London Cycling Guide written by Tom Bogdanowicz published by imm Lifestyle Books reviewed by Matthew Pioro

It is nice to see London by bike. In 2011, with the city’s public-hire bikes (often referred to as Boris bikes after former mayor and famous Brexitter, Boris Johnson) less than a year old, my wife, two friends and I got four of the bulky rigs, crossed the Thames and went around the Tate Modern and the Globe Theatre. The bikes were efficient and fun vehicles for getting around the city we wanted to take in.

Whiletombogdanowicztouchesbrieflyonthesantander Cycles, as they are called officially, he also covers many other facets of riding and experiencing the English capital. The first section of the book will serve any novice cyclist, no matter the city. There’s information about the parts of a bike, types of bikes, buying one and related gear. The section on urban cycling techniques has great advice, especially for riding in the big city where, to a North American, everything is on the wrong side of the road.

“The rides range in time from about 1.5 to four hours (not taking into account stops for tea).”

The bulk of the book is routes that take you through London. They were designed by the London Cycling Campaign, where Bogdanowicz is the policy and development officer. The organization is not only an advocacy group, but it helps create free cycling guides. In fact, you can find even more information on the routes presented in the book in complementary Local Cycling Guides. Each route in the book outlines the sights you’ll see, has recommendations for places to eat and lists the nearest rail and underground stations. Bogdanowicz writes, “The rides range in time from about 1.5 to four hours (not taking into account stops for tea).”

I especially like the detailed maps because London, unlike my city, wasn’t built on a grid, which is part of the fun of riding around that town.