Customer Reviews

Mountain Biking in New Jersey: 45 Off-Road Rides in the Garden State

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

 

 

I have mountain biked all over the US and have used a number of ride guides to show me the way. While this book is acceptable, in that it does list the trails, I find it very difficult to use. My biggest gripes are about the ride organization, the directions to the rides, and the lack of detail in the illustrations/maps. I would advise the author to pick up John Zilly's "Kissing the Trail" to see how a ride book should be done.

The rides are not well organized. Most books group rides by locality or by difficulty (or both!), but this one does it alphabetically--not useful to those new to the area. Along those lines, the author makes the initial effort to number rides in the table of contents to correspond with the overview map of New Jersey but fails to carry it through in the rest of the book. The result? The poor reader cannot easily flip amongst the rides and figure out where they are on the NJ map. Instead, he has to cross-reference all the rides to locate them.

Directions to the rides are rather poor. As has been pointed out in a review of the previous edition, the author assumes you know a lot about NJ. I have to use Google or Mapquest to really figure out how to get there.

The maps and illustrations leave something to be desired. I feel the clarity that the author attempts to offer sacrifices the detail needed to help both locate the ride and to keep from getting lost. Also, while the perforated maps are a nifty idea in concept, the reality is they don't hold up well to the sweat and mud of mountain biking. Your best bet is to leave the original behind and take a copy with you.

This book is really great and extremely helpful. In contrast to other books I have purchased on mountain biking trails, this book was much more "user friendly" - it has perforated pages, so you can tear out the maps of the trails. The maps are packed with valuable information, such as descriptions of the terrain, difficulty rating, mileage, points of interest, etc. I have discovered many great new mountain biking areas thanks to this book. Very highly recommended.

Now in a newly revised and expanded edition, Mountain Biking In New Jersey by Christopher Mac Kinnon presents and showcases forty-five off-roads rides for mountain biking enthusiasts. Detailed maps as well as general rules of the trail enhance this excellent resource for routs to pursue for health, fitness, and sheer fun. If you are a biking enthusiast anywhere in New Jersey, then Mountain Biking In New Jersey is the bike guide for you!