Misc. and brief book review: "Heft On Wheels"

The past two weeks have been disappointing. We have had a lot of rain - which did lower the temperature, which IS a nice thing - so I haven't been able to fit in any riding most days. I also started a new job on the 22nd of July, and have been getting used to a normal schedule.

Can I just say it is a CRIME to have to be anyway showered, fully dressed and with shoes on before 10 AM?

Anyway, I have been wiped out a lot sooner in the night, so haven't attempted any night riding for a long time. The good thing is that despite the humidity, it looks like we are safe from any storms the next several hours, so I hope to take minion #5 on a ride through the park before the day is over.

One good thing about going back to a job outside the home is that it has renewed my interested in commuting to work every now and then via bicycle. I am trying to figure out the best route. I am not comfortable riding on the roads during busy traffic times, so I am doing my best to find routes that have bike paths or even (gasp) side walks that I can jump on should there be a need. (Yes- I know, I am not supposed to be on the sidewalk, but if it comes down to making a choice between getting run over and getting a ticket...I will pick the ticket every time. And I am one of those persons that will get off and walk the bike on the side walk should there be too much foot traffic.)

Another good thing about my new job is that it is literally right around the corner from the bike shop where I purchased my Trek. Friday I went in on my lunch hour just to smell the new bikes. I window shop bikes like most women window shop shoes and clothes. Actually, I did buy something - they had a bunch of shirts left over from some charity ride back in May. For $3 I bought a cool t-shirt. Not that I really need another t-shirt, but it is light blue, and has a bike on it, so how could I not? Anyway...I probably have been wearing my "Somebody should really do something about how fat I am" t-shirt a few times too many in public. And a lot of my other t-shirts are worn out, stained, yadda yadda....okay done justifying the $3 t-shirt.

We made a family trip to Half Price Books yesterday. The husband stocked up on "must have" scifi/fantasy and computer games; the girls each got a book - 1 manga graphic novel and 1 really cool book on origami. I finally purchased a copy of What Color is Your Parachute? 2007. I have always wanted to get this book, but being cheap, I wanted to get a used copy. This is the latest edition I have found anywhere, so snatched it up. (Decent so far - will review it on the other blog at some point.) I was going to search for some books on cycling, but I got caught up in a discussion with the husband about a private school we are sending minion #4 to (most like), as I had found a review of it in a private school book directory. It doesn't take much for me to lose my train of thought lately.

Later at night, I decided I would just run up to Barnes & Noble and see what they had. I wanted to get a copy of Psychology Today for the husband anyway. Anything to help him understand me more, the better. Just kidding. Psychology is related to his degree major in school, and we were chatting about getting a copy the other day, so why not then?

I looked through the bike magazines as well. The only one so far that seems to appeal to me is Bicycling, of course, no surprise there. I am not a hard core cyclist, so the other ones would be a waste of money right now. However, I didn't end up getting it. I have been really REALLY good in terms of buying only used books or going to the library the past few months. And since I can read a lot of Bicycling on their website (on my phone no less), I wasn't sure there was much more I could get from it. Not for $5. And that isn't to cut the magazine down. Its just that until I am riding more, and beyond just park riding, not really sure how much time and money I should be spending on a magazine when I can read a lot of information online.

I did, however, go to the sports section and to look for a book. There were plenty of books on Lance Armstrong, and a few books on other cycling related topics. There was one that seemed to be geared towards beginners that I thought perhaps would be beneficial. I flipped through it though, and though I am no expert, this book was really too newbie even for me. Most of the book talked about selecting a bike, and the rest about topics I was already comfortable with.

I almost left without a book, then found "Heft On Wheels" by Mike Magnusun. I just read his article about what happened to Greg LeMond earlier in the day on the Bicycle.com website. This was his book on him getting out of the drunk/smoker life style into a serious cyclist. And he was very large and now wasn't so large. Okay - this could be an interesting read. I can related to all of that - well except the heavy drinking.

Note: This book was published in 2004, and apparently (according to the Greg LeMond article), life for Mike was not so rosy after the book was published. At first, I approached the book with a bit of an attitude like "well - it didn't last did it buddy?", but then figured there was no need for THAT attitude. Even though the guy isn't perfect, and the book is almost written in what I would call just free flowing, it is a fun and interesting read.

I haven't finished the book so far; I am on page 173 (its about 250 pages long), and expect to finish it later tonight before I doze off. The author and I have very little in common: whole weight issue, smoking, etc. I really enjoy how he writes clearly, intimately even, how it felt for him to reach a few milestones. For example, quitting smoking and drinking; completing the Bridge to Bridge ride, being able to finally be the leader of the pack on his group rides, etc.

What has struck me most in this book is the seriousness, and no bones about desire he has for riding. This isn't about getting more fit really, and he means that. He quit smoking and drinking because he wanted to be a better cyclist. He didn't do it for his family - he quit because he had to do it for him. At no point does he try to rationalize or justify this - he just puts it out there. To me that is refreshing. No pretending that its for someone other than himself.

Now, when I read the article he wrote about Greg LeMond, I thought to myself "Wow, this writer is a bit of a dolt." He struck me as a person that had lost direction (which he points out he has in the article). He has a website (which he doesn't seem to update) and a MySpace site as well. I haven't spent more than five minutes on either. As far as I am concerned, even if the fellow went back to drinking, smoking, and never rode his bike, it doesn't take away from the value of this book. (Of course, I wish the guy well.)

Anyway - if you have time and a spare $12/$13, well worth the read. I don't know if this is something the library or a used book store would carry, but there are always those options if they do. As I stated earlier, I rarely buy new books any longer. I am happy to say that this one was well worth the money, and will be one I will probably read again in another few years.

You can find it on Barnes & Noble's website here.