When I got my road bike last July, my wife bought me a copy of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cycling. It's full of a lot of great information, regardless of what kind of bike you have.

The level of advice ranges from very basic stuff like pedaling, safety, shifting, and pumping up your tires to more advanced things like large group rides, detailed maintenance, and training.

I'd highly recommend it to a newbie or somebody like me who got back on a bike after a long absence. I still refer back to couple of sections. For example, when I got my trainer I pulled the book back out to read the section on trainers and spinning.

Here's a link to a copy:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...books&n=507846