What book would you recommend to read?

[CharlieBrown]

Not sure if this question has been asked, but if there was a cycling book that you would recommend to read, what would it be?

This message was edited by CharlieBrown on 11-25-08 @ 2:51 PM

[B]

If you are referring to books on bicyle touring I would recommend anything by Willie Weir or Joe Kurmaskie a.k.a. the Metal Cowboy.  These books contain great tales from the road.

[WesternFlyer]

I second Willie Weir, "Spoke Songs," and would add Bettina Selby, "Riding to Jerusalem."  Weir is wonderful in his search for and finding of adventure.  Selby is inspiring because of her deep research into the places she is traveling through.  I have read the listed titles and recommend them both.  In a modest way I try to follow both paths when touring.  

Western Flyer

A wise traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving.
           Lao Tzu

[raybo]

Check out: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=490143 for a list of recommended bike touring books.

Ray

Visit the on-line bike touring archive at www.biketouringtips.com

[FredB]

Miles from Nowhere.

[biker_james]

I think Miles from Nowhere was a great touring book, and I also love "Adventures of Coconut Head" by Ted Schredd-a very amusing look at getting into  cycle touring.

[DaveB]

All of the above recommendations are for reading about other people's touring experience.  

If you want to improve your own touring, read a good repair manual like Bicycling Magazine's repair book or Lennard Zinn's "Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance"

[DR]

One of my favorite travel books of any kind is "Over the Hills: A Midlife Escape Across America by Bicycle" by David Lamb. It was published in the mid-90s and is out of print now, but copies can be had at some libraries and on Amazon. Lamb was a journalist in his mid-50s who had never done a bike tour (or much other cycling for that matter), but he decided to bike alone across the United States from his home in Alexandria, Virginia, to Santa Monica, California. His book about that trip is wonderful. It's engagingly written and interweaves the story of his trip with the history of bicycling in America. I've reread it numerous times. It was what inspired me to get involved in bicycle touring and take my own first big trip, a tour down the Pacific Coast. I corresponded with Lamb by e-mail during that trip and got to meet him and compare notes on our trips when I returned--a real thrill for me!

[John Nettles]

Miles From Nowhere definately.  Into the Remote Places by Ian Hibell is also very good but can be hard to locate inexpensively.

[tri girl]

I just read The Road that has no end by Tim Travis and I just bought their second book Down the Road in South America.  As a couple they sold everything they had to tour the world for 7 years, and are now in their 6th year with no plans to stop.  I've read a lot of touring books and this one was by far my favorite.  www.downtheroad.org

Miles from Nowhere is a good read also.

[Aloha_Cyclist]

Not sure if this question has been asked, but if there was a cycling book that you would recommend to read, what would it be?

This message was edited by CharlieBrown on 11-25-08 @ 2:51 PM

Two titles by the same author:
“Moods of Future Joys: Around the World By Bike - Part 1”
and  “Thunder and Sunshine” by Alastair Humpheys

Both excellent reads and an impressive journey.

Another title to enjoy: “Stealing From a Deep Place” by Brian Hall
I know it's out of print but you can still find it. Enjoy.

[BikingViking]

Any of Joe Kurmaskie's books are a must read. Also try "10,000 Miles of America" by Richard Suleski.

[TCS]

Effective Cycling by John Forrester.

Best,
tcs

PS - I'm not the only one to recomend this book!

[Westinghouse]

THE GREAT RIDE

[mikedirectory2]

Miles from Nowhere.

I loved that book!