The Complete Guide to Climbing (By Bike)

The Complete Guide to Climbing (By Bike)
by John Summerson

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Book Summary Information

Author: John Summerson
Edition: Perfect Paperback
Published: 2007-07-01
ISBN: 0979257107
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: Brigham Distributing

Book Reviews of The Complete Guide to Climbing (By Bike)

Book Review: Very welcome book, if not thorough
Summary: 4 Stars

It's about time someone finally got on the road on their bike all over the country, then sat down writing about the great roads in the United States that are a challenge to go up. Many of the climbs, that is. There's no book like this anywhere, and if you're into traveling with your bike, and riding up the big climbs, this is it.

The book does however fall short for me in a few ways. First, it's layout is somewhat scattered, like it needed better editing in it's organization, but also in it's material. The climbs it covers, it generally does well. It's also by all means not complete, there's no way it could be, but the book contains 50 pages of route profiles at the end. These profiles all generally look similar, and are of little practical use to most riders who will look at them and think, "yep, the road goes up". This space could have been much better used if it contained more climbs. Even if some of the descriptions were rudimentary. For example, in my home state of Oregon - a fairly mountainous state, there are only three climbs listed. But I can easily name 5-6 quality climbs that aren't in the book*. These climbs could probably be summarized on one page. Multiply that by fifty, and 250 more climbs in the US could have been added simply by removing the unneeded profiles.

The author did his best to remain objective with climbs, creating a ratings system to rate them. But even this is bound to create controversy among riders. He often mentions altitude, but without factoring it in. For example, even though Mt. Washington is rated higher than Mt. Evans, Mauna Kea, or Onion Valley Road by his system, I'd rather ride the former as the 14,000' altitude on Mt. Evans (close to it on Mauna Kea), and long steep gradient to 9,100' on Onion Vally is just murderous...to me. And here's where the book may be frustrating to some, sifting through the author's opinions, coupled with his ratings. Adding to this, he lists Most Scenic climbs, which is bound to create some quibbling by riders as well.

Some reviewers are complaining about the maps. They are simple, but to me that is fine. No one in their right mind would drive around the country using the maps in this book as a guide. They are simply meant to show you were the road can be found. From there, it's up to you to use a quality map, Topo!, Google Earth, and other maps or programs to find the details you need. I would however liked to have seen better quality photos of the routes.

Despite my complaints, the author is to be commended most of all for culling all this information, as there's no easy way you could find this out otherwise. While I'm hoping that a second edition pressing will be better edited and more comprehensive, you could spend years going through the entire book, traveling throughout the country, riding these rides.

* Five Oregon climbs that easily could have made the book: Lolo Pass, Larch Mountain, Newberry Crater, McKenzie Pass, Elkhorn Byway.

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Summary of The Complete Guide to Climbing (By Bike)

The Complete Guide to Climbing (By Bike) is the ultimate guide to cycling climbing and the most difficult hill climbs in the United States. Included in its 224 pages are sections on training for climbing, memorable climbing performances and other climbing resources. The most difficult U.S. climbs are described in great detail including: - Easy to read directions with maps - Accurate climb information including total elevation gain, length and average/maximum grade - Appendices include multiple climb rankings (most difficult, highest altitude attained, greatest elevation gained, steepest, etc) and profiles of the 100 most difficult American hill climbs. This book contains everything cyclists need to know to locate and tackle the toughest climbs in the U.S.

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