Published by Lyn on 2 June 2012
About this time last year I wrote about France cycling books; there was one post for cycling in France books (mostly guidebooks and travelogues covering France cycling tours) and another specifically for Tour de France books. Both lists had new and older titles.
Here, I'm posting newer books about cycling in France – i.e ones that have been released since those first two lists were written – as well as books I neglected to include first time round.
Use one of the books below to help you get on the road in France. This photo was taken along the Canal du Midi, near Toulouse. Photo: Ekhinos
Books about cycling in France
Chamonix Mountain Adventures by Hilary Sharp is a guidebook covering road cycling routes and mountain biking trails, as well as walking routes and climbing areas. Sharp knows this area well – she runs her own tour company in the Chamonix Mont Blanc area and is a qualified mountain guide, so she's well placed to help you make the most of one of France's most scenic spots.
France On Two Wheels: Six Long Bike Rides for the Bon Vivant Cyclist by Adam Ruck is a travelogue that doubles as a guide book. It features Paris to Avignon, the Cevennes to the Atlantic, Lake Geneva to Normandy, Biarritz to Burgundy, and two rides along the Loire.
A Cycling Guide to the Canal de Garonne and the Canal du Midi by Iain Griffiths is a self-published Kindle route guide to one of France's most iconic waterside routes. It includes a section on the history of the canals.
Good Vibrations: Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie by Andrew Sykes is an entertaining jaunt along the EuroVelo5. Though a regular cyclist, he'd never done a long distance ride before – by tackling this one (and others that followed), he demonstrates the joys of everyday cycling. Andrew has written about the 14 EuroVelo routes for us, including the six that pass through France.
Cycling in Search of the Cathars is a Kindle edition of the book of the same name, originally published in 1991 after Chris Ratcliffe and Elaine Connell had spent several months of 1987 cycling around the mountains and valleys of Languedoc.
A Leisurely Ride Across France is a self-published travelogue by Alan Kretchmar, a former ophthalmologist from America. It was a ride that took Kretchmar and his wife six years and four trips to France to complete. Also self-published is a series of guidebooks called Bicycle Your France. Written by American leisure cyclist, Walter Judson Moore, the series includes guides to Provence, Dordogne, Burgundy, and the Lot and Tarn.
