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Mariet Westermann

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Georgeanne Brennan

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Tour de France

READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

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Enrich your travels with reading! Here's a hand-picked list prepared for your journey in conjunction with the book experts at Longitude.

Essential Reading

Item EXFRN440. Buy these 4 items as a set for $61 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
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Tour De France, The History, the Legend, the Riders

Tour De France, The History, the Legend, the Riders

by Graeme Fife

  • SPORT
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 496 PAGES

Active cyclist and writer Fife provides compelling insights into the colorful history of the tour and its mystique. (FRN886, $19.95)

French Revolutions, Cycling the Tour De France

French Revolutions, Cycling the Tour De France

by Tim Moore

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 277 PAGES

British humorist, travel writer -- and woefully inexperienced cyclist -- Moore attempts to tackle the Tour de France, all 2,256 miles of it, in this hilarious, irreverent travelogue. (FRN387, $15.99)

It's Not about the Bike, My Journey Back to Life

It's Not about the Bike, My Journey Back to Life

by Sally Jenkins | Lance Armstrong

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

Not just an inspirational account of Armstrong's battle with cancer, this memoir reveals the athlete's scrappy youth, coming-of-age, marriage, fatherhood -- and a great deal about the elite world of championship cycling. (GEN258, $16.00)

Midi Pyrenees Map 525

Midi Pyrenees Map 525

by Michelin Travel Publications

  • MAP

A nicely detailed (1:200,000), frequently updated regional map of the central Pyrenees, centered on Toulouse. (FRN163, $12.99)

 
France Bicycling Map 906

France Bicycling Map 906


by Institut Geographique National

  • MAP

This map shows long distance bicycling routes and trails throughout France at a scale of 1:1,000,000. (FRN685, $12.95)

Cycle Touring In France

Cycle Touring In France


by Stephen Fox

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2006
  • PAPER

A compact, practical guide to eight week and two-week bicycle tours, including routes through Brittany, Picardy, Alsace, Auvergne, Languedoc, Provence, Dordogne, Lot, the Alps and Pyrenees. (FRN686, $19.95)

Cycling the Canal du Midi, Across Southern France from Toulouse to Sete

Cycling the Canal du Midi, Across Southern France from Toulouse to Sete


by Declan Lyons

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 192 PAGES

A practical guide to cycling the historic Canal du Midi in the Languedoc. (FRN799, $21.95)

Eyewitness Guide France

Eyewitness Guide France


by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 720 PAGES

This superb guide to all of France features color photography, dozens of excellent local maps and a region-by-region synopsis of the country's attractions. Handsome, convenient and up-to-date, this is the guide to carry. (FRN01, $30.00)

French or Foe?

French or Foe?


by Polly Platt

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 292 PAGES
  • OUT OF PRINT

With humor, directness and great insight, this compact book is an expert and entertaining guide to the French and how to get along with them. The expanded third edition addresses France's romance with cell phones and includes a short chapter of recent vignettes. (FRN54, $16.95)

Getting Back in Shape, 32 Workout Programs for Lifelong Fitness

Getting Back in Shape, 32 Workout Programs for Lifelong Fitness


by Ed Burke

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 164 PAGES

This practical guide features advice from four experts: Mr. Universe Bill Pearl (weight training); Stretching author Bob Anderson (stretching); Olympic cyclist Ed Burke (aerobic exercise); and Olympic runner Jeff Galoway (tackling fat). (GEN269, $16.95)

Lonely Planet Cycling France

Lonely Planet Cycling France


by Lonely Planet

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 480 PAGES

Here's a practical, cycle-themed guide to France, offering the usual Lonely Planet detail on where to stay and eat -- plus the best bike routes and an overview of the Tour de France. (FRN356, $24.99)

Lonely Planet French Phrasebook

Lonely Planet French Phrasebook


by Marie-Helene Girard | Anny Monet

  • LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES

This handy phrasebook focuses on pronunciation, basic grammar and essential vocabulary for the traveler. (FRN120, $8.99)

Michelin Green Guide Languedoc Roussillon Tarn Gorges,

Michelin Green Guide Languedoc Roussillon Tarn Gorges,


by Michelin Travel Publications

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 561 PAGES

A venerable driving guide to the Langedoc region by Michelin, organized alphabetically and featuring detailed local maps. (FRN265, $21.99)

The Cyclist's Training Bible

The Cyclist's Training Bible


by Joe Friel

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES

Technical, yet comprehensive, this terrific guide, designed for the serious cyclist, has all the tools to help stay healthy and get in shape. (BCY10, $24.95)

