2 Cycling eBooks on Sale – Just 99¢ Each

Beginning today, June 6^th, and for a limited time, both of my cycling eBooks are on sale for just 99¢ each at the Amazon Kindle Store.

Regular Price: $2.99 Now just 99¢ each

Rediscover Your Joy with Bicycles and Cycling at the Kindle Store

Rediscover Your Joy with Bicycles and Cycling #2 at the Kindle Store

Both of these cycling eBooks are packed with valuable information that will help the beginning or returning cyclist with the choice of the right bike, how to save money when buying a bike, making sure your bike fits you, essential equipment and accessories, bike maintenance, where to ride safely, how to include the family, and so much more.

Praise from readers for “Rediscover #1″…

“The Kindle is great for this information. Everything is practical; Richard Conte doesn’t talk down to beginners with lots of riding jargon and the topics make a good check list for professionals who can forget some things.

This book is about pedal bikes — the machines. The various types of popular bike use are referenced when describing different designs, but there isn’t discussion in depth about those uses — including bike touring, mountain biking, transportation biking exercise biking and everyday, joyous biking. Spinning was a new term to me.” ~ JudyAnn Lorenz, Author, Ozarks Missouri, USA

eBook Sale Price good through June 12th

High praise for “Rediscover #2″…

“This book is full of practical and helpful advice from the best time to purchase a bicycle and get the best deal to upgrades that will help commuters avoid punctures. I enjoyed the information about the tandem and tag-a-long bikes for families.

Highly recommended! I was glad to pick this up during the free GAW. Thanks for making it available!” ~ J. Robideau “Rob” Bhaisipati, Lalitpur, Nepal

Wow, “Rob” is a Top 1000 Reviewer at the Kindle Store, having reviewed 479 books for them, and he’s in Nepal. Gotta’ love this one! Thanks Rob.

Free Kindle Reader Apps for All Digital Devices

Did you know that you can buy and borrow Kindle books, as well as download free Kindle books, even if you don’t own a Kindle Reader? It’s true. All you have to do is download one of the many Free Kindle Reader Apps available for your PC, MAC, iPhone, iPad, Tablet, or Android device, and you will be able to read anything Amazon has to offer for a Kindle reader.

Free Cycling eBook Promo is Going Great!

Yesterday was quite a day, what with the Great Kindle eBook Experiment under way.

This is the first time we’ve tried this and the numbers are gratifying. The book, Rediscover Your Joy with Bicycles and Cycling, went from a ranking of #4375 yesterday morning, to #691 this morning – that is out of more than 50,000 free Kindle eBooks at Amazon! And, we remain #1 in the Cycling category.

For an obscure little cycling book, in such a specialized category, by an unkown author – ME – that sounds pretty good. Don’t you agree?

To the more than 300 folks who’ve downloaded our little book – Thank You. We very much appreciate your interest. If you would be so kind, after you’ve read the book, please return to the Kindle store and write a review.We live for feedback.

Here is a little taste of the book…

5 Tips for Buying the Perfect Bicycle

Riding a bike is a great way to spend time with family or friends, or to get to work, or run errands, while at the same time getting some great exercise. Why doesn’t everyone ride a bicycle nowadays? For one, they are intimidated when it comes time to buy a bicycle. Here are five helpful tips for choosing the perfect bike for you.

Where will you be riding your bike? This question gets the ball rolling. There are bike shops, fitness stores and department stores all carrying bikes, but just a few main types of bikes: mountain bikes, road bikes, hybrid bikes, and cruiser bikes. How often you will ride and the route you choose determines the best type of bicycle for you.

How tall are you? This factor is important because a short person doesn’t want to have a bike that will cause them to hit the crossbar, or top tube, every time they try to stop the bike. A bike that is the wrong size for you can mean cramped legs and sore knees or stretched muscles. For the answer to this question, you’ll actually have to sit on a bike, or at least stand over one, to check for clearance.

Ride a bike. Don’t let the first bike you ride be the one you purchase from the store. Try different models and types or, ask a bike riding friend to borrow their bike to “test drive,” in advance. Most bike shops will also rent you a bike. Try a couple of different types, if you like, to see how they handle and feel.

Buy the best bike you can afford the first time. In a recession especially, people have the tendency to stay on the cheap side. However, there are some things that don’t pair well with “cheap.” A bike and a car fall into that category. You will be riding this bike alone or perhaps with a carrier for your child. You want to know that you can depend on your bike to keep you safe while you ride. You don’t have to spend a thousand bucks to get a good bike, but try to get all the features you need for the best possible price. However, as with most things, you get what you pay for when you buy a bike.

Visit a bike shop for advice. When you want to know something you go to the experts. Those who sell bikes for a living know about bikes. Go to your local bike shop (LBS) first to get sized for a bike, to learn the type of bike you need, and find out all the nuances of bike riding. You might decide not to buy a bike from a specialty shop because of the price, but you will now be armed with the knowledge to choose a bike from another source without feeling as if you’ve been “taken for a ride.”

 There is more to cycling than just riding a bike. That’s the easy part. Choose your bike wisely to get the greatest value and enjoyment for your money.”

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Update – for anyone who’s interested…

Hey y’all…

Sorry I haven’t been posting lately. I’ve just been too busy with the new business, SEO Writer Pro. I guess that’s a good thing, right?

I’ve also been neglecting Mile-Hi Cycle Guy, even though we’ve been pretty busy with bike service and bike builds too.

I now have 14 regular clients for SEO Writer Pro. I’ve been writing like crazy for the past couple of months, generating copy for a podiatrist, a therapist, and a few virtual assistants; as well as Realtors, lawyers, management consultants, and web designers. The range of subjects has been amazing. The types of content, from blog posts and articles to website page copy has been challenging.

