Thanks to Shaun's connections 
, I got a review copy of the book, so here it goes ...
100 Great Cycle Rides around Britain – Rides for friends and family from pleasure trips to challenging routes and scenic wonders
This new book has just (March 2013) been published by Haynes (of car repair manuals fame!), in collaboration with Cycling Weekly and Cycling Active magazines.
It’s basically a collection of routes from Cycling Active magazine issues (Sep 2009-Nov 2012), mixing hilly, flat, rural and urban routes. Distances vary between 5.6M/9km and 50.1 miles/80km, with shorter loops at mountain bike trail centres such as Galloway Forest trails (SW Scotland) starting from 3.7 M (6km). Most rides cover between 15-30 miles. All routes are rated for challenge, hilliness and distance. Each route gets a double page, with about half the space taken up by the maps, and the rest by a route description, scenic views or sights to see, refreshment stops and bike shops (inc. bike rental, where available). The latter is a nice touch, as you can start off without investing in your own bike, if you are new to cycling or on holiday without your bike.
As the introduction says, there is something for everybody, “from pootling along the Blackpool seafront to challenging cobbled climbs”, using “cycle paths, roads and lanes, bridleways, old railway lines” and a couple of “trail centres for the off-road enthusiast”.
There is a good spread across the whole country, with perhaps a slight bias on the south east of England with 19 of the 100 routes, closely followed by NE England with 18, 15 in the Midlands, 13 in NW England, 12 in SW England. As with most “Great Britain” books, Wales and Scotland come in last with some distance, at only 7 routes each... and as usual, Northern Ireland is ignored completely, rather than attempting to include a UK-wide selection. Another bugbear of mine, from a northern perspective – why call an area “North West”, when you mean NW England? NW Great Britain would obviously be Scotland...
Some route descriptions are more easy to follow than others, which may be partly due to the routes being compiled originally for magazines, by different authors, with different outlooks and priorities on what makes a good route...there is a large list of contributors acknowledged at the back of the book.
The intro does say all information on refreshment stops and bike shops has been re-checked and updated for publication ... this will obviously be out of date already, and the publishers remind us that we should check essentials before we set out, especially with regard to seasonal opening hours, which is always a good idea. The editor of CW/AC also recommends that more detailed maps may be required and that you shouldn’t head out without doing some homework, if you don’t want to get lost on some of the more intricate routes with lots of changes in direction. Having read the book cover to cover, I can confirm that some of the routes definitely need extra preparation, unless you are familiar with the area already.
Another minor irritation: starting points are sometimes not entirely logical, many seem to be very car-centric for access, even if the route passes close to a railway station. So why not make the station the starting point? This is taken to the extreme for the Island of Cumbrae (hooray, a Scottish route!), which doesn’t seem to have been thought through properly. The suggestion is to pay to take the car across to the( tiny) island on the ferry, drive to the far end, then cycle all the way round, which is 10-14 miles, depending on whether you go round the coast or include the inner hillier loop, too. You then get back into your car and drive back to the ferry ... This is not only more expensive than leaving the car on the mainland (or simply bringing the bikes on the train) – bikes are free on the ferry. It also takes away the buzz of rumbling down the gangway onto the ferry under your own steam, something that never fails to bring a big grin to my face (and those of any kids I’ve encountered, big and small). It also flies in the face of everybody wanting quiet car-free roads to cycle on, once they unload their bikes and lock up the car.
Price: 14.99 RRP ... not cheap, given that it’s a paperback, but not unreasonable if you think of the hours of fun to be had on the roads and trails, compared with say, one set of cinema tickets for 2 ...
It can also be found a fair bit cheaper via various online books shops.
Would I buy the book? The answer is, probably not, as the selection of rides on my doorstep is tiny and I've been on most of them already. But if I was new to cycling or lived somewhere closer to the majority of rides, possibly yes ..., or as a present for friends “down south”, who may need inspiration to get out on their bikes and explore.
