A Guide Book That Actually Guides

WHAT: BikeMapDude’s Mountain Biking the Bay Area WHERE: bikemapdude.com HOW MUCH: $19.95

The trail guide market is saturated—just one crappy guide book after another flooding the shelves of your local book shop; telling you where all the boring fireroad rides are; failing to distinguish which trails might actually be interesting to the intermediate or advanced rider. Did I mention the vague directions? Oi. I’m painfully familiar with the shortcomings of many guidebooks because I possess about a hundred of them and I’m currently writing one of my own.

Bike Map Dude’s smartly-done series of California trail guides are, I’m happy to report, an exception to the rule. They are a study in concise, accurate information. Each profiled riding area includes a detailed map, trail ratings, an elevation profile and some general tips on what to expect and where to ride. Mountain Biking the Bay Area is a collection of trail maps and write-ups to premier destinations such as China Camp, Pine Mountain, Purisma Creek, Camp Tamarancho, Soquel Demonstration Forest and Mount Tam.

If you’re a fan of long, dense columns of edit, you’ll probably be disappointed with this product. Tolstoy, it ain’t. If, on the other hand, you simply want accurate directions on where to ride and what to expect, you’ll be more than happy to part ways with your twenty bucks. An added plus? Mountain Biking the Bay Area fits conveniently in most hydration pack pockets.