=Disclaimer: No association with the author or financial interest in the sale of this book=
For those wanting a good read relating to adventure touring, I can surely recommend _Adventure Cycle Touring Handbook_ (2nd) by Stephen Lord.
It starts out with the basics of tour preparation, including choosing and preparing a bicycle for expedition or global touring. Thorns are featured in the recommendations and illustrations, including the Sherpa, Raven Tour, and Nomad S&S. The first section is devoted to equipment and process, then moves to a discussion of tours and routes by region and country, with many helpful suggestions. This is followed by first-person journal excerpts and concludes with a section on maintenance. I especially liked the inclusion of links to contributor sites so one can learn more about the people who contributed to the book and their own journeys. There are some lovely color plates included and many, many nice black-and-white photographs with excellent overview and summary route maps for major transits by country.
The author is British and it is printed in the UK, but available also in the States through eBay, Amazon, and a number of other firms. Suggested cover price in the UK is GBP14.99, while in the US it is priced at USD$21.99. By shopping around, I got my new copy of the 2nd edition for USD$12.99 postpaid. It is also available as a PDF download. The home page for the book is a bit sparse, but is located at:
http://www.adventurecycle-touringhandbook.com/ This homepage subsidiary links to contributors' sites, which I found extremely entertaining as well. My copy is already getting a bit ragged from frequent reference and use.
A good read, and the best overall guide to adventure cycle-touring I have found to date!
Another book related rather more tangentially to touring from an ultralight perspective is _Trail Life_, US author Ray Jardine's Guide to Lightweight Backpacking with "25,000 miles of trail-tested know-how". Ray goes about things somewhat differently than is the accepted norm and (along with his wife, Jenny) has had a number of adventures using the lightest and most minimal equipment, mostly homemade (instructions included). I found reading this book shook my camping beliefs to the core, and whether one agrees or disagrees with him, it surely gets one to thinking. I like his idea that weight=work, and camping (in whatever form it takes) needn't be so hard if it isn't as heavy. Link for this one is
http://www.rayjardine.com Older copies are often available on eBay or through Amazon though are generally cheaper ordered directly from Ray and Jenny Jardine. Though oriented more directly toward the long-distance hiker, I really can't see anything that wouldn't apply to long-distance, unsupported cycle-touring as well.
Best,
Dan.
