Pedaling Through Pages

The bicycle under the Christmas tree, inevitably wrapped in not enough paper, often with a big red bow around its handlebars, is practically an emblem of the season--at least of the season in its old-fashioned, Norman Rockwellian sense. In recent years, the bike has also become something of a symbol of the first days of the New Year: Many of us hop on one (whether of the mobile or stationary variety) and pedal furiously away in the hopes of burning off the avoirdupois with which the holidays have decked us.

With both the shiny beauty of the new two-wheeler and the glistening foreheads of our soon-to-come exercise programs in mind, here are a few of the numerous bike-themed titles that have appeared this year:

THE BICYCLE TOURING MANUAL, second edition, by Rob van der Plas (Bicycle Books, $16.95 paper).

Though the first edition of this cyclist’s handbook sold well enough when it came out in 1987, notes author Rob van der Plas in his new preface, at about that time his beloved sport of bicycle touring seemed to lose much of its appeal to the American public. Suddenly everybody was mountain-biking instead, wheeling off on jaunts that were strenuous but comparatively brief.

More recently, van der Plas continues, he has “started seeing cyclists with luggage, touring over longer distances again”--and thus has decided to update and reissue this useful volume. If there is an aspect of bike trekking that he has neglected to cover, it certainly isn’t apparent. There are excellent, if rather technical, sections on the physical structure and mechanics of the bicycle, segments on accessories and clothing, tips on cycling technique and chapters on packing and using maps, what and how to eat on the road, touring abroad, cycling with childrlen, safety and health.

CYCLING THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA: 30 Rides to Historic Sites and Scenic Places by Carol O’Hare (Bicycle Books, $12.95 paper), and IRELAND BY BIKE: 21 Tours Geared for Discovery by Robin Krause (The Mountaineers, $14.95 paper).

Once you’ve learned everything you can about bike touring in general, whether from van der Plas’ book or elsewhere, it’s time to start thinking about specifics. Carol O’Hare offers convincing evidence for her claim that “The San Francisco Bay Area offers some of the best cycling you can find anywhere.” The climate is mild, she notes, in the nine Bay Area counties she covers; the terrain is varied, the vistas are magnificent. As her subtitle suggests, historic sites are a particular interest of O’Hare’s, and she offers plenty of brief but informative sketches of landmark houses, museums, waterfront and downtown areas and such. Most of the itineraries she outlines are comparatively short--from 6 miles to (in one case) 48, with many between 10 and 20 miles--but ambitious “cyclists with luggage” could certainly link several of them together for serious touring.

The itineraries are longer in Robin Krause’s “Ireland by Bike”--mostly from 40 to 50 miles in length, and as long as 61 in one case--but they’re broken down into shorter segments (and also linked into suggested two-, three- and four-week jaunts). There’s some historical background and description here, but this is basically a minutely annotated practical guide (“In 8.5 miles turn left for Cahir on R670. The town center is 2.5 miles farther up this road”), with specifics--such as the aforementioned “left” and “R670”--in boldface type, presumably for easy reading while this volume is perched on the handlebars.