee. Baker's book has a table for knee pain -- front of knee, back, inside, and outside. For each, he provides causes and recommended solutions. In my case, the book identified saddle height as a likely cause and suggested raising it. I did so. The pain went away. I cannot imagine finding a local doctor competent to provide such a diagnosis. And even if I could, compare the cost in time and money versus the convenience and price of Baker's book. A winner for anyone who is even remotely serious about cycling.
Rating:
Summary: Belongs on your bookshelf so you have it when needed
Review: Well-written, comprehensive. Baker "knows his stuff". He writes with the authority of a physician and the wisdom of a practicing cyclist. Read the book for the topics of immediate interest and then store it for rapid access when needed. My personal experience: I ride daily. One day, I began to feel pain in my left knee. Baker's book has a table for knee pain -- front of knee, back, inside, and outside. For each, he provides causes and recommended solutions. In my case, the book identified saddle height as a likely cause and suggested raising it. I did so. The pain went away. I cannot imagine finding a local doctor competent to provide such a diagnosis. And even if I could, compare the cost in time and money versus the convenience and price of Baker's book. A winner for anyone who is even remotely serious about cycling.
<< 1 >>
| 
