Mastering Cycling PDF

Learn from a legend! Trim seconds off your time, train more efficiently, or simply maximize your fitness workouts with Mastering Cycling.

John Howard, three-time Olympian and 18-time national masters cycling champion, has created the ultimate cycling guide for serious riders, triathletes, and masters athletes. Cyclists from 18 to 88 will benefit from the targeted approach that covers these essentials:

• Technique instruction and refinement for cornering, climbing, and descending

• Workout plans for fitness and competition

• Training for road races, time trials, and triathlons

• Strategies that will shave seconds from your times

In addition, Mastering Cycling guides you in equipment selection, event-specific training, motivational strategies, nutrition, hydration, and selecting cycling clubs, coaches, and competitive events. With such comprehensive coverage, it is the one resource you’ll turn to time and time again for a lifetime of serious cycling.

John Howard has a remarkable resume as a professional cyclist, endurance athlete, and coach. He spent 10 years on the U.S. national cycling team and raced in three Olympic Games. In 1971 he won first place in the Pan-Am Games road race—America's only gold medal ever in that event. He has won other major road races, including the Tour de L'Estra, the Tour of Newfoundland, and the Tour of Baja. An American pioneer on the European racing circuit, he won a stage and finished third overall in the Tour of Ireland in 1973. John was a cofounder of the coast-to-coast Race Across America (RAAM) and finished second in the inaugural race. In 1987, he set the 24-hour cycling distance record of 539 miles. In 1989, he was inducted into the U.S. Cycling Hall of Fame.

Howard’s achievements don't end with traditional bike racing. In 1985 he set the bicycle speed record of 152.2 mph, riding behind a custom-built land rocket on the Bonneville Salt Flats. He won the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon in 1981. In 2000 he set the 24-hour canoeing record of 104.6 miles. He has been named a masters cycling national champion an unprecedented 18 times. He now runs one of cycling's best-regarded coaching clinics, the John Howard School of Champions. By his estimation, John has ridden more than 1/2 million miles during his career.

“Mastering Cycling imparts much knowledge and many lessons. It speaks to all riders and has special value for those intent on staying one wheel ahead of Father Time.”

Ed Pavelka

Publisher of RoadBikeRider.com e-mail newsletter

"John Howard was the first recognizable name in modern-era cycling, and his versatility continues as a world-class masters racer and coach. Mastering Cycling speaks from the master's own perspective about what it takes to live the sport we love."

Chris Carmichael

Coach of Seven-Time Tour de France Winner Lance Armstrong

“John is a true master of the sport of cycling. His varied accomplishments attest to his knowledge of training techniques on and off the bike. Mastering Cycling is a valuable resource for cyclists of all ages and abilities.”

Bobby Phillips

“Baltimore Bullet”