It’s also been fun, and quite profitable.

The bike season kicked into high gear early this year, thanks to a very warm month of March. Unfortunately, this means I have not been riding much at all. I put on some pounds this winter, now I have to get in the saddle and re-lose them. Yuck!

Anyway, keep your fingers crossed for me to keep acquiring clients and new business. I need a new bike!

Later

In a winter wonderland – again…

Good old Colorado weather…it’s playing with us again.

Yesterday it was bright and sunny, with a high in the mid-50s. It was a beautiful day. Today, the forecast is for a high of 22°, with snow. As you can see, the snow has already begun.

No riding for me today!!!

Cleared a path for Darryl’s truck this morning.

A winter wonderland?

It looks like I’ll be breaking out “The Beast” later today. The last couple of times we had snow, all we had to do was shovel it. Today though, I’m going to need the snow blower. It does move a lot of snow, but that machine can provide a real workout too.

Wish me luck…

Later

A New Year’s Ride…

…well, the day after anyway.

We finally had weather that was nice enough we could haul out the road bikes on Monday, the 2nd. We only rode about 11 miles but, you know what, after 2 1/2 months of too cold, too snowy, or too wet, we loved it!

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Happy Holidays…

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good ride….

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Top U.S. Cities For Winter Bicycle Commuting…

I happened to catch this on the Webernet the other day and thought I should share it with you. Winter cycling “can be a daunting task” indeed, especially if you’re not properly prepared for cold weather, not to mention snow.

I’ve spent considerable time riding in the cold and the wet, but not much in snow. In fact, the very thought of snow cycling is kind of scary because…I Don’t Like to Fall Down. Perhaps I should employ some of my own advice and give it a try this winter, even though, working predominantly from home, I don’t get the chance to do much winter bicycle commuting. 

Top U.S. Cities For Winter Bicycle Commuting…

“For bicycle commuters, continuing to pedal through the winter months can be a daunting task, especially if one lives in a northern city. Often the decision for winter bicycle commuting comes down to perspective: Is cycling a sport or a viable form of transportation that offers a multitude of advantages such as saving money and improving the health of the cyclist and the environment? In order for bicycling to be respected as sustainable transportation, the surrounding community must be supportive of cyclists year-round. This includes city maintenance of bike lanes and paths during winter as well as supportive bicycle initiatives. It can be done…Here are five cities in the U.S. that are supporting bicycle commuting through the winter.”

Also, another great, inexpensive idea for cycling in snow, and for winter bicycle commuting, is to…

Use Zip-ties as Snow Chains for your Bike…

SNOWPOCALYPSE!

“No matter how much we swear we’ve learned our lessons, Seattle always seems to get caught by surprise by the snow. There we were, minding our own business with our feet all toasty in our sandals and socks, when the temperature plummeted and it turned into Juneau in January. While this year the City did a much better job than last year at preventing widespread carnage and destruction, we at Dutch Bike Seattle still didn’t bring in studded tires because it never snows in Seattle. Even if we had stocked them, I’m not sure they’d sell because it never snows in Seattle, right?

We found something else, though. Something else entirely.”

People are just so damned clever, aren’t they?

Later

With snow on the way, I figured today was a good day to ride. Even a short one is better than none.

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=217899610528741699049.0004b00ec359faff0a959

Thoughts on a 4000 mile Bicycle Tour…

It’s always interesting to read a piece written by someone else who seems to describe a similar experience in terms which illustrate your own. The following is just such a piece, A Man, a Bike and 4,100 Miles, by Bruce Weber of the New York Times.

In the piece, Weber writes of his 4000 mile bicycle tour across the USA this summer. He doesn’t dwell on the day-to-day challenges, nor does he dwell on the pain and doubt he experienced along the way, though it certainly gets a mention. He also does not write in overly descriptive terms of the beauty of the country, or the people he met. No, he writes from the perspective of a man of 57 years experiencing something few of us ever do; for the second time in his life.

As he comes to the close of his ride, reflects upon the internal changes which have taken place, as well as the memories of the experience which, perhaps surprisingly, are not so easy to recall. Yet, when he does recall them, they are incredibly vivid.  What I like most about this piece is the sense that no matter how many times one takes a long distance ride, and this is the second time Weber has ridden cross-country, it is a completely unique experience.

“This isn’t to say I don’t dream about crossing the George Washington Bridge with my arms raised in triumph (and then putting away my bicycle for a winter’s hibernation.) I do. But my visions aren’t terribly convincing; they generally engender despair, causing me to sigh out loud and give off a lament that begins with the words “I’ll never. … ” It makes me more than a little nervous to write this article now, about 300 miles from Manhattan. It may be easy to expect that someone who has already pedaled 3,600 miles can do 300 with his eyes closed, but I don’t think so. In order to own those miles, I have to expend my energy on them; in order to live those days, I have to work through all their hours. I’m as daunted by the next 300 miles as I was in Astoria by the first 3,600.”

This is something I too encountered on my own 800 mile trek from Phoenix to Denver. Until I arrived, I never quite believed I would make it and, even when I did, I couldn’t really grasp the fact that I had done so. Even today it sometimes amazes me that I was successful in my first-ever bicycle tour. But the memories linger, as proof that it is true.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read. So many of the things we experienced were similar, yet very different, due to the unique perspective each of us brought to the experience, I believe. It brought back many memories for me, and for that I am grateful. I think it has also begun to fuel the fire for my next long ride.

Later

Related articles

• At The Age Of 57, I Rode My Bike Across America Again–And I’m Glad I Did (businessinsider.com)

Simple tips for making your bike commute easier and more fun…

I just wanted to share this with you. Here are some simple tips for making your bike commute easier and more fun.

From Bike Commute Tips Blog.

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