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Title: France by Bike: 14 Tours Geared for Discovery (By Bike) by Karen Whitehill, Terry Whitehill ISBN: 0-89886-316-3 Publisher: Mountaineers Books Pub. Date: April, 1993 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.33 (3 reviews)
Rating: 1
Summary: Don't waste your money: this book is useless
Comment: It became fairly clear to me after reading this book that the authors were more interested in having a good time riding than they were in doing the research necessary to produce a guide book that would actually be useful to others. Their attitude can be best summed up by the fashion in which they deal with the issue of getting to and from the tours: they don't. Instead they mention that they heard second hand that you can ride the RER from Charles de Gaulle airport (Paris), but they really don't have any information because they always go in through Brussels! In addition, they mention that you should take the trains everywhere to get to the tours, but they don't bother to fill you in on SNCF's fairly unfriendly bike policy. What else is lacking? The only distance information given is the total for complete day, so unless you follow their route exactly this book is useless for planning. Route choice is poor--they don't put you on the best, least trafficked roads. In the case of the Loire Valley, they completely missed the signed bike routes that are the preferred roads for cyclist to be on (or perhaps the book is just too out of date). Elevation profiles? Forget it. They also don't provide a great deal of information about what kinds of food and lodging are available in the towns--particularly if it isn't where they choose to have you stop for the day. Their attitude is generally "check with the local tourist office to find a hotel." This advice is only helpful if the office happens to be open when you roll into town. If you are looking for a real guidebook (and it would be extremely charitable to put this book in that category) I would suggest that you buy the Lonely Planet Book "Cycling France" by Sally Dillon instead. It has similar good tour suggestions, but provides all of the information that this book completely lacks--information which you must have to sucessfuly tour France by bike.
Rating: 5
Summary: A must-have for touring cyclists.
Comment: For a first-time touring cyclist like myself, this book was a life-saver. On a bike tour in 1996, I used seven of the fourteen routes detailed in this book. The advice was absolutely invaluable. Fabulous recommendations for low-traffic, scenic routes and great advice for places to stay and see. Many recommendations are particularly helpful for budget-minded bike tourers who want to take advantage of low-cost camping options.
ONE DRAWBACK: With an original publication date of 1993, some of the advice in this book is bound to be a bit out-of-date. The bike-friendly French road system, for example, undergoes periodic changes (due to construction, route changes, etc.), so you'll want to check recommended cycling routes against a good Michelin map of the region. I also found that one or two of the recommended campgrounds had gone out of business since the book's original publication, but you can find a current listing of campgrounds through the local tourist office.
Despite these minor drawbacks, this book is still perfect for those considering a bicycle tour of France (which, by the way, is a fabulous country for both experienced and inexperienced bicycle tourers). I hope to return in the near future and explore some of the book's routes I didn't complete on my first trip!
Rating: 4
Summary: Great Resource!!
Comment: Just biked the trip from Dijon to Orleans in May 1999; the biking and camping was outstanding and the book gave great detailed directions; we flew our bikes over, which was an adventure, but I highly recommend the book and the trip to anyone who feels up to it!!
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Title: Lonely Planet Cycling France (Cycling Guides) by Sally Dillon, Neil Irvine, Catherine Palmer, Katherine Widing ISBN: 1864500360 Publisher: Lonely Planet Pub. Date: April, 2001 List Price(USD): $19.99 |
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Title: Cycling France: The Best Bike Tours in All of Gaul (Active Travel Series) by Jerry H. Simpson ISBN: 0933201478 Publisher: MBI Publishing Pub. Date: June, 1992 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Europe by Bike: 18 Tours Geared for Discovery (By Bike) by Karen Whitehill, Terry Whitehill ISBN: 0898863171 Publisher: Mountaineers Books Pub. Date: March, 1993 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Cycling in France by Carole Saint-Laurent, Jennifer McMorran ISBN: 2894640080 Publisher: Ulysses Books & Maps Distribution Pub. Date: June, 1997 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Cycling the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg (Bicycle Books) by Katherine Widing, Kathy Widing, Jerry Widing ISBN: 0933201915 Publisher: MBI Publishing Pub. Date: June, 1998 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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