Best Bike Rides New York City describes more than 40 of the greatest recreational rides in New York City. Road rides, rail trails, bike paths, and single-track mountain bike rides all get included. Most rides are in the 5 to 30 mile range, allowing for great afternoon outings and family adventures.

With an average of 236,000 New Yorkers biking per day, Bike NYC is the definitive guide to bicycling culture in the city’s fastest growing mode of transportation from the authors of the popular BikeBlogNYC.com. Part guidebook, photo essay, history and human-interest story, this book offers instructions for a dozen rides led by seasoned tour guides through all of the five boroughs. Rediscover the city and its biking culture through: • A scenic trip up the Hudson during the peak of the fall foliage • A Halloween night ride through the brownstones of Brooklyn to the parallel universe of the Kensington mansions • NYC bike clubs such as the Classic Rider • Front row seats to the Alley Cat races With extras such as maps, safety tips, bike shop rankings, public bathroom locations, accessories, and fashion dos and don’ts, Bike NYC is the essential guide for urban cyclists.

“No matter what or how you ride, read this book and remind yourself just how enjoyable cycling can and should be.”—Eben Weiss, author of The Enlightened Cyclist Just Ride is a revelation. Forget the ultralight, uncomfortable bikes, flashy jerseys, clunky shoes that clip onto tiny pedals, the grinding out of endless miles. Instead, ride like you did when you were a kid—just get on your bike and discover the pure joy of riding it. A reformed racer who’s commuted by bike every day since 1980, whose writings and opinions appear in major bicycling and outdoor magazines, and whose company, Rivendell Bicycle Works, makes bikes for riders ready to opt out of a culture overrun by racing, Grant Petersen shares a lifetime of unexpected facts, controversial opinions, expert techniques, and his own maverick philosophy. In 87 short, two-to-three page chapters, it covers: Riding: Count Days, Not Miles; Corner Like Jackie Robinson; Steer with Your Hips, Shift with Your Legs Suiting Up: The Shoes Ruse; Ponchos—the Ultimate Unracer’s Garment Safety: #1 Rule—Be Seen; Helmets Aren’t All They’re Cracked Up to Be Health and Fitness: Why Riding Is Lousy All-Around Exercise; Saddles Don’t Cause Impotence; Drink When You’re Thirsty—Not Before Also includes chapters on Accessories, Upkeep, and Technicalities, and a final chapter titled “Velosophy” that includes the essential, memorable thought: Your Bike Is a Toy—Have Fun with It. Winner Silver Medal 2013 Independent Publisher Book Awards

Best Bike Rides Long Island describes 40 of the greatest recreational rides in the Long Island area. Road rides, rail rides, bike paths, and single-track mountain bike rides all get included. Most rides are in the 5- to 35- mile range, allowing for great afternoon outings and family adventures (though there are plenty of challenging rides in the mix as well). Best Bike Rides Long Island includes a map of each ride, a log of significant mile points, a text description of the ride, a start-finish point with nearby motor vehicle parking, the GPS coordinates of the start-finish point, and color photos of one of the rides features. Also included is information on local restaurants, lodging, maps, bicycle shops, other facilities for cyclists, and community resources.

"Based on his popular series in the New York Times chronicling his cross-country bicycle trip, bestselling author Bruce Weber shares his adventures from his solo ride across the USA. Riding a bicycle across the US is one of those bucket-list goals that many dream about but few achieve. Bestselling author and New York Times reporter Bruce Weber made the trip, solo, over the summer and fall of 2011--at the age of fifty-seven. Expanding upon his popular series published in The New York Times, Life Is a Wheel is the witty and inspiring account of his journey, where he extols the pleasures of cycling and reflects on what happened on his adventure, in the world, in the country, and in his life. The story begins on the Oregon coast with a middle-aged man wondering what he's gotten himself into and ends in triumph on the George Washington Bridge, wondering how soon he might try it again. Part travelogue, part memoir, part paean to the bicycle as a simple and elegant mode of both mobility and self-expression--and part wry and panicky account of a fifty-seven-year-old man's attempt to stave off mortality--Life Is a Wheel is an elegant and entertaining escape for any armchair traveler"--

Together, these striking images create the ultimate style guide for anyone who pedals their way through the Big Apple. America may be a nation obsessed with automobiles, but today the bicycle is giving the car a run for its money. And while New York is just one of many cities that is implementing new bike friendly policies, the local cyclist population stands out as one of the most diverse, inventive, and stylish in the world. New York Bike Style celebrates this with full-page photographs of riders and their bikes. Photographer Sam Polcer has combed New York’s five boroughs looking for subjects who reflect the myriad styles and demographics of the city’s cyclists—from Puerto Rican Schwinn aficionados with vintage bikes to fixed gear freaks; from BMX kids honing their bar-spins at skateparks to fashionistas floating down leaf-strewn streets in dresses. Each page is captioned with the subject’s name, what kind of bike they ride, where the photo was taken, and where they’re headed. The book also features close-up shots of gear as well as a startlingly stylish array of bike fashion. Whether they’re pedaling to work or play, racing with a club, or out for a lazy ride, New York Bike Style pays photographic tribute to a city in love with biking in all its forms.

For fans of bestselling WWII fiction comes a powerful novel from Lynn Austin about three women whose lives are instantly changed when the Nazis invade the neutral Netherlands, forcing each into a complicated dance of choice and consequence. Lena is a wife and mother who farms alongside her husband in the tranquil countryside. Her faith has always been her compass, but can she remain steadfast when the questions grow increasingly complex and the answers could mean the difference between life and death? Lenas daughter Ans has recently moved to the bustling city of Leiden, filled with romantic notions of a new job and a young Dutch police officer. But when she is drawn into Resistance work, her idealism collides with the dangerous reality that comes with fighting the enemy. Miriam is a young Jewish violinist who immigrated for the safety she thought Holland would offer. She finds love in her new country, but as her family settles in Leiden, the events that follow will test them in ways she could never have imagined. The Nazi invasion propels these women onto paths that cross in unexpected, sometimes-heartbreaking ways. Yet the story that unfolds illuminates the surprising endurance of the human spirit and the power of faith and love to carry us through.