Bicycling Magazine's Century Training Program [Paperback]

I must confess that I rode a single speed bike with a banana seat growing up. I rode throughout the seasons in the hot, muggy, windy and cold Iowa weather. I rode to school, friends, baseball, etc. I lived on my bike, but then somehow when I "grew up" and went off to college, joined the Navy, got married and had children I lost that old friend of biking. Here I am a 41-year old, single father to five great kids, having suffered through pain and divorce. Then during Spring Break my older brother reintroduced me to my long-lost friend, the bike. I didn't want to just be a sometimes rider, no I wanted a goal to reach toward. What better way than to ride the much coveted "Century", a 100-mile ride that's biking's version of the runners marathon. I picked the date for my attempt, September 17, 2006 in the town of Bellingham, WA. Now, how to train for this? A quick search on Amazon and like destiny I found Marla Streb's book and it included everything I thought I'd need.

I devoured the book, reading how she, the world famous mountain biking champion wanted to introduce her older brother Dave to the joys of biking. Dave, was like a kindred spirit of mine, since he had the same pressures of family, children, work and how could he find time to ride 100 miles, let alone train for it?

The book is written for the novice in mind, but expert riders can glean alot from Marla's experience and expertise. Written in a story mode, the reader is taken from the early "idea" germinating between Marla and Dave, so much so that the reader will feel like they're being mentored in the same way.

Marla includes a suggested 100-day training plan that can be adjusted accordingly, although it will fit most people. Second, each week you see both Dave and Marla's progress with their rides each day of the week, which make them great for newbies and experts alike.

The book is written with each chapter covering one week each of the 100-day plan. You can extend the time if you want a little extra time, but I wouldn't recommend doing a crash-course training of less than 100 days before your first Century ride. The book covers the following:

Chapter 1: Day 1 through 7 - "The Talk"

Chapter 2: Day 8 through 14 - "The Ideal Training Plan"

Chapter 3: Day 15 through 21 - "How to Setup a Training Plan"

Chapter 4: Day 22 through 28 - "Motivation--Getting Out the Door

Chapter 5: Day 29 through 35 - "No Time to Ride"

Chapter 6: Day 36 through 42 - "Road Rules"

Chapter 7: Day 43 through 49: "The Equipment"

Chapter 8: Day 50 through 56 - "Dynamics of Group Rides"

Chapter 9: Day 57 through 63 - "Self-Assessment and Adjustments"

Chapter 10: Day 64 through 70 - "Strengthening Your Base"

Chapter 11: Day 71 through 77 - "Pain Hurts in a Good Way"

Chapter 12: Day 78 through 84 - "Fine Points"

Chapter 13: Day 85 through 90-"Preride, Nutrition & the Taper"

Chapter 14: Day 91 through 99 - "Important Details"

Chapter 15: After Your Century Ride

As you can see, the book covers alot of ground, yet does it in an easy-to-read and detailed manner, while never being "dry, technical reading". We have the advantage of having Marla Streb, a highly accomplished racer to mentor each of us, as she does with her brother Dave in the book.

If you're planning to ride long-distance rides, unless you're a seasoned pro, I highly recommend that you get this book and pour over it, dog-ear it, make notes in it, like I've done and you'll feel extra prepared mentally and physically to tackle the 1/2, full or double-century rides.

Most of this book is taken up with little personal stories and anecdotes and narration that I simply found boring and useless. Only two pages were really useful: those that contained the suggested beginner training program. But that is easy enough to find online, so overall, I consider this purchase to be a waste of money.

If you want to learn more about Marla and her brother, this book is for you. If you want to learn more about training for a long bike ride, you will be disappointed.

this book is just filled with personal stuff. its more like a diary. it has very little useful info. i cant believe bicycling magazine allowed this to get published. dont waste your time with this book and get something else with actual cycling info