“Have you ever dreamt of escaping to those beautiful, barely populated countryside corners of England? Of swinging your leg over the saddle and setting off along narrow lanes, gliding through spectacular scenery in your own sweet time, and pausing wherever you wish?”

This is the introduction to Escape Routes by Matt Carroll and it is exactly what the book delivers.  Covering 60 handpicked routes from all corners of England.

Let’s get one thing out of the way immediately about this book – it’s not really for the more hard-core cyclists amongst us. It’s meant for casual, everyday cyclists. Therefore, the routes you’ll find in here range from 5 to 20 miles. I.e. 1 to 3 hours rides at gentle paces with lots of stops. This is a book less about the pedalling and more about the enjoyment of the things you’ll see along the route.

The first thing that strikes you when you thumb through the book and you get that waft of new book smell is the illustrations. Hundreds of gorgeous pictures of parts of the UK that beckon you to see for yourself. From colourful huts lining a beach to small cottages in the middle of rolling English countryside. You find yourself stopping to check where exactly this scene is so you can make a note to explore it soon.

Spoilt for choice

There is a little bit of a paradox of choice in Escape Routes. You hardly know where to start. Fortunately, the publishers seem to have foreseen this and provide you three good ways of finding your first ride. The first, and probably the most likely method, is from the large map where you can pin point the nearest ride to you. The second is by picking a ride from a theme such as history or by the river. Finally, the routes are categorised by area.

Following a ride

My first choice was the Aldbury to Frithsden. The ride is the one nearest to me. Having said that, even this route is 30 minutes train ride away to Tring before a short pedal to the starting point. You can’t help but feel is it worth my time for a short 15 mile route?

None the less, we had a great cycle around the area and the directions were easy to follow. I scanned the relevant page in the book so I didn’t have to carry it with me as it is a little heavy.

Inside are also plenty of great stops such as 19th century pubs, vineyards and woodland trails. These help turn the ride into more of a day out rather than just being about pedalling.

There’s plenty more rides I’d like to try out although I think I’ll be incorporating them as part of a larger trip as they are a little too short for my liking.

Review of Escape Routes in a sentence

Beautifully written and illustrated, great locations, will inspire you to ride but would have liked some longer routes. 4/5

Where to buy: Amazon.co.uk £11.46

See also:

• London bike rides iPhone app
• London Cycle Routes eBook
• London through the eyes of a cycle courier

“When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking”

Arthur Conan Doyle, Scientific American Magazine, 1896

This is the opening quote used in Cyclepedia. A beautifully put together book covering iconic bicycle design. The author Michael Embacher has been seeking out bikes from the last 90 years and photographed them in detail.

Each bike has a brief description of its history and some interesting facts. Like for example the above picture of the BSA Paratrooper – a bike that was parachuted in from the sky during World War II.

The book is available from Amazon.co.uk for a pretty good price.

See also:

• Complete guide to Everyday Cycling by Helen Pidd
• The Ultimate Guide to Bicycle Maintenance

Having written a similar guidebook myself (30 London Cycle Routes) I was looking forward to seeing what Nick came up with and hopefully recommending his book to you guys.

The 50 rides are organised by location. Central London, South West, South East, North, West and East. This makes it easy to pick a route near you and get started. There was a great short ride near me called the Hampstead Heath Loop which I promptly tried out.

When looking at one of the rides you can quickly judge whether it sounds appealing. There is a great “At a glance” page to see what kind of bike you’ll need, how to link it in to other rides and whether you’ll encounter much traffic. You can also read about the ride and the sights you will see along the way. This is particularly interesting to discover new things about London you never knew (I didn’t realise there are that many open air swimming pools near me!)

Once I’d read about the ride I grabbed my bike and set off to explore. Each ride in the Where to Ride London book has both turn by turn directions and a map showing the road names you’ll need. To follow the directions you simply place the book in-front of you on your bike.

Unfortunately, this is my gripe with most cycling guidebooks. What if you don’t have somewhere to place the book? You need to place it in your bag or back jacket pocket and keep referring back to it.

One great additional design feature of the book, that clearly shows the years of experience the publisher (BA Press) has in cycling guidebooks, is that the front flap contains the map legend and can be flipped over for quick reference. There is also a huge map of London that marks out the position of all the rides. This is useful again for finding a ride near you but also for linking different rides together to make longer routes.

