Fifty Places to Bike Before You Die: Biking Experts Share the World's Greatest Destinations

by Chris Santella

“OMG views, killer hills and open road . . . everything a pedal pusher could ask for.” —Fitness magazine
“What makes this book exciting is that Chris included interviews with cycling-industry experts to identify and describe what it is like to cycle in all 50 regions.” —Adventure Cycling Association
 
Plan your next biking vacation, or live vicariously, with this beautiful guide to 50 of the world’s best places to ride a bicycle, as chosen by expert cyclists who have been there.
 
Each location, in addition to advice from experts, is brought to life with stunning color photographs. Some of these are popular biking spots that are on everyone’s bucket list. Some may be new to even serious riders. Locations include: 
Arizona: Grand Canyon—North Rim
Belgium: Flanders
British Columbia: Okanagan Valley
California: Eastern Sierra, Wine Country
Costa Rica: Arenal to Guanacaste
France: Provence
Ireland: Connemara
Italy: Sardinia
Michigan: Leelanau Peninsula
South Africa: Cape Town
Vermont: Champlain Valley
 Biking is booming as both a leisure and an extreme exercise activity, and here Chris Santella explores trips for cyclists of every level. He covers environments as varied as the Dalmatian Coast in Croatia, the Indochina Trail in Vietnam, and the urban jungle of New York City. With a mix of international and national locations, the 50 chapters capture the breathtaking vistas cyclists will enjoy around the world.
 
Whether you’re a serious biker training for years, or just someone looking for adventure and some healthy time outdoors, Santella and his experts offer you a smorgasbord of dream vacations to choose from. So, start reading and start peddling!

Genres: Travel, Cycling, Outdoors, Sports

224 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2012

Reviews

[Taffnerd · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of an inspiration than something that would actually help you actually undertake any of these rides. Points for covering places all over the world.

[Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book was a fantastic book that taught me about beautiful places around the world where people can bike and enjoy themselves. the top four places I would go to is the grand cannon if I get better at the bicycle. the other three are the Dalmatian Coast in Croatia, the Indochina Trail in Vietnam, and the urban jungle of New York City. another feature of this book is the book tells you why you should visit also what else you can do there. the last feature is my favourite. the feature is that the book tells you interesting facts about the places. i say this again that i learnt a lot from this and i hope you do to.

[Hendrik Dejonckheere · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dit boek wordt verondersteld een opwarmer te zijn om enthousiast een aantal van de 50 suggesties op je bucketlist te plaatsen. Het si echter vooral een Amerikaans boek. Hanoi - Ankor Vat in 7 dagen, Ik ben 10 jaar geleden van Hanoi - Via Tây Ninh naar Ankor Vat naar Bangkok gereden dat is zo'n 2500km. Hoe ze daar 7 dagen van maken is mij een raadsel. De tips Mallorca, Toscane, Sardinië, Noord Holland (in het tulpenseizoen), De gouden driehoek en het ronde van Vlaanderen parcours zijn op zich OK maar missen ook vaak belangrijke aspecten. Als beste tijd voor Mallorca geven ze bijvoorbeeld juni-september terwijl iedereen die er regelmatig komt weet dat je er in die maanden juist niet moet zijn, maart-mei en oktober-november zijn daar veel aangenamer. De beschrijving van Piedmont komt amper verder dan de kwaliteit van de wijn en het eten. Waarom dan toch 3 sterren ? Omdat er toch een tweetal suggesties in staan die enthousiasme opwekten, helaas komt mijn minder vliegen doel daardoor weer onder druk. Mijn persoonlijke 50 fietstoppers zou er echt anders uitzien.

