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big rides - 25 of the best long-distance road cycling, gravel and mountain biking routes. kathy rogers and marcus stitz. vertebrate publishing softback 153pp illus. £20

big rides - rogers and stitz

i'm not much one for the long-distance ride, i must admit, even though it's possible to undertake the 162km of the ride of the falling rain, without too much repetition of the parcours. in fact, even when back at debbie's being resuscitated, there are still several roads left untramelled. even yesterday, having undertaken rapha's lachlan morton challenge of 108km, is far more the exception than the rule. so, when someone (or sometwo, to be perfectly accurate) publishes a book entitled 'big rides', what sort of distances are they talking about. my idea of a big ride, might either be your idea of a mere flippancy, or, as is the case with my colleagues in the office, "you rode how far?" with many things in life, it's all relative.

and entirely coinidentally, the editors of this highly impressive collection of ride, answer the very question asked before we're past the introduction.

"A Big Ride is an opportunity to explore, an invitation to ride beyond the horizon. [...] A Big Ride is an adventure to be had in the saddle."

big rides - rogers and stitz

that rather puts my saturday ride in its place, given that the horizon never featured as a factor in my paltry kilometreage. however, you need only reach big ride number one (of 25), on page 3, to discover just what you might have let yourself in for. the avenue verte introduced as "...an iconic 394 kilometre route that links the capitals of Britain and France, from the London Eye to Notre-Dame cathedral." that's not exactly a simple undertaking, completed on a bowl of porridge, a double-egg roll and a soya latte. that's a big ride. and lest you think the rides are listed in descending order of distance, let me disavow you of that misapprehension right now. while ride number two (balyshannon to larne) is but 37km shorter, and ride three (coast and castles south) shorter still, on reaching ride four (great north trail) with a self-satisfied grin, all bets are off in the face of 1,292 kilometres. hardly the sunday morning ride.

big rides - rogers and stitz

the shortest big ride, is that of the north norfolk coast cycleway, at 159km. so, i think we'd be safe in assuming that big rides could take more than one day, and that some preparation might be in order.

satisfyingly, the editors have already thought of this; the introduction covers such subjects as their own particular favourites, how to use the book, accommodation icons, when to go, and timings. rather than do everything for you, however, (remember, this is supposed to be the start of exploration from the saddle) "This book is not intended to let you plan your next Big Ride adventure, but rather to inspire you." that said, the next section of the book is entitled, Planning for a Big Ride, in which messrs rogers and stitz (marcus rode around the world on a single-speed) cover preparation, both rider and bicycle, a brief paragraph on training - "Ride in different weather conditions and after dark, and with a fully loaded bicycle." - and a recommended kit list, the latter probably worth the price of admission alone. for who hasn't headed out on even the sunday ride, with the water bottle or garmin, still sitting on the kitchen table?

big rides - rogers and stitz

there follows an overview of differing bike types, though if any of those are new to you, might i suggest you undertake a few small rides before looking towards the bigger ones. the editors emphasise that you should always carry a mobile phone in order to alert emergency services in the event of an accident. while this seems a sensible precaution for those already in possession of just such a device, remember that many successful velocipedinal circumnavigations of the globe were carried out long before mobile phones were invented. where indeed, is their sense of adventure?

big rides - rogers and stitz

each ride is well described, well illustrated, featuring essential information, pros and cons likely to feature, a route profile and a detailed map. the book is too big to fit in a jersey pocket, but would probably fit comfortably in a bar bag. though each ride features a website for more information, it may be slightly disappointing, following the advice to take a mobile phone, that there seem to be no downloadable gpx files available for any of the routes. however, i figure that can only add to the sense of adventure; a big ride ought to take you away from the world of smart devices and the e-mails and text messages that are likely to interrupt.

big rides is, nonetheless, an excellent book, well written, well presented and just the inspiration needed to go a tad further than the corner shop. and in the light of the governments' advice to have a staycation this year, what are you waiting for?

you can buy a copy of big rides here.

sunday 11 july 2021

twmp ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................