Where to Ride London contains a good variety of rides. Including mountain bike rides, canal rides and interesting rides that reveal new parts of London. It will appeal mainly to casual cyclists. It’s great to see a guide like this has been produced by an everyday cyclist who loves cycling in London and I definitely think it is a worthy addition on any London Cyclist’s bookshelf.

What I liked

• Beautifully illustrated and put together
• Great, easy to follow maps and directions
• Big number of rides for casual cyclists
• Good selection of child friendly rides
• Great for expanding your London knowledge

What I didn’t like

• Routes are a little short
• No included GPS coordinates to make navigation easier

Where to grab a copy of Where to Ride London

£14.49	£14.20

Similar books & products you’ll be interested in:

• Topeak Race Rocket mini pump review
• Bicycle: A guide to everyday cycling review
• Cycling book recommendations
• The Ultimate Guide to Bicycle Maintenance review

I certainly could of saved myself a lot of trouble learning things the hard way or guessing them myself. For example with bicycle maintenance my method of operating (or Modus Operandi if you’re into your Latin – oh yes, this blog is cultured!) was to spray as much oil as possible. Of course I now know I should of used it a lot more sparingly. The same with my bike locking tactics. I had to figure these out over time and research them online. Helen could have just told me. In terms of cycling safety I now know I’ve been doing things wrong for years. The examples go on: which bike type, accessories, fashionable clothing. All those little questions you have about cycling are answered in the book.

It is the equivalent of doing the leap from a complete beginner cyclist who has just walked into a bike shop and is now unsure of which bike to choose to someone who has been comfortably cycling for a while. The coverage in Bicycle by Helen Pidd is exceptionally wide and you save a huge amount of time compared to figuring everything out yourself or from fellow cyclists.

The book tackles common questions such as bicycle insurance, how to cycle to work in a suit and why you might need proper cycling shoes. It uses a friendly, easy to read tone which makes it a joy to read.

It’s a book I can’t help picking up and flicking through. I can thoroughly recommend it for anyone who is getting started with cycling, wants to know more about how they can make the most of their bike and take their cycling up to the next level. If only Helen had written this guide back when I was starting out!

You can grab a copy of Bicycle by Helen Pidd from Amazon for under £10.

See also:

• How to lock your bike
• Cycling magazines
• Alastair Humphreys book review
• Book recommendations by my Twitterers

If you bumped into me in the street and asked me what my main gripe about cycling is I would without hesitation be annoyed at you bumping into me! But seriously, my main gripe is the maintenance. I figured out how to do a range of repairs on my bike a while back, but I’m just not the type of person that enjoys doing them. It’s why I produced my free downloadable eBook on bicycle maintenance and it’s why when someone contacts me about a new product that makes bicycle maintenance easier I jump on them!

Today that new product is the Ultimate Guide to Bicycle Maintenance. It is a beautifully illustrated 196 page book that teaches you how to keep your bike working perfectly. I’ve used and reviewed 5 bicycle maintenance books before so I was interested to see how this new offering would compete.

Contents

• Cleaning and lubricating your bike
• Equipment needed for performing repairs
• Finding the right riding position and making adjustments for comfort
• Drivetrain repair and maintenance
• Gear installation and maintenance
• Wheels and tyres
• Steering repair, maintenance and upgrading
• Brakes
• Suspension

What I like

• Layout and colour pictures very clear and easy to follow
• Good coverage of different types of bikes
• Good coverage of basic repairs as well as some more advanced repairs
• Tips for upgrading your bike

What I don’t like

• Occasionally I feel that detail has been left out in order to allow for clearer presentation. The extra detail is sometimes helpful to complete the repair and deal with situations that differ slightly from the typical repair.

Overall review

The main strength of the Ultimate Guide to Bicycle Maintenance is how easy it is to use and follow. This is something that is lacking from other similar offerings. For this reason it is now the first place I go to when looking for information on a repair I’m not certain about.

I think that for someone wishing to do basic bike maintenance it is perfect. It helps keep you out of expensive bike shops and helps you feel more confident about the bike you are riding on. The book will appeal to most riders as it covers a range of components.

Someone looking to do more advanced repairs would benefit from other books that offer more detail and wider coverage. Though they are certainly not as easy to follow.

