In this beautifully illustrated guide to travelling across France by bike you will discover hidden lanes, stunning gorges, amazing places to eat and stay, plus the best of French cycling culture.

For Adam Ruck, France and cycling go together like a rich Camembert and a heady glass of Bordeaux.

A guide to the leisure cycle routes south of the Loire Valley in France. It includes traffic-free routes and signed touring routes with a factfile and a text description of what to see along the way.

A book like no other, Paul Fournel's Need for the Bike conducts readers into a very personal world of communication and connection whose center is the bicycle, and where all people and things pass by way of the bike. In compact and suggestive prose, Fournel conveys the experience of cycling--from the initial charm of early outings to the dramas of the devoted cyclist. An extended meditation on cycling as a practice of life, the book recalls a country doctor who will not anesthetize the young Fournel after he impales himself on a downtube shifter, speculates about the difference between animals that would like to ride bikes (dogs, for instance) and those that would prefer to watch (cows, marmots), and reflects on the fundamental absurdity of turning over the pedals mile after excruciating mile. At the same time, Fournel captures the sound, smell, feel, and language of the reality and history of cycling, in the mountains, in the city, escaping the city, in groups, alone, suffering, exhausted, exhilarated. In his attention to the pleasures of cycling, to the specific "grain" of different cycling experiences, and to the inscription of these experiences in the body's cycling memory, Fournel portrays cycling as a descriptive universe, colorful, lyrical, inclusive, exclusive, complete.

Shortlisted for the Sports Book Awards 2018 for Biography of the Year and Cycling Book of the Year There are things he does alone, and things that he alone does. Jacques Anquetil was a cyclist with an aristocratic demeanor and a relaxed attitude to rules and morals. His womanising and frank admissions of doping appalled 1960s French society, even as his five Tour de France wins enthralled it. Paul Fournel was besotted with him from the start ("Too young to understand, I was nevertheless old enough to admire") and followed Anquetil's career with the passion of a fan and the eye of a poet. In this stunningly original biography of a complex and divisive character, Fournel - author of the seminal Vélo (or Need for the Bike)- blends the story of Anquetil's life with scenes from his own, to create a classic of cycling literature.

"A witty, engaging narrative style…[Robb's] approach is particularly engrossing." —New York Times Book Review A narrative of exploration—full of strange landscapes and even stranger inhabitants—that explains the enduring fascination of France. While Gustave Eiffel was changing the skyline of Paris, large parts of France were still terra incognita. Even in the age of railways and newspapers, France was a land of ancient tribal divisions, prehistoric communication networks, and pre-Christian beliefs. French itself was a minority language. Graham Robb describes that unknown world in arresting narrative detail. He recounts the epic journeys of mapmakers, scientists, soldiers, administrators, and intrepid tourists, of itinerant workers, pilgrims, and herdsmen with their millions of migratory domestic animals. We learn how France was explored, charted, and colonized, and how the imperial influence of Paris was gradually extended throughout a kingdom of isolated towns and villages. The Discovery of France explains how the modern nation came to be and how poorly understood that nation still is today. Above all, it shows how much of France—past and present—remains to be discovered. A New York Times Notable Book, Publishers Weekly Best Book, Slate Best Book, and Booklist Editor's Choice.

"The book and map describe touring routes north of the Loire. The book also details an additional 100-plus greenways, covering all the major off-road traffic-free trails in Northern France. The waterproof map describes 8 touring routes with 1:200,000 Michelin mapping plus detailed area and town maps. The 8 routes are - Brittany Coast to Coast; Around the Cotentin; St. Malo - Mont St. Michel Circular; Avenue Verte & Seine Valley (Dieppe-Paris-Le Havre); Boulogne to Lille; Paris & the Marne Valley; Rhone to Rhine via the Vosges; and, North Burgundy (Burgundy & Nivernais Canals). The accompanying 256 page book has supporting information for the featured touring routes including directions, cycle-friendly accommodation listings and places of interest. The section on greenways explores these additional routes region by region, the majority being detailed on 1:200,000 Michelin maps - ideal rides for day trips and long weekends."--Publisher description.