Sleep/School Run/Commute/Work/Commute/School Run/A Million Household Chores/Sleep: Repeat. Ah, the pattern of life during the school term. Even if you don’t have kids, you may well find yourself doing the Sleep/Work/Sleep: Repeat routine. It’s enough to make anyone yearn for adventure. To feel the wanderlust. Having a press release for a new Lonely Planet Guide: ‘Epic Rides of the World’ is definitely not going to help these feelings go away.
“Everybody has their personal interpretation of ‘epic’,” states the introduction. “You can have an epic adventure straight from your front door and be back in time for tea. Or you can follow in the tyre tracks of adventurer Alastair Humphreys and pedal around the world, through 60 countries, for four years”.
With a range of rides for every type bike in practically every corner of the globe, this looks to be a book that will pass many a cold wet evening by the fire.
The publishers say:
From a Bavarian beer ride in Germany to a challenging journey through the entire continent of Africa. Almost 30 bike and travel enthusiasts from Lonely Planet’s community and beyond share their first-hand accounts of their most memorable trips. Each account includes a toolkit, enabling you to plan your own adventure, outlining the best time to go, how to get there and where to stay.
You’re not going to set off along the ‘Bhutanese Dragon Ride’ with just this guide in tow, but there’s a good range of possible destinations around the world to give you some idea where to start your further research.
The photography is worthy of an issue of Singletrack, so it looks to be an attractive book. The lack of epic weather the writers seem to have experienced may make you feel a little sick though.
Some of the mountain bike routes suggested are a little obvious, but there’s plenty of other out-of-the ordinary routes to consider. There’s even a family bike packing route in Ecuador, written by Cass Gilbert if you fancy a different take on his award-nominated Issue 106 feature (told you the photos were worthy of Singletrack!). The book is out now with an RRP of £24.99. We’re off to check out the price of flights to Bhutan.