Where to get the Ultimate Guide to Bicycle Maintenance

Amazon.co.uk £8.99 < cheapest
Magbooks £9.99
WH Smith £9.99

Note: Prices correct when I put this article together, they are of course likely to vary over time.

See also:

1. Cycling books
2. Westminster’s bike maintenance course
3. How much should you pay for a repair?
4. Free Bicycle maintenance eBook

“From stone faced guards outside the Queen’s residence at Buckingham Palace to cherry red double-decker buses meandering past Westminster Abbey and Big Ben, London is filled with trademark images.

Seeing London on a bike may seem intimidating at first, but there is no better introduction to her sights, sounds and smells than from the saddle of your titanium horse. Get off the clogged main arteries and explore the narrow side streets, where the air reeks of pigeon poop and curry and the chic martini bar sits just around the corner from the city’s red light sleaze, and you’ll get a picture for what makes this multi-cultural metropolis really tick”

This is exactly what I love about the Lonely Planet travel guides. The way they describe places makes me want to be there now. In this latest book, Lonely Planet is transferring their trademark formula for travel books to UK cycling routes. Does it work well or should the company stick to what it knows best?

It’s called Cycling Britain and it covers 29 routes in the UK. Whilst it has an outrageous recommended retail price of £15.99 you can pickup a copy on Amazon for under £8.

The routes included

The routes cover all of Great Britain. Here are some of the highlights:

London: Richmond Park route which I described yesterday. You also have a route through central London which it recommends you do on a Sunday to avoid the chaos. Finally the Thames East route which basically takes you from Tower Bridge to Greenwich park and back. A great route that I’ve done a while back.

Southern England: White cliffs of Dover. Around isle of Wight. Mountain biking in New Forest. Bristol to London route via bath. Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall route.

Eastern England: Suffolk and Norfolk coast for a bit of coastal cruising.

Central England: A decent 8 day ride from South to North. Plenty of countryside and small villages. A route that follows the rail tracks.

Wales: Taking in the best of Wales and some good mountain challenges.

Northern England: Exploring the national parks including the Lake District. Also taking in the Northumbria coast and castles.

Scotland: Around Edinburgh. The Tweet Valley on the Scottish border and a decent highland circuit including some of the lochs.

Land’s End to John O’Groats: The only route listed as “Demanding” gets an entire section dedicated to it.

Overall the routes vary between less than a day to 20 days cycling (Lands end to John O’Groats.

Review

With each route you can see what kind of distance it is, the difficulty and the time it will take. Then there is a brief summary that tempts you into trying out the route.

Cycling Britain however fails in the most crucial part of a cycling route book. They even admit to this failure in the book. The directions are not detailed enough. When doing a short route there is not really a problem as the map provided is detailed enough. However, for much longer routes this quickly becomes an issue. The authors try to get around this by providing a cue sheet with mileage listed along the side. Take one wrong turn or cycle slightly off route and you’ll be in trouble.

In short, you need to do your own research and bring your own maps. I personally would have preferred it if they had dedicated more space in the book to directions and less to providing accommodation recommendations and talking about the history of cycling! After all if I want to find out about either of these two topics I can easily look online or buy a different book.

On the Richmond route I completed the lack of clear directions was not a major issue due to the short length. The full page map was largely sufficient. However, when hitting some of the smaller roads it did take some guessing. I also ended up putting in the route into my iPhone to work out where I was going.

Aside from this issue I was impressed by the range of routes and I like the way they are described to encourage you to go out there and try them out.

Upside to Cycling Britain

• Good variety of routes both in length and the variety of experiences provided
• Each route is described in an enticing way
• Will definitely encourage you to get out of your comfort zone and do some cycling
• Good background to each location along with some interesting facts
• Accommodation recommendations useful to those outside the UK but likely unnecessary to UK cyclists

Downside to Cycling Britain

• Heavy reliance on you doing your own research
• Directions are simply not clear enough

Overall

If you can get over the issue of unclear directions by doing your own research then Cycling Britain is a great book for a cyclists bookshelf. I already plan on doing a couple of the longer routes listed when the weather improves. The book has helped me discover these routes that I would not previously have known about and whilst it struggles with directions I’ll put in some time myself to map out the route on my GPS device. There is plenty here for any skill level and if you fancy doing some exploring on your bike then pickup a copy.

