Product Description
This digital document is an article from Rider, published by Ehlert Publishing Group on August 1, 2004. The length of the article is 483 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Alpinestars Apex Drystar jacket: for many years the Alpinestars brand name has been synonymous with dirt-bike riding gear and accessories.(GearLab)
Author: Ken Freund
Publication: Rider (Magazine/Journal)
Date: August 1, 2004
Publisher: Ehlert Publishing Group
Volume: 31Issue: 8Page: 91(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
Veteran racer Lee O?Dea?s exhilarating novel about the unique sport of motocross and it?s struggle to find a place in the world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Motocross Conformist
I found the book to be very interesting in that it gave me insight to a sport that is not well known to the general public but does have a devoted group of competitors. After reading the book written by an individual who actually participated in the sport you get a feel for the many obstacles faced to bring the sport to the level it enjoys in other countries. It was a good read. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Rider, published by Ehlert Publishing Group on March 1, 2004. The length of the article is 692 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The button: dirt-bike riding has changed a lot since I was a wee lad with a need for speed. Most of the change has been for the better, but some has not.(One Track Mind)
Author: Mark, Jr. Tuttle
Publication: Rider (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 1, 2004
Publisher: Ehlert Publishing Group
Volume: 31Issue: 3Page: 8(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
Freestyle motocross is all about pulling off awesome mid-air stunts with style. From tried-and-true tricks like the Hart attack to the new electric doom, these daring riders pull out all the stops. Go big with todays top riders as they risk it all for a spot on the podium. ... Read more

Product Description
With jaw-dropping jumps and tight turns, a motocross course can look nearly impossible to get through. But for these steel-nerved riders, its all in a days work. Find out how the sport that shaped the modern dirt bike still keeps fans on their feet after almost 100 years. ... Read more

Product Description
The goal of dirt bike racing is to reach the finish before your competitors, right? Wrong! In Enduro racing, drivers tackle a variety of off-road routes. Their goal is to reach the finish in a certain amount time. Learn the specific challenges of this action-packed sport, and find out what it takes to win. ... Read more

Product Description
Do you want to experience the excitement of motocross indoors? Supercross brings soaring dirt jumps and hairpin turns into sports arenas everywhere. Drivers fly high as they test their skills in front of thousands of fans. Experience the thrill of the wildest indoor sport there is! ... Read more

Product Description
With the help of a former member of Alcoholics Anonymous, a member of a cycle racing team learns to control his drinking and restore a sense of purpose to his life. ... Read more

Product Description
Cult followers of bike lore now have a chunk of gospel to chew on: Victor Vincente of America's classic 'world's longest prose poem'--'A Dirt Road Rider's Trek Epic.'

VVA is one of the more mysterious founding fathers of mt-biking, as well as a source of the revival of road racing in America. He inspired Greg Lemond and others with his unsponsored, half-starved European and Olympic racing exploits. In the 70's, he set the first 'RAAM' record, riding back and forth nonstop across the U.S., which was when he gave himself his name. He has hosted legendary offroad eventssome which involved prizes in the form of roadkill.

His notorious newsletter of race results and stories was the first home of this long-running prose-poem about days and nights offroad, in the natural and cultural outback. These are put-you-there tales any cultural explorer can relate to--and be surprised by.

The DRRTE--plus new episodes--is showcased here along with media-reprints from VVA's heyday and dirt road scene. Illustrated; with artful glimpses of his other projects, including coin art, t-shirts, posters, and stamps. ... Read more

Product Description
PAPERBACK ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great book, don't buy it on Amazon
This book is a must read for anyone who grew up riding dirt bikes in the early 70s.Rick Sieman is as responsible for direction of modern moto journalism as Hunter S. Thompson is for Gonzo journalism.Rick told the truth and paid the price.But the real reason for this review is to warn book shoppers to buy from Rick and NOT from Amazon resellers.The book does not cost $149!You can get and autographed copy for only for $20 direct from Super Hunky himself.Just google until you find Super Hunky dot com.

