Customer Reviews

Mountain Biking Pennsylvania

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

 

 

I have been searching for a good guidebook on PA mountainbiking for over a year. Ginieczki's effort here appears to be very well done. I have ridden at least 5 of his reviewed trails in the Eastern & Northcentral parts of the state,most before the book was ever published. I found his reviews of these particular trails very detailed, accurate,interesting & w/ crisp & clear directions. He sprinkles interesting bits of geography, history, humor & trail tips that make reading most enjoyable. I like the way the book is laid out & written, with good up to date markers & maps.Most measured trail distances matched my bike's computer - a good sign. My only gripe is that,unfortunately, it's not the kind of book that is easy to pack or refer to during rides. Otherwise, the most up to date, informative & best of its kind for PA that I've come across.

The book provides a well-written, comprehensive, guide to the entire state. It is apparent that the author has logged countless hours in providing riders with a complete guidebook to many rides throughout the state. Although this book does not cover any specific region in depth, it gives riders a taste of all areas. Riders of all skill levels will appreciate the format. There is a colorful and informative commentary for each ride, providing the "icing on the cake." This is one of my favorite books in my collection but one that never stays on the shelf.

The South Mountain, Emmaus, PA trails, as described in "Mountain Biking in PA" by Rob Ginieczki, are located on PRIVATE PROPERTY clearly marked by NO TRESPASSING signs. The gentlemen who owns this property is VERY ANTI-MOUNTAIN BIKE and these trails should be avoided. Numerous conversations took place between myself and the author of this book, before the book was published, informing him of the access problems associated with this area. Since he chose to disregard these conversations and send his readers to areas which are ILLEGAL to ride in, I would suggest that all readers be wary of the trail directions provided in this book. Please feel free to e-mail me for other, legal areas to ride in this area.

As another reviewer stated, make sure to check the current status of any reviewed trail before packing up and heading out. A quick google search is all that is required, or check out[...]for the current status of trails.

Having said that, this is a great book. It's not a thin little book with only a few rides. I found it very sizable and covers a good areas so whether your in Philly, Pittsburgh or somewhere in between there are rides near you.

My favorite features is selecting rides by feature. You can select rides for endurance, scenery, technical rides, single track, etc.

For biking with my wife I love the finding some nice family rides and rail trails in my area, and for myself I love long technical trails that test quads and skills.

My only complaint is that the index is arranged by ride numbers so after you look up the ride number you have to go to the index to see which page number it is on. Which is sort of annoying. It should list both. This problem is easily solved with the use of a paper clip on the PA map page and the front index.

This is by far the best book I have ever read for mountain biking in PA. It gives you a great amount of detail for each ride. It gives you everything you could possible need to know and more. It even gives you historical facts about the trails. It goes into great detail about the route and turn-by-turn directions by the tenth of a mile. Each ride is rated on many different categories include distance, surface, grade and even technical difficulty. It also provides a diagram that shows you were the step parts of the ride are and rates each of the climb. The book also does a great job as giving rides through out the entire state. The book contains 91 rides. I would highly recommend this book over the many books I have read.