Where-to books for Bay Area biking

From the ocean's edge to oak-bordered bike paths, the Bay Area is a great place to bicycle. The increasing popularity of the sport in this region has given rise to cycling guides offering a wide variety of local perspectives: some give aerial views; some graph elevation and mileage; some offer detailed route descriptions. Here we list the eight books we found most widely available in bike shops and bookstores. There are choices for any rider, from Sunday afternoon pedalers to those who like to test their mettle on steep, rock-strewn back roads. All the books rate routes according to ability. We also list a map set we found especially helpful and easy to use but in extremely short supply.

A Bicyclist's Guide to Bay Area History, by Carol O'Hare Fair Oaks Publishing, Sunnyvale, Calif.,(1989; $8.95), is perfect for weekend rambles. It offers rich historical detail and hand-drawn maps for 18 bike loops, 6 to 68 miles long, between Sonoma and Santa Cruz. Unfortunately, descriptions tend to bury road directions.

Bay Area Bike Rides, by Ray Hosler (Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 1990; $9.95), covers 40 road, backcountry, and "casual" routes, 5 to 104 miles long, between Sonoma and Santa Clara. A good marriage of map and tour guidebook, this provides on-road help with distance, terrain, traffic information, and a mileage log. Off-road stops are described in a narrative peppered with area history and geology. Route maps and elevation graphs are also provided.

Marin County Bike Trails, by Phyllis L. Neumann (Penngrove Publications, Penngrove, Calif., 1989; $9.95), covers 47 on- and off-road rides, offering lots of short-cuts and route options. This very thorough, well-organized guide offers mileage, terrain descriptions, maps, route profiles, even suggestions on what type of bike to use.

The Marin Mountain Bike Guide, by Armor Todd (Wheel Escapes, Larkspur, Calif., 1989, revised 1990; $9.95), offers hand-drawn maps of 60 fire roads to let you tailor a ride to your own abilities, and maps of 11 loops up to 20 miles long. The new edition reaches far enough north to cover Annadel State Park in Santa Rosa.

Mountain Biking in the Bay Area, Volume 1, by Michael Hodgson and Mark Lord (Western Tanager Press, Santa Cruz, 1989; $9.95), covers 22 backcountry rides south of San Francisco. Illustrations include elevation graphs and bare-bones maps (with few reference points and no scales). Volume 2, covering the North Bay, is due in July.

North San Francisco/Sacramento Bicycle Touring Map, by Richard Krebs (self-published, Berkeley, 1989; $5.95), is a hand-drawn map packed with information: graphics indicate traffic, services (groceries, bike shops, points of interest), and public recreational facilities (camping, swimming, fishing).

Roads to Ride, by Grant Peterson with Mary Anderson Heyday Books, Berkeley, 1984, revised 1989; $7.95), is frequently recommended (one of our sources called it "the bible for local cyclists"). It graphs 21 1 roads in chapters on Alameda, Contra Costa, and Marin counties, and marks road intersections and conditions. But the format takes some getting used to; to find a route, you have to flip from annotated profiles of specific segments to detailed county maps heading the chapters (there are no step-by-step directions).

Touring the San Francisco Bay Area by Bicycle, by Peter Powers (Terragraphics, Eugene, Ore., 1990; 10.95), is a handy, pocket-size guide to 34 routes, 4 to 51 miles long, between Petaluma and Santa Cruz. Area maps depict local terrain; the book includes route maps, elevation graphs, mile-by-mile directions, landmarks, even average calories burned per route.

At our press time, only 200 copies of Bay Area Bicycle Maps (Coast Range Press, Menlo Park, Calif., 1990; $5.98) remained available. Packaged together (in a pamphlet listing local bike organizations, events, and lore), these 10 maps are straightforward and informative. Call (415) 325-1731 for help finding them. JULY 1990