Bicycling Medicine: Cycling Nutrition, Physiology, Injury Prevention and Treatment for Riders of All Levels

by Arnie Baker

Book Overview

Whether you're a novice rider or a championship racer, Bicycling Medicine shows you how to prevent and treat all kinds of bicycling-related aches and pains.

Coach Arnie Baker, MD, explains how to diagnose minor and major problems, offers do-it-yourself solutions, and alerts you to conditions that require a doctor's attention. A special section on bicycling physiology illuminates the demands cycling puts on your body, and thorough...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684844435
• ISBN13: 9780684844435
• Release Date: September 1998
• Publisher: Touchstone Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Answers all the BS I hear when I do tours.

For the most part, there are two kinds of riders in the world: 1) people who ride, ride with others, and have expert knowledge based on experience, and 2) people who read and talk about riding, buy only the best and most expensive equipment, yet have trouble with such simple tasks as navigating obstacles or managing heat loss. The No. 2s out there are obsessed with weighing pasta, exact calculations of cadence, heart rate, aerodynamics, and shedding single digit grams from their bicycles. The No. 2s also make the No. 3s (novices who just want to ride more) nervous about taking on an event or increasing their distance because they're convinced by the No. 2s that they haven't the expertise or elite equipment needed to ride 'seriously.' This book dispells the witchcraft of cycling. It's about what practically happens to a person when they take up cycling even semi-seriously--particular ailments and stress disorders; simple explainations of how muscles, the circulatory system, blood, and body chemistry all work as it relates to cycling; and the low-down on even the most minor of performance enhancers, such as vitamin overdosing and sports drinks, which he doesn't particularly recommend and tells you impartially why you should or shouldn't use them as well as provides the home cookin' alternatives to expensive gels, drinks, and the like. BOTTOM LINE: Authoratative yet practical, this book applies equally to the Sunday afternoon 10 mile "epic" rider as well as the 'professional' rider. It will explain everything from the benefits of beer to why you get butt cramps, and will never make such rediculous recommendations as "buy a more expensive bike" or belittle the relatively small amount of riding you No. 3s out there do. It's the 'obsessive compulsive' free guide to healthy cycling for all levels of riding and riding experience.

Belongs on your bookshelf so you have it when needed

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.

Really for "Riders of All Levels." Incredibly complete.

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,

Essential advice for tour leaders and participants

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.

The BEST Advice

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.