The Essential Touring Cyclist, A Complete Course for the Bicycle Traveler

The Essential Touring Cyclist, A Complete Course for the Bicycle Traveler


by Richard A. Lovett

  • REFERENCE
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 160 PAGES

Whether you're heading out for five hours or five months, this vividly illustrated and resource-rich guide to bicycle touring delivers. With hints for planning your tour, safe riding techniques and advice on traveling with your bike. (BCY01, $16.95)

Blazing Saddles, The Cruel and Unusual History of the Tour De France

Blazing Saddles, The Cruel and Unusual History of the Tour De France


by Matt Rendell

  • HISTORY
  • 2008
  • HARD COVER
  • 320 PAGES

Award-winning sports writer Rendell relates the riotous history of cycling's most popular race. Includes over 100 classic photographs. (FRN964, $24.95)

France from the Air


by Yann Arthus-Bertrand

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2006
  • HARD COVER
  • 340 PAGES

This spectacular book of photographs, one in a series by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, showcases the rivers, fields, landscapes and cities of France in a series of dramatic low-altitude shots. With a introductory history and descriptive captions. (FRN598, $55.00)

Pop-up Tour De France, The World's Greatest Bike Race

Pop-up Tour De France, The World's Greatest Bike Race


by Pamela Pease

  • SPORT
  • 2009
  • HARD COVER

The enterprising Pamela Pease, devoted practitioner of the moveable book, presents a delightful and informative history, guide and celebration of the 200 cyclists in the Tour de France. With popup cyclists, mountains, a glossary of participants and more. (FRN831, $36.00)

The Discovery of France

The Discovery of France


by Graham Robb

  • HISTORY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 480 PAGES

Winner of the 2008 Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize, Robb's erudite portrait, the result of time both in the library and on his bicycle, marvelously illuminates the rural byways, history and charting of France. (FRN770, $17.95)

The Tour De France, A Cultural History

The Tour De France, A Cultural History


by C. S. Thompson

  • HISTORY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 406 PAGES

This lively, engaging history of the famous cycling event goes beyond a simple history of the race to consider the Tour de France and its meaning in a wider cultural context. (FRN584, $24.95)

We Might as Well Win

We Might as Well Win


by Lance Armstrong | Johan Bruyneel

  • SPORT
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 240 PAGES

Whether mounting a difficult climb, managing a team of 30 riders and 40 support staff from a miniature car hurtling along narrow European roads or looking a future legend in the eye and willing him to believe, Bruyneel's coaching acumen works: eight Tour de France victories. (BCY12, $14.95)

Adventures on the Wine Route, A Wine Buyer's Tour of France

Adventures on the Wine Route, A Wine Buyer's Tour of France


by Kermit Lynch

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1990
  • PAPER
  • 271 PAGES

A delightful and warmly anecdotal book, highly recommended for anyone touring the wine regions of France. Lynch brings the domains and appellations of French wine to full-blown life, and his portraits of the grand personalities who make the wine are priceless. (FRN72, $19.00)

Paris to the Moon

Paris to the Moon


by Adam Gopnik

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 338 PAGES

Gopnik writes with candor and humor about Paris and Parisian ways in these charming reflections on adapting to life abroad. (FRN208, $16.00)

France, A Traveler's Literary Companion

France, A Traveler's Literary Companion


by William Rodarmor

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

This collection contains literary gems from all corners of France--not just Paris--by a select group of 20th-century French writers, from Colette to Georges Simenon. (FRN767, $14.95)

North Wind in Your Spokes, A Novel of the Tour de France


by Hans Blickensdorfer

  • LITERATURE
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES

German sportswriter Blickdorfer crafts suspense out his tale of the race, a heady mix of ambition, drugs, bad behavior and the thrill of cycling. (FRN386, $13.00)

The Quotable Cyclist, Great Moments of Bicycling Wisdom, Inspiration and Humor

The Quotable Cyclist, Great Moments of Bicycling Wisdom, Inspiration and Humor


by Bill Strickland

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 359 PAGES

This trove features pearls of wisdom on cycling from Lance Armstrong, John F. Kennedy, Mark Twain, H.G. Wells and many, many more. (BCY03, $13.00)

More Recommendations

Here are some other groups of books that might be of interest

Longitude provides recommended reading for travelers in partnership with the leading tour operators and travel programs for hundreds of destinations worldwide. We've got the classic, new and hard-to-find books and maps to help you get the most out of your adventures.