Cycling The Rhine Route: Bicycle Touring Along the Historic Rhine River [Paperback]

John Powell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2002

For over 1,000 years, the Rhine river has been Europe's main corridor of transport, connecting markets and cultures from the sea border in Holland with the inland regions all the way to Switzerland. Today's bicycle tourist can experience the great diversity of geography, achitecture, trade, and culture that is still apparent along this spectacular waterway. Best of all, it's not an exhausting ride: despite the sometimes formidable moutains that loom over the river, author John Powell has mapped out a course that keeps mainly level. The trip can be traversed all the way, requiring about three weeks of cycling, with all levels of accommodations readily available, or cut up into sections, with convenient access points identified.

Product Details

• Paperback: 287 pages
• Publisher: Van der Plas/Cycle Publishing (January 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1892495236
• ISBN-13: 978-1892495235
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #647,058 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > Travel > Europe > Germany > Rhine

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A terrific book, but ..., March 31, 2009

By 

Eero Richmond (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cycling The Rhine Route: Bicycle Touring Along the Historic Rhine River (Paperback)

This is a terrific book, but I do have some reservations. What is so terrific about it is that it is jam-packed with information useful to any bicyclist planning, or in the middle of, a trip along the Rhine River. It includes sections on equipment, geography, history, money, climate, foreign words and phrases, etc., as well as detailed routes, alternate routes, and "diversion routes" (with maps) along the Rhine. Of course, one could bring along a pack of books on all these topics, but any traveling bicyclist is obviously greatly limited as to what he/she can carry. So it's nice to have so much information in one place. Naturally the longest part of the book is devoted to Germany, as this is the longest (and probably most interesting) stretch of the river.

I traveled my own "Rhine journey" by bicycle (the Netherlands, Germany, France, Switzerland) a few years ago, and it was one of the most memorable events of my life. I kept a detailed diary at the time (highly recommended), and frequently still turn to it. John Powell's book also brought back many happy memories.

My quibbles (mostly minor) about Powell's book are as follows: I found that for each route, the number of tiny instructions offered to the bicyclist seem obsessively detailed, almost to the point of being funny. For just one example, to bicycle from Bacharach to Mainz, a very simple stretch of 37 miles, all on the western side of the river, Powell offers more than 90 instructions! Long-distance bicyclists are a pretty resourceful and intrepid lot, really don't need this kind of detail, and rarely get lost. I myself bicycled the entire Rhine route with just good maps, notes I made at home before I left (about places and sights), and a small guide to youth hostels. And I never got lost!

Speaking about youth hostels, most long-distance bicyclists in Europe are relatively young and stay in hostels along the way. Hostels are usually fun, cheap, and a good way to exchange travel tips and make friends. Powell devotes very little space to them. A hostel guide is very useful in planning. The one from the Deutsches Jugendherbergswerk in Detmold is great, also "Hostels Germany" by Paul Karr and Martha Coombs is useful and fun.

A tiny point: Powell says, regarding bicycle tires, that he uses "slick (smooth) treads for better speed." What's the hurry? Why not slow down a bit and enjoy the marvelous scenery? Also, I think a somewhat thicker tread is advisable, unless one is adept at fixing flat tires (not all the bike paths are free of sharp pebbles and glass!).

Powell's book is a thoughtful guide, obviously not a book to sit down and read cover to cover, but a good resource for planning or executing that trip along the Rhine. If you do make the trip, I hope you have as great a time as I did!

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How honest is the preview web page, July 30, 2006

By 

Fjw Powell "John Powell" (Ramsgate, Kent, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cycling The Rhine Route: Bicycle Touring Along the Historic Rhine River (Paperback)

Of course I think this is a great book - I spent a number of years researching and writing "Cycling the Rhine Route". I had so much information that I had to edit out two-thirds of the original manuscript to fit in with the publisher's requirements and I still had to persuade him to make the book longer than originally planned. So I had to make informed choices about what to leave in and take out, and after having cycled the route quite a few times, in all seasons and weathers, I feel that I have done my best within the constraints placed upon me.
The bibliography contains book titles that are either unobtainable nowadays, or out of print, and it seems that whoever built the Amazon web page has replaced those titles with others which are available. I don't think this is honest, and I have told Amazon this, but with no result. This shouldn't prevent you from owning a book which will give you the opportunity to enjoy a wonderful journey along one of the oldest routes in Europe. Best wishes and happy cycling.

4.0 out of 5 stars Rhine River cylcing route, April 4, 2011

By 

wisdom - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cycling The Rhine Route: Bicycle Touring Along the Historic Rhine River (Paperback)

Cycling the Rhine Route is well worth the buy as it gives you a good overview of the trail as well as what to expect along the route, with sightseeing side trips that you can do if you want to. A comprehensive publication.