Customer Reviews

Cycling France: The Best Bike Tours in All of Gaul (Active Travel Series)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have mixed feelings about this book -- there are sections which are extraordinarily helpful, and then he spoils it. The most useful sections, and ones which other touring books would be wise to emulate, are his selections of helpful letters to various people (hotels, cycling shops, etc.) written in French for the linguistically challenged (like me). However, contrary to the remarks of the previous reviewer, my wife and I found that the selection of roads was not small country lanes -- even when they paralleled the route selected by Mr. Simpson.

We toured through the Dordogne and Mr. Simpson's route both out of Bordeaux, and then later in the trip the section from Cahors back towards Bordeaux were on major roads when wonderful alternatives were at hand. We found this inexplicable. For the first part of the book I rate it at 5 stars -- but as the route selection is so marginal (at least where we tried to use it) I have to downgrade to 3. The best of both worlds was to use this book for preparation, and then another for actual route planning. For that I highly recommend the Whitehill's book, 14 Tours Geared for Discovery.

Jerry H. Simpson Jr. became interested in bicycling in France when he started touring France while part of the American Army stationed in France after WWII. While the book lacks glitz, the routes he has picked are extraodinarily good. Most of them utilize small, rural, lightly trafficed farm road (tertiary roads) in excellent condition. While this was published in 1992, and Simpson does not plan a new edition, it, still, is simply the best

I have mixed feelings about this book -- there are sections which are extraordinarily helpful, and then he spoils it. The most useful sections, and ones which other touring books would be wise to emulate, are his selections of helpful letters to various people (hotels, cycling shops, etc.) written in French for the linguistically challenged (like me). However, contrary to the remarks of the previous reviewer, my wife and I found that the selection of roads was not small country lanes -- even when they paralleled the route selected by Mr. Simpson.

We toured through the Dordogne and Mr. Simpson's route both out of Bordeaux, and then later in the trip the section from Cahors back towards Bordeaux were on major roads when wonderful alternatives were at hand. We found this inexplicable. For the first part of the book I rate it at 5 stars -- but as the route selection is so marginal (at least where we tried to use it) I have to downgrade to 3. The best of both worlds was to use this book for preparation, and then another for actual route planning. For that I highly recommend the Whitehill's book, 14 Tours Geared for Discovery.