Cycling the Rhine Route: Bicycle Touring Along the Historic Rhine River [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

by John Powell (Author) "The Rhine river is the most important waterway in Europe..." (more)
Key Phrases: bike path swings, compacted dirt roads, sand bike path, World War, Neder Rijn, North Sea (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
A tour guide for bicycle touring along one of the historically and scenically most interesting routes in Europe. Linking the North Sea coast in Holland with the heartland of Germany, France, and Switzerland, this route provides an easily accessible cycling tour.

Detailed route descriptions with route maps and information about the places visited, including accommondations and excursions.

Product Details

• Paperback: 287 pages
• Publisher: Cycle Publishing; illustrated edition edition (April 2000)
• 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: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #675,307 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 16 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)

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.

1 of 1 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

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!

1.0 out of 5 stars Below Expectations, June 12, 2009

By	Alvaro Martin Sanchis "A. MARTIN" (MIAMI / FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I make one to two 500 to 800 mile bike travel a year.
My next one (July/2009)is from Zurich to Amsterdam via Rhine river.
This book has good intentions but is not well organized, some excess information in turn left and right and no detailed information on elevations, wind, temperature or GPS points.
The direction shown in the book is west/north to east/south and I am really going the other way following the river flow.
The maps inside the book aren't good either.
I am not taking this book to Europe with me.