About the Book

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</div> <script type="text/javascript"> if (typeof lycos_ad !== "undefined" && "slider" in lycos_ad) { document.write(lycos_ad['slider']); } </script>  <div id="FooterAd" style="background:#DFDCCF; border-top:1px solid #393939; clear:both; display:none; width:100%!important; position:relative; z-index:999999!important; height:90px!important"> <div class="adCenterClass" style="display:block!important; overflow:hidden; width:916px;"> <div id="footerAd_container" style="display:block!important; float:left; width:728px"> <iframe id="lycosFooterAdiFrame" style="border:0; display:block; float:left; height:96px; overflow:hidden; padding:0; width:750px"></iframe> </div> </div> </div> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#003399" TEXT="#080000" background="03cc8c00erkjxk.jpg"> <div> <A HREF="http://www.blairpub.com/outdoortitles/roadcyclingtheblueridge.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.blairpub.com/outdoortitles/ro"><U><B><IMG SRC="09e638b0.png" border=0 width="99" height="139" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></b></U></A></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c899330000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">This 266-page </b><A HREF="id21_m.htm#critics" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="About the Book"><U><B>critically-acclaimed</b></U></A><B> paperback contains 26 rides of all difficulty levels in northwest North Carolina, east Tennessee and southwest Virginia.</b></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c899330000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Each route features cues, map, elevation profile, and listings of roadside attractions and outdoor recreation options.</b></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c899330000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Buy it now at area bookstores and bike shops or </b><A HREF="http://www.blairpub.com/outdoortitles/roadcyclingtheblueridge.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.blairpub.com/outdoortitles/ro"><U><B>click here to order</b></U></A><B>.</b></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#0066CC" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#99CCFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>Road Cycling the Blue Ridge High Country</b></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFF99" FACE="Arial" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#CC0000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT>  |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Road Cycling the Blue Ridge High Country"><U>home</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Peak Cycling: Introducing the Blue Ridge"><U>Peak Cycling: Introducing the Blue Ridge High Country</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Photo Gallery"><U>Photo Gallery</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Weather"><U>Weather</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Your Bike and Gear"><U>Your Bike and Gear</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Area Road Cycling Events"><U>Area Road Cycling Events</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bike Related Links"><U>Bike Related Links</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Area Bike Shops"><U>Area Bike Shops</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id25.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Route Updates"><U>Route Updates</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Visitor Information"><U>Visitor Information</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Area Festivals"><U>Area Festivals</U></A>   |   <B>About the Book</b>   |   <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U>Contact Us</U></A></div> <div> About the Book</div> <div> <I>Road Cycling the Blue Ridge High Country</I><I> </I>is a <A HREF="#critics" TITLE="About the Book"><U>critically acclaimed</U></A> collection of more than two dozen bicycling routes set in the mountains and foothills of the Blue Ridge.  It's the only guide devoted exclusively to road cycling in one of America's cycling hot spots, the Blue Ridge High Country.</div> <bR> <div> The routes range from short "leg stretchers" appropriate for famiies and casual<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.blairpub.com/outdoortitles/roadcyclingtheblueridge.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.blairpub.com/outdoortitles/ro"><U><IMG SRC="05a6f9c0.png" border=0 width="111" height="156" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="10" VSPACE="10"></U></A></FONT> riders to longer, more difficult rides with climbs that have challenged the world's best bike racers. </div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f0ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The book features a variety of routes at varying elevations, including some lower elevation routes closer to the major metro areas of the piedmont.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f0ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Terrain on the routes ranges from pancake flat to wall-like.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f0ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Several routes trace the tracks traveled by the world's top bicycle racers during the Tour DuPont.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f0ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Ride profiles incorporate the history, culture and ecology of the Blue Ridge High Country.</div> <bR> <div> Read <I>Road Cycling the Blue Ridge High Country</I> and learn the answers to these burning questions:</div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f0ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">What High Country summit left Lance Armstrong "a changed man" after a training ride there in 1998?</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f0ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Where's the flattest, family friendliest road cycling route in the Blue Ridge High Country?</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f0ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Where can you ride to Canada without leaving the South?</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f0ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Where can you sample the beverage that's replacing moonshine in the High Country's "bootlegger belt"?</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f0ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">What corner of the High Country has cranberry bogs and possibly the world's shortest tunnel, a 14-foot-long passage you can ride through?</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f0ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">What High Country general store hosts free jam sessions every Friday night?</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f0ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Where are the wickedest climbs in the High Country?</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f0ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Where in the High Country can you fill your water bottles from a spring with reputed healing powers?</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f0ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">What High Country road cycling route is "the closest you'll come to a mountain hike on a road bike"?</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f0ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Where in the High Country can you see frescoes, art works produced by the ancient method of applying mineral pigments to wet plaster?</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B> <A NAME="critics"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></b><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FFFF00" FACE="Arial" >What others are saying</FONT></div> <div>  about <I>Road Cycling the Blue Ridge High Country</I></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>"This smallish, easy-to-fit-in-your-pack volume is a fantastic guide to riding in the Blue Ridge High Country, including myriad tips on roadside attractions, guides to each suggested ride rated by difficulty, scenery, etc. If mountain biking is your thing, this one's a must."</b></div> <bR> <div> -Creative Loafing, Charlotte, N.C.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>"The Blue Ridge provides some of the finest road cycling in the United States, and the 26 rides described in this volume constitute the best the High Country has to offer.  Any serious cyclist should own a copy."</b></div> <bR> <div> -Al Stewart, Our State<I> </I>magazine</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>"Tim Murphy has taken a lot of the guesswork out of high altitude rambles with this guide...Guaranteed to leave you short of breath and cramping just thumbing through it."</b></div> <bR> <div> -Joe Miller, The News and Observer, Raleigh, N.C.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>"Like all good guidebooks, </b><I><B>Road Cycling the Blue Ridge High Country </b></I><B>succeeds both as a handy reference tool and as a good read."</b></div> <bR> <div> -Morgan Simmons, The Knoxville (Tn.) News-Sentinel</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>"Everything a rider needs to know before heading out. Ride descriptions include length, difficulty and scenery descriptions. Maps are straightforward and easy to understand."</b></div> <bR> <div> -Mark Taylor, The Roanoke (Va.) Times</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>"Whether a given route is suitable for weekend and family cycling or for the seasoned athlete, Murphy's book inspires you to get out there and do it."</b></div> <bR> <div> -Margaret Williams, Mountain X-Press, Asheville, N.C.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>"A small paperback that can slip into a backpack easily, </b><I><B>Road Cycling the Blue Ridge High Country </b></I><B>is jam packed with difficulty-rated rides, maps, Tim's photos of fellow cyclists, cues, precise directions, information about road characteristics, elevation profiles, and lists of food, services and outdoor options along the route to make your ride successful."</b></div> <bR> <div> -Yadkin Valley Living magazine</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>"I used your book to plan my road cycling in the High Country this past June 2005. I rode nine of the rides and fournd them to be exactly as represented in your book. The scenery and the road conditions were outstanding, and I was very impressed. Thank you for such a great book."</b></div> <bR> <div> -W.P., Ohio</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>"T</b><B>he book is excellent, really. With that little bible you have saved me some major preparation time. </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Before I head out in the great wide open I usually do a reconnaissance drive (with my car) mapping the interesting and dangerous spots, estimating the climbs and checking for any other useful info. You have done that for me. Excellent !"</b></div> <bR> <div> -L.S., Georgia</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U><B>Contact Us</b></U></A></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>