Customer Reviews

Bicycle Touring: How to Prepare for Long Rides

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Not a page is wasted in Steve Butterman's 88 page book "Bicycle Touring: How to Prepare for Long Rides." The book quickly and plainly answers a lot of the basic questions that people have when thinking about a long bicycling trip:

What will I need to bring? How do I plan my trip? What kind of shape do I need to be in? What about dangerous road conditions? How will people treat me? How much will it cost? What will I eat? What about weather? What about mountains/hills? How will I keep clean? ... and many, many, many more.

The author gives you the do's and don'ts for buying the equipment for your ride, planning the ride, and actually doing the ride. Although this book does not include specific route information, it does have scores of referrals to people who do that sort of thing for a living.

You will walk away from this book knowing about things about long rides that you wouldn't have even thought about otherwise. It is a must-read for anyone that is thinking about a bicycle touring adventure.

Butterman tells you how to prepare for long rides without writing a long book. This guide to getting yourself out for a tour has just the essentials: equipment, very basic repairs, a practical repair kit, training, and clothing. Touring is not about fashion! So, Butterman stays with practical choices. If nothing else, you'll know that it's possible to tour on a bicycle without spending a fortune. And that's the joy of long-distance cycling.

Interested in getting started in bicycle touring but confused as to which book will give you the most for your money? Look no further. Paradoxically, of the dozen books I've purchased over the last two years on bicycle touring, this was the cheapest, yet by far the easiest to understand and most informative. Ounce for ounce, page for page this book provides the reader with all he/she needs to know about not only preparation but what to expect when touring. Mr. Butterman if you ever read this, thank you for a job well!

That is what bicycle touring is all about, not about fancy equipment; as the reader from Saratoga implies. It seems he is just riding up and down the coast because when I tour cross country, I can go entire days without encountering a "first World Country campground". Butterman's message is that your most important equipment is a sense of humor and of adventure. Just as Butterman recommends that you tour lightly, this book is light weight with no fluff and no waste; just as he shows you how to tour economically, this book is about half the price as the standard tour guide. Just as Butterman recommends that you squeeze maximum enjoyment out of your cycling adventure, he has provided a book that one newspaper reviewer has called "fun to read even if you never plan to ride a bike again". However, while reading his book, your primary urge will be to hop on your bike and GO GO GO.

Do not be deceived by the small size of this book - it has all the information you'll need in order to plan any bike tour. It's got the info on choosing a bike, equipment, routes (though it does not cover specific routes, it gives advice and sources on how to find the information you need). It is quite simply the best book available, a wealth of information, tips, references and it even has equipment checklists at the back, conveniently split into essential/optional sections. A superb example of the "keep it simple" school of literature, it is just jam-packed with useful info, with no fluff.

I have referred to this book quite often. It is quite basic in its approach and very easy reading, but very valuable in the infomation it contains. It is more suited to beginners, but would benefit the experienced tourer equally as well.

I used to leave it in the top drawer of my bedside unit, and read it in bed, to assist in dreaming up new adventures and give me new ideas.

I took it with me to the USA when I toured over there, but left it on the plane... :o(

I miss it.

The book not only prepares you physically--with check lists of equipment, contacts, and training goals--but mentally as well. Combining pep talks, humor, and wisdom (from Thoreau, Cervantes, Whitman, and the author himself), the book's enthusiasm is infectious.

I am Steve Butterman, author of this book, now widely considered an outdoors classic. By sometime in the Spring of 2012, an updated second edition will be released on Amazon Kindle.

I've ridden obout 500 miles or so on cycle tour, and I have to say I'm glad I got my information from "Effective Cycling." Steve Butterman would rather have a 'flickstand' than fenders on a cycle tour, and recommends carrying a poncho and finding shelter when it rains (having never worked out proper raingear on a bicycle). He recommends carrying a water purification device, when most first world country campgrounds have drinkable tap water.

A complete waste of money. Get a copy of "Effective Cycling" instead.