Cycling Britain is available on Amazon.co.uk

See also:

• 25 London Cycle Routes

To me it sounds pretty hellish but to Al Humphreys, a man who seems to embody the “impossible is nothing” philosophy, it was an adventure of a lifetime. And you have to hand it to him he did not do it the easy way.

Take for example when during his journey he is offered to stay for free in a posh hotel with all the amenities you could possibly wish for and instead chooses to camp out in the open. He is either someone that is really trying to test his limits or just plain stupid.

Yet, it would be wrong to think of Al Humphreys as some kind of superhuman adventurer who knows no fear. Quite the opposite. The books Moods of Future Joys and Thunder and Sunshine, which can be considered part one and part two of the adventure are written in a very open way. The emotional struggles faced by the author are very apparent and you can trace the transformation throughout the book. At first there is much doubt and frequent temptation to catch the next plane home. But as the number of miles covered slowly increases, the self doubt slowly fades.

Both the books are filled with plenty of interesting stories from people he meets and mixed in with dry humour and well researched backgrounds to the cities and countries travelled through. The range of the experiences is huge from poor mud huts in parts of Africa to heated hotel swimming pools with underwater music and parties with the rich. Throughout, this contrast is striking and on more than a few occasions I ended up putting the book down to consider them.

There were two parts of the book that I found particularly interesting. The first is the kindness and openness of the people met along the way. It was pretty incredible to see the number of people that allowed Al Humphreys, a smelly bicycle traveller, into their homes and fed and looked after him. The second is the number of people that told him not to go, that it was impossible to cycle through countries like Columbia or canoe down a river with heavy rapids not far from a burning forest fire. Al Humpheys consistently proved them wrong and came out with amazing stories to tell.

Both the books were a fantastic read and I struggled to put them down and get some sleep. I’m very glad Alastair managed to get them published as they provided an amazing so called “armchair travel adventure” (I personally read from a warm comfy bed). It has definitely sparked a few dreams of visiting some of the places mentioned. I can highly recommend both the books to anyone.

See also:

• Cycling books: More recommendations and books that I highly recommend
• Cyclist gift ideas: This book being one of the recommendations

LaineMithra Cyclecraft! Was invaluable to me, as a person who had never cycled before, in London, and who didn’t drive either. V good.

stephenallport Book recommendation Tomorrow, we ride by Jean Bobet

ianpatterson99 This Matt Seaton list is a good summary. And I really enjoyed the first – The Rider – too. http://tr.im/ECZq

BikeCarson Check out Joe Kurmaskie’s work. Great books!

coconino Good question, "Have you ever read a cycling book you could really recommend?" Yes, Flann O’Brien’s The Third Policeman.

chasbooth Richard’s New Bicycle Book. It’s the cyclists’ bible.

mineret1 "Bicycle Love‘ stories about cycling

suspectpackage lance Armstrong it’s not about the bike – but it’s not really a cycling book

suspectpackage @cyclingamericas = mark Beaumont the man who cycled the world

TBag75 I read The Man Who Cycled the World By Mark Beaumont whilst on holiday – great read.

RichTheRoadie Graeme Fife, The Beautiful Machine – great read

CyclingRentals just read the really excellent 150 page ‘The Rider‘ by Tim Krabbe

Excellent recommendations. I’ve been wanting to read some good cycling books for a while and now I have enough recommendations to last me. It seems that for anyone who wants to take their cycling to a book level there’s a pretty vast array of options to dive into.

I have ordered Cyclecraft, not because I want to improve my “safe cycling skills”, as they are already amazing, but because I want to see what all the fuss is about. Plus it may be a very good book to review considering no doubt many cyclists who visit here are beginners.

I have also ordered The Man Who Cycled the World because it looks very interesting and I enjoy travelling and The Rider because the Guardian put it as their number 1 must read. As they said “dark and philosophical” sounds like a good combination to me.

I have also launched a page here on London Cyclist with cycling books reviews. I will make sure any I read are reviewed and placed here. I have already added my opinion on 5 bike maintenance books and a couple of routes books so checkout that page and let me know what you think.

If you have any more suggestions for others as to what to read then please leave it in the comments.