[Jared Pangier · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my second "Fifty Places" book. I certainly enjoyed seeing the photos of beautiful destinations (e.g. Majorca and its crazy switchbacks overlooking the ocean) and imagining bicycle holidays with my wife and daughter in the future. Compared to the Ski and Snowboard book, though, I felt that the selections were not as carefully made—after all, "before you die" is a BIG statement. The author and curator of the places, Chris Santella, is from Oregon, which makes it understandable that the destinations seem to be American-centric, but I, personally, would have liked to see broader world coverage. In the 50 places listed, 20 were in America, 23 in North America, repeats in Italy (x3), France (x3), and Spain (x2), and 14 in Europe. I hope the other two books we have in our library have a better spread!

[Rebeca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh the places I'll go!

[Susan Morrissey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve actually completed a few of the rides mentioned in this great book. So many exciting places to 🚴ride.

[Stefanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book offers some inspirational photos of stunning places to bike, however, there is a certain aftertaste created by the fact that all the essays have been compiled by bicycle touring companies that seemingly want to plug their businesses. You are basically paying for a massive sales pitch, but even as a sales pitch it is flawed.

From a formatting and information point of view, I dislike that the tours in the US aren't all covered under a "USA" umbrella of sorts, but that they are filed in between the international destinations in the alphabetical order of the state names. Generally, sorting by continents first, then countries, then states would make this book more useful. That said, there isn't much usability in the book to begin with, as all and any helpful information about the destinations is missing. A simple map marking the 50 tour locations would have been tremendously helpful; for the US states I would have wished for a basic state outline with a location marker within the respective state. There is positively no information in the book whatsoever in regards to where to go, how to get there, and so on. So not only is it not a guidebook, but it really isn't useful as anything but a very basic starting point, which I found disappointing, especially considering who the authors are. I guess they don't want to give anything away in order to bolster their respective businesses.

I give 2 stars for the pretty photos; the flimsy contents are worth 1 star at best.

[Deon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fifty Places To Bike Before You Die has selections for all levels of interest. Do you like flying down single track, surrounded by jaw dropping scenery on trails that will challenge? Then turn to trip #46 for Kirstin Peterson’s essay on the White Rim Trail in Moab Utah. Do you prefer road riding? How about trip #9 through California Wine Country or trip #14 through Burgundy France? I like bike trails, nice paved trails with no cars swooping around me. Try trip #7 the Okanagan Valley, trip #42 in Switzerland, or trip #27 on the Leelanau Peninsula of Michigan. A trip that surprised me for biking was trip # 31, New York City. Who knew the Big Apple had 700 miles of bike lanes? If you want to bike in exotic locations, the book is full of them. Trip #6 has an essay by Joe Kurmaskie about biking the Tour de Tuli in Botswana, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. If you like your bike rides closer to home, there are 3 rides right here in Oregon, and more in the adjoining states (Washington, Idaho, and California). It is a pretty cool book, the forty spectacular color photos are sure to inspire. The rides address all levels of comfort and have information on guided rides for many

[dirt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tend to shy away from the Number of Things You Should Do Before You Die books because they propagate the idea that life is a series of check marks to be filled in and touted. This mindset can prevent you from savoring the daily adventure of your ordinary, everyday life. However, I savored this book.

These days I don't get a chance to hop on my bike as often as I would like, so I enjoyed pretending to ride along these 50 intriguing routes. The trails are narrated in vivid detail by people who have ridden them several times, usually tour leaders.

The variety of rides helps to draw you in. You may find yourself cruising through mountain villages in Spain; visiting Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa on the Tour de Tuli, or riding through Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee as you trek along the historic Natchez Trace Parkway.

Just in case you do have the time and resources to splurge on one of these adventures, each destination includes a level of difficulty, how to get there, when to go, who can help you, and where to stay.

[JDK1962 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that if this doesn't make you want to get out and ride, you're probably dead.

I'm docking it a star because there are no Colorado rides (really? I mean...come on guys, really? New York City is there and NOTHING from Colorado?). And an apparent preoccupation with wine kind of turned me off (but that's just me).

But man, do I want to do some of these rides...

[Cam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Could end up being the most expensive book I've ever read. So many great rides around the world to chase down.

[Regina Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Need to oil my wheels.