T
, I got a review copy of the book, so here it goes ...100 Great Cycle Rides around Britain – Rides for friends and family from pleasure trips to challenging routes and scenic wonders
This new book has just (March 2013) been published by Haynes (of car repair manuals fame!), in collaboration with Cycling Weekly and Cycling Active magazines.
It’s basically a collection of routes from Cycling Active magazine issues (Sep 2009-Nov 2012), mixing hilly, flat, rural and urban routes. Distances vary between 5.6M/9km and 50.1 miles/80km, with shorter loops at mountain bike trail centres such as Galloway Forest trails (SW Scotland) starting from 3.7 M (6km). Most rides cover between 15-30 miles. All routes are rated for challenge, hilliness and distance. Each route gets a double page, with about half the space taken up by the maps, and the rest by a route description, scenic views or sights to see, refreshment stops and bike shops (inc. bike rental, where available). The latter is a nice touch, as you can start off without investing in your own bike, if you are new to cycling or on holiday without your bike.
As the introduction says, there is something for everybody, “from pootling along the Blackpool seafront to challenging cobbled climbs”, using “cycle paths, roads and lanes, bridleways, old railway lines” and a couple of “trail centres for the off-road enthusiast”.
There is a good spread across the whole country, with perhaps a slight bias on the south east of England with 19 of the 100 routes, closely followed by NE England with 18, 15 in the Midlands, 13 in NW England, 12 in SW England. As with most “Great Britain” books, Wales and Scotland come in last with some distance, at only 7 routes each... and as usual, Northern Ireland is ignored completely, rather than attempting to include a UK-wide selection. Another bugbear of mine, from a northern perspective – why call an area “North West”, when you mean NW England? NW Great Britain would obviously be Scotland...
Some route descriptions are more easy to follow than others, which may be partly due to the routes being compiled originally for magazines, by different authors, with different outlooks and priorities on what makes a good route...there is a large list of contributors acknowledged at the back of the book.
The intro does say all information on refreshment stops and bike shops has been re-checked and updated for publication ... this will obviously be out of date already, and the publishers remind us that we should check essentials before we set out, especially with regard to seasonal opening hours, which is always a good idea. The editor of CW/AC also recommends that more detailed maps may be required and that you shouldn’t head out without doing some homework, if you don’t want to get lost on some of the more intricate routes with lots of changes in direction. Having read the book cover to cover, I can confirm that some of the routes definitely need extra preparation, unless you are familiar with the area already.
Another minor irritation: starting points are sometimes not entirely logical, many seem to be very car-centric for access, even if the route passes close to a railway station. So why not make the station the starting point? This is taken to the extreme for the Island of Cumbrae (hooray, a Scottish route!), which doesn’t seem to have been thought through properly. The suggestion is to pay to take the car across to the( tiny) island on the ferry, drive to the far end, then cycle all the way round, which is 10-14 miles, depending on whether you go round the coast or include the inner hillier loop, too. You then get back into your car and drive back to the ferry ... This is not only more expensive than leaving the car on the mainland (or simply bringing the bikes on the train) – bikes are free on the ferry. It also takes away the buzz of rumbling down the gangway onto the ferry under your own steam, something that never fails to bring a big grin to my face (and those of any kids I’ve encountered, big and small). It also flies in the face of everybody wanting quiet car-free roads to cycle on, once they unload their bikes and lock up the car.
Price: 14.99 RRP ... not cheap, given that it’s a paperback, but not unreasonable if you think of the hours of fun to be had on the roads and trails, compared with say, one set of cinema tickets for 2 ...
It can also be found a fair bit cheaper via various online books shops.
Would I buy the book? The answer is, probably not, as the selection of rides on my doorstep is tiny and I've been on most of them already. But if I was new to cycling or lived somewhere closer to the majority of rides, possibly yes ..., or as a present for friends “down south”, who may need inspiration to get out on their bikes and explore.
T
