Bicycling Along The World's Most Exceptional Routes: Along the World's Most Exceptional Routes - Hardcover

Penn, Rob

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0789208466 ISBN 13: 9780789208460

Publisher: Abbeville Press, 2005

Synopsis

The fourth in Abbeville’s series of unusual, illustrated vacation guides, Bicycling Along the World’s Most Exceptional Routes follows the success of Cooking School Holidays in the World’s Most Exceptional Places, Spas: Exceptional Destinations Around the World, and Walking the World’s Most Exceptional Trails. In this new guide, excursions range from an easy ride through the Loire Valley in France, with stops along the way to taste local wines, to a more challenging trail through Tibet into Nepal. Among the other destinations is a route into northwest Ireland, which winds through an unspoiled landscape of lakes and rivers, and a trip beginning in Tallinn, Estonia where you'll have time to explore the city’s historic streets and squares before heading out into the countryside and ending in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Included in this book is a holiday to suit everyone’s interest and ability. The trips last between seven and fourteen days and are easy to organize yourself. Alternatively, the author provides information about specialist travel companies who will make all the reservations for you. You can opt to travel with a group or ride independently at your own pace, following a set of detailed notes and maps. Ground operators are on hand along the way to service your bike and make any repairs needed. Whether you prefer the countryside with long, winding downhill runs or being dropped off on a mountaintop to admire the view before riding down through the terrain, this book will help you discover an extraordinary outdoors vacation.

About this title

About the Author

Rob Penn spent his late twenties riding a bicycle around the world. Now, 25,000 miles later, he is a writer and photographer specializing in travel features for a number of leading publications including The Times, Condé Nast Traveller, Marie Claire, and Geographical. He lives in Wales with his partner and their three children.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction

The bicycle is a transport of delight. Whether you are easing from restaurant to restaurant through a French valley or flying down jeep tracks in the Himalayas, there is no better way to travel. Offer me any form of transport – from a palanquin to a Lear jet – and I will (nearly) always opt for a two-wheeled steed. Travelling by bike is the best way to view a landscape, engage with a culture, acquire an appetite and feel a sense of achievement. In short, it is the best way to catch the music of the earth.

In the three years it took me to ride some 40,000 km (24,000 miles) around the world, I was frequently amazed at the level of trust placed in me by local people from the 31 countries I crossed, simply because I was riding a bicycle. Trust leads to hospitality, on a purely practical level, but it is also a key to kinship and understanding. And in modern times, when we can be at least cursorily familiar with so much of the planet from an armchair, this is one of the greatest goals of travel.

This book describes 25 rides from all corners of the planet, from New Zealand's South Island to the Canadian Rockies, from St Petersburg to Patagonia. There is something here for every level of experience. In order to give you an idea of the challenge each one represents, the rides have been categorized as easy, moderate or strenuous. These categories take into account the level of fitness and the biking skills required, as well as a host of other relevant factors from altitude to daily temperatures. The type of surface – from tarmac roads to single-track – and the daily distances will give you further insights into the level of difficulty of each ride. There are both guided and self-guided rides, and the contact details of the companies that organize them are given at the end of each chapter.

The daily schedules for each rides are merely a guide: all manner of things, in particular the weather, can affect these routes. Similarly, the distances and the cycling times (an estimate of the hours spent in the saddle, which does not include sightseeing, eating and so on) may vary.

No two rides in this book are remotely the same: one follows an ancient pilgrimage route across northern Spain, another crosses Zanskar and the highest motorable road pass on the planet, and yet another cruises through the Californian redwood forests. Some rides focus on the culture of a country, others on the food or the landscape, while some are simply about hammering downhill very, very fast. But they all share one thing: they are memorable. If you need any encouragement to get on your bike, you should find it here. Time is running out – go for a ride.

About this edition

• Publisher: Abbeville Press
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0789208466
• ISBN 13: 9780789208460
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 160