Ride – Cycle The World

Ride – Cycle The World from Dorling Kindersley presents cycling routes from around the world, and claims it will have you 'itching to jump in the saddle.' Like many similar guidebooks, nearly everybody should find something of interest, but it can only really be regarded as a starting point: further information will be required before actually mounting your steed.

Most of the 256 pages are given over to introducing 100 worthwhile cycling routes. You can start to see the problem already, because at best that gives on average 2.5 pages per ride. In reality, each entry gets between one and six pages, but even the latter isn't enough to do the 7,226 mile African End-to-End (Tour d'Afrique) justice.

Fortunately, Ride doesn't waste too much space on the inevitable guide to 'choosing a bike' that all such books feel the need to include: two pages is your lot. There is a wealth of relevant information readily available from other sources, including our own Buyer's Guides, which will serve you better.

Advice on 'Preparing for your ride' takes another two pages, and is of equally limited value. Perhaps recognising this, the author points you towards a handful of websites for further guidance.

Eyewitness

Ride is part of Dorling Kindersley's Eyewitness series of travel books, which try to 'show you what others only tell you.' In practice this means more pictures than most guide books.

Ride has pictures aplenty, but most of them are not cycling-specific, and come from photo agencies such as Alamy Stock Photo and Getty Images: they could equally well feature in the general Eyewitness guides.

Contrast this with Escape by Bike, for example – where every image was taken by the author, and virtually every one is directly related to cycling. Or take a look at Cyclist: The Rides Volume 2, where big beautiful pictures are the priority and an inspiration.

Rider friendly?

Is the all-important information cycling-specific? I have used a normal Eyewitness book for non-cycling aspects of trips to Italy, so I looked to see what was included the Dolomites. Peaks such as Marmolada and Tre Cime di Lavaredo are mentioned, and indeed their associated passes make for good cycling climbs.

This book's route of choice, though, is the Sella Ronda loop through the Pordoi, Sella, Gardena, and Campolongo passes – an excellent choice, and a very encouraging sign of well-tailored content. I've ridden the Sella Ronda myself, and it was one of the most enjoyable and scenic days out I have ever had on a bike. It's included in the Maratona dles Dolomites event, too.

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Obviously I haven't ridden everything featured, but judging from the areas I do know it looks like every ride would be worth doing.

You in the UK

For the home market, our own End-to-End is an obvious choice – but what else should be included from the British mainland? The answer here is the Whitehaven to Tynemouth Sea-to-Sea in England, and the Welsh End-to-End (Lon Las Cymru).

Lee Craigie contributed the Applecross peninsula route in Scotland: I think it is a great choice, and it is good to have it confirmed by someone with extensive experience of such cycling.

Even with that limited selection, Britain is over-represented: Russia has no entries, for instance, while India and China have just one each.

France has four entries, meanwhile, the most recognisable of which is based on the over-hyped Alpe d'Huez. Still, while the best thing you can do at the top is carry on round the Col de Sarenne for a really enjoyable loop, that's exactly the route suggested here.

The writers

The list of contributors is extensive and credible: I recognise many of the names from their work elsewhere, often on related projects.

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For example, who better to supply the route following in the footsteps of Hannibal than Felix Lowe, who has actually written an excellent book about that very journey?

Emily Chappell is another contributor with enough experience to make some great recommendations – and the skills to write about them.

Ride promises 'maps and elevation profiles for every ride', but that really is over-selling and under-delivering: neither are detailed enough to help with proper planning. Fortunately you can download GPX files of the routes from an associated website (and get a flavour of the articles accompanying each route while you're at it).

Overall

Ride – Cycle The World is a great starting point for epic journey, and even seasoned riders will surely discover new things. I was not aware, for example, that the patrol road between the inner and outer Berlin Wall is now a fairly flat tarmac path, and the whole circuit makes for a 100-mile history trail: it's now on my list.

Verdict

Useful as a unique selection of routes in an attractive format, but can't deliver on everything promised