You can thank me later

History of Dirt Bike riding in the US and Dirt Bike Magazine from it's editor
This book is filled with great stories, most of which are hilarious.The trials of putting out a monthly magazine and the origins of off road riding as a popular sport in the US.It came out in the 90's and is still a good read for anyone who grew up in the sport in the 70's and 80's. ... Read more

Product Description
Set of four (4) various sport books by Matt Christopher: Miracle at the Plate, Return of the Home Run Kid, Nothing But Net, and Dirt Bike Runaway. ... Read more

Product Description
PLEASE NOTE: This was the first edition of the book. It has been replaced by an updated, expanded 2nd edition in full color. The reference number (ISBN) for the new edition is 9781892495617. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

The Birth of Dirt: Origins of Mountain Biking
As a keen mountain biker of old I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
I could not put it down.
I will pass this book to friends for them to learn the info.
Great book.

Probing history; fun read; a few errors
The Birth of Dirt is a quick, fun read, and offers a quite thorough review of origins of the mountain bike, with numerous contemporary photos and drawings. Berto, formerly the technical editor of Bicycling magazine, has a fine command of the technical issues of bicycle design. But the book holds its good share of entertaining stories as well. Berto has the advantage of living in Marin County, California, where the mountain bike originated, and of knowing and having interviewed most of the pioneers in its development. They are a lively cast of characters, and Berto is a personable and engaging writer.

Berto has gone to considerable lengths with his research, yet I found a few minor errors of fact: for example, what is described as an Atom drum brake on page 28 is a Maxicar brake; Berto also locates the home of the late John Finley Scott in Davis, California rather than in nearby Dixon. Though this book is nearly definitive, the last word in such histories always lurks somewhere in the future.

Highly recommended to anyone who wants to know the origins of their favorite hobby
Biking is a great source of exercise, and for some, a great source of adventure. "The Birth of Dirt: Origins of Mountain Biking" is Frank J. Berto's journey to track down the origins of adventurous biking and the bike created to facilitate that purpose. With plenty of full color and black and white photographs tracing the history of the mountain bike, it's intriguing to see the progression of the bike variation. "The Birth of Dirt" is highly recommended to anyone who wants to know the origins of their favorite hobby.

The MTB history book I've been waiting for!
I read a Berto story in Mountain Bike magazine regarding the history of the mountain bike, so when I saw this book, I had to pick it up. It's a great read with all the usual suspects (Breeze, Fisher, Ritchey, Sinyard...), and as an avid mountain biker, factoid freak, and history buff, this book answered a lot of questions about the origins of the mountain bike. Living in Mountain View, CA, it's great to be able to ride the trails (at least the one's still open) where the mountain bike was born.

A story that needs to be told.
The article I read about the book is from the local county paper, The Independent Journal dated feb 6,1999. The author is interviewed and the conclusions are discussed openly.It is a great format for the book becauseeach of themen going for the inventor of the mountain title areinterviewed and quoted. I went to high school with the real inventor andhung with them. Read the book to see who it was. ... Read more

Product Description
A comprehensive guide to dirt, gravel and paved bicycle trails from Eklutna Lake to Girdwood, Alaska. This guide book is indispensable for locals and visitors in Anchorage, Alaska. Useful whether you're biking, hiking or skiing, the guide is easy to follow and filled with detail, including route mileage. Compact enough to fit in a pack or a jersey pocket. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Accurate and easy to use
My wife and I used this book while we lived in Anchorage, AK and found it to be very accurate and helpful. Anchorage has an extensive network of trails, allowing bicyclists to get most anywhere in the city while avoiding most major roads.This book guided my wife and I to a high comfort level with all of the trails in Anchorage. Of course, it also covers trails outside of the city limits and we did a few of those as well. The book is very helpful in planning a fun day out of town, or a path to work or school. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (3)

Breath Play!
I know this book came out a million years ago, but I stumbled upon it here as I was searching for a mountain bike book to put on the back of the toilet.I bought this book many years ago and knew I had to tell people how great it is.If you are searching for a book on mountain biking, you may not be into this one due to its age.Go ahead and buy it.It is stuffed with the kind of information that made sense to me when I was riding my bike.There's a fair amount of technical knowledge but the beauty lies in the attitude the book imparts.Breath play... indeed.Crashing... no problem.buy it.

