Adventure Cycle-Touring Handbook, Stephen Lord (2010) Trailblazer 19055864256 312pp Octo £14.99 An encyclopaedia of distance-touring wisdom that is as sound as it is savvy

Given the current interest in round-the-world rides, there should be ready market for this tome. For everyone who actually circumnavigates the globe, after all, there are multitudes of us who fantasise about joining their ranks. Densely packed, and usefully illustrated this book fairly bristles with the hard-earned touring sense that any of us would need to ride into the real world.

It is divided into three sections: choosing equipment; choosing a route; and tales of cyclists who have gone before. All are strong, and combine to make an ideal briefing for anyone considering such a venture.

Of course there are occasional opinions with which one might disagree - for many of us it would be unthinkable to set out on a major ride on anything other than drop bars, for example. But it is perfectly possible to accept all in the book as opinions borne of long experience - even if there are a few that you do not share.

The equipment section is particularly good on those areas of kit that might be beyond the boilerplate mental database possessed by most cyclists. Tents, stoves and flying with a bike, for example, are covered in a way that should will save anyone but the most hardened expedition cyclist a great deal of time and money.

The route guidelines too are a god sent to anyone who is planning an epic ride. True, many a long ride has been complete by cyclists who followed their nose, or who relied on hand-copied maps at border crossings. For most of us, though, an expert view on ways to traverse any of the world's continents could be the difference between a life-affirming experience and time wasted on a ride that has to be abandoned for lack of planning.

The final section contains digests of some well-known and less well-known Odysseys. Some are famous - such as Tom Kevill-Davies - others less so, but none the worse for that. All describe a heady mixture of good times and bad that will either have you reaching for the map, or investigating beach holidays anew.

All in all, it is a book that is worth giving to anyone considering pedal-powered gap year - whatever their age.

PS Oct 10

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