Back Roads Bicycling in Bucks County, Pa.: An insiders guide to the best places to ride

New guidebook has maps and directions for more than 40 rides on bike paths and scenic country roads in beautiful Bucks County, Pa.

Cycling enthusiast Catherine D. Kerr collects country back roads the way bird-watchers keep lists of the species of birds theyve spotted over a lifetime. The birders call it a life list. Maybe I should call mine a life map," says Kerr, the author of "Back Roads Bicycling in Bucks County, Pa.," which has just been released in a completely revised and updated edition, including a number of new routes.

The book describes more than 40 rides throughout Bucks County, ranging in difficulty from short, flat bike paths to longer, more challenging routes. Each ride includes a map, descriptive material and directions arranged on perforated pages that can be taken out of the book and carried in a standard map protector for handy reference. Although at first glance the design might seem odd, the maps and directions are printed sideways so they can also been easily consulted without removing them.

Kerr, a New Hope, Pa., resident, says keeping a list of pretty roads is only the beginning of her work. The next step involves finding ways to connect them without taking cyclists onto roads that are too busy or too hilly. Each route has to begin and end at the same place, and that place must have a parking area that is open to the public, so cyclists can drive to the starting point and leave their cars behind while they ride. Putting it all together sometimes isnt as easy at it might seem," she says.

One of the most popular chapters includes full information about riding the towpath along the Delaware Canal, including nearby places to park and the location of bridges that cross the Delaware River to connect with the path along the Delaware and Raritan Canal on the other side. Other routes include rides that are perennial favorites with local cyclists such as Fleecydale Road, Cuttalossa Road and Ridge Road.

I feel unbelievably lucky to live in a place that has so much wonderful scenery, and in my opinion bicycling is absolutely one of the best ways to get out and enjoy it," says Kerr, who has been a reporter and editor for newspapers including Newsday, the Trenton Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer. She is also the author of "Walking Bucks County, Pa."

"Back Roads Bicycling in Bucks County, Pa.," which sells for $14.95, is available at bike shops, bookstores and through the Freewheeling Press Web site at www.freewheelingpress.com.