The one that stayed
When I started mountain biking, I bought a few books for helping me figuring it all out. This one was amongst them.

Unfortunatelly, mountain biking books start by telling you that instead of reading books you should get on your bike and ride. An invaluable $15 tip, but why don't they put it on the back cover? :)

So, 3 years later, I have a nice shelf with a few rarely touched mountain biking books. It's only this specific book that I find myself returning to every now and then. Why? for 2 reasons I could think of:

1. It has a good spirit. It motivates me. I'm a jogger / recreational rider, doing it for the quality of life. I sometimes need a little push for the next day's training, andHoward is a great motivator. I remember a few times when a phrase in this book made me set an alarm for 5:30 the next day. Isn't that what sport books are for?

2. I use it as a reference for... running. It has valuable sections about stretching exercises and breathing. The mountain biking techniques are also explained thoroughly, although not very well illustrated. Howard explains technical stuff very well.

If you are looking for a well illustrated book, or a biking dictinoary / bible then this might not be your best bet. But, as I said, my shelf has many of these while this one is still in use.

Howard does for mountain biking what Fixx did for running
John Howard has done for mountain biking what Jim Fixx did forrunning: written a single-volume point of departure that, in one fast,easy read, provides an overview of a nascent sport brimming not only with information but inspiration. Dare to open Dirt! to the first page and you'll be hard pressed to resist hitting the trails the same day.

There are few sports experiencing the explosive growth of mountain biking, and few as misunderstood by the non-participating public. While it is true that some mountain bikers missing the self-preservation gene monopolize television time by indulging their psychoses in stunts of escalating danger, the real truth is that mountain biking is an activity that, like skiing, swimming or volleyball, can be enjoyed on virtually any level by everyone from the most committed sofa spud to the highest-ranked elite athlete. And you don't need a"mountain" to do it, either, as Dirt! clearly demonstrates.

The sport couldn't have picked a better spokesman: Howard (The Incredible Human Machine) is one of the most accomplished and versatile cyclists in the world. Three-time Olympian and an Ironman champion, he held the world record for speed on a bicycle (an astonishing 152 miles per hour) for years before he helped someone else to break it.That kind of gracious sportsmanship comes through in Dirt! It's a clarion call to others to discover the exhilaration of leaving asphalt behind, and if there's one overarching theme that runs throughout, it's Howard's fervent desire to draw others into a sport he knows will bring immense personal rewards.

This well-illustrated book is full of wonderful advice for everyone from the rank beginner (practice your technical skills before a ride, when you're fresh, not afterwards, when you're tired) to the experienced competitor (spray Pam all over your bike before a muddy ride and you'll avoid pounds of clinging mud weighing you down). There is also a good deal of attention paid to the mental aspects of riding, which thankfully avoids the "be one with your derailleurs" school of spiritual hokum and presents instead Howard's hard-won wisdom concerning mindset and attitude.

There are chapters covering such topics as maintenance, stretching, weight training and jumping technique, but one of the most fascinating is "Surviving the Crash." Howard is the man who first uttered one of cycling's most basic axioms, that there are two kinds of cyclists: those who have crashed, and those who will. This chapter is one that should be read by anyone who ever mounts any kind of bike, and alone is worth the price of the book.

While Dirt! could benefit from some tighter proofing and a few additional definitions for pure neophytes - terms such as scrub, drifting and "foot dab" are largely understandable from context, but a bit more depth might aid in really comprehending their significance - these are minor carps and undoubtedly will be attended to in the many future editions that are sure to come. The book is short at 180 pages but that's because Howard cuts to the chase without wasting a lot of your time with superfluous verbiage.

Now that I think about it, he seems to be saying, "Enough reading...get out and ride!" ... Read more