Cycling in Europe

By F. A. Elwell18995 chapters

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Contents

• Introduction (opens in a new tab)

  Isaac B. Potter, the L.A.W. president, introduces the handbook in December 1898 as the first volume of the League's Cyclist's Library, written for members touring the Old World and vouched for by Elwell's long experience of guiding parties through Europe.
• I. The Subject in Outline (opens in a new tab)

  Europe is presented as the great cycling ground, and the chapter weighs the tourist who has much time against the one who has much money before running through the countries in turn: Ireland (Cork, Dublin and the Antrim coast to Belfast), Scotland (Loch Lomond, the Trossachs, Edinburgh, Melrose and Abbotsford), England (the Lakes, London and the Channel crossing), France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany (the Rhine and the Black Forest) and Holland, with the best months for each.
• II. The Roads and Other Matters (opens in a new tab)

  The roads of Britain, Ireland and France are compared, with the French maintenance system of conductors and cantonniers praised and the flints of Normandy blamed for puncturing thin American tyres; the chapter then covers Swiss, German and Norwegian surfaces and the best months to visit each country. It goes on to the cost of travel, with steamers from Portland and Montreal to Liverpool (a $75 to $100 round trip from Portland in April), express liners of six days from New York, and hotels at about $2.50 a day, Swiss hotels at $2 to $3 a day for meals.
• III. Useful Hints and Information (opens in a new tab)

  Practical advice on drink (English wells scarce, the wayside pubs poor), fees and tips, a daily budget and laundry, the best guidebooks (Baedeker at $1.80 to $3.00), membership of the Touring Club de France, French, road maps, passports, and carrying money by letter of credit or traveller's cheque. It closes with the personal outfit: a spare double-tube tyre, a bell, a waterproof garment and riding clothes.
• IV. Where and How to Go (opens in a new tab)

  Advice on choosing companions and arranging a party, with a note for ladies, and on keeping daily runs moderate. It gives suggested routes: a seven-day Irish tour from Cork through Bantry, Glengariff, Kenmare and Killarney to Dublin, a Chester stop with a day at Eaton Hall and Hawarden Castle, a crossing from Dieppe with the C.T.C. credentials, Swiss routes from Chillon through Interlaken and Thun, and a week's tour of Holland from Rotterdam.