Mountain Bike!: A Manual of Beginning to Advanced Technique

At first glance, you may think that Nealy isn't serious about teaching riding skills. The hand-printed pages--colored with hilarious animations--give the guide a comic-book appearance. But instead of assaulting his readers with dry chapters on technique, Nealy leads his readers on an entertaining tour of the mountain-biking world and how to survive it. He explains how to bunny hop, how to downhill, how to ride powerfully, and how to crash with style. He also includes a "Stupid Bike Tricks" section. One trick, The Invisible Mountain Biker, explains how to jump off of your bike and let it glide, unmanned, across the path of frightened hikers. Note that Nealy advises against heaving your bike into a crowd of hikers. Existing laws prohibit it.

Whether you're a pro who's ready to soar through flaming hoops, or the neophyte who's merely searching for the pedals, Nealy's guide is bound to be fun--and isn't that what mountain biking is all about? --Ben Tiffany