BOOKS WORTH
A LOOK

OLD MAN ON A BIKE

Simon Gandolfi's book is an inspiration to anyone who is say aged 72 but still feels 27 inside, or indeed any person who refuses to accept the idea of a "sell by date"

He was 73 when he set off from the Gulf of Mexico and made his motorbike trip to Tierra Fuego at the southern tip of South of America. Currently, at the age of 77 he is on a two-wheel adventure that focuses on India. He writes a daily blog as he travels and you can savour the experience by reading it (and past archives) at http://www.simongandolfi.blogspot.com

The contents of the blog will no doubt surface as a new book, meantime I would recommend reading "Old Man on a Bike"

It is an enjoyable and informative account of a journey through the better and lesser known parts of South America. He is a seasoned traveller and writer who knows the continent well, and as he speaks Spanish, has the advantage of being able to get close to the people. One cannot fail to be impressed by the enormity of the journey that he tackled on a little 125cc motorbike. Anthing below that size is a scooter.

MICHELIN - "FRANCE ATLAS 2010."

If anything the arrival of a GPS navigation system in our car has increased the need for a good map rather than removed it.
The GPS voice that guided us in France made places with strange names sound even stranger.

If you opt to not use the motorways it can guide you into some unexpected and beautiful places. Under its direction we turned into a pretty side road which narrowed to a track and when the tarmac gave out we eventually stopped and waited while a farm cat moved her kittens from the warmth of the middle of the road.
Help came when we looked at the Michelin France Atlas 2010. It's large and detailed pages confirmed that the idyll was worth pursuing and that we would not have to reverse back the way we came. The GPS had selected the shortest route as the crow flies!

The Atlas is packed full of information, view points, minor roads distances are all there. At eleven by fifteen and a half inches it is larger than earlier editions.

MICHELIN - "CAMPING FRANCE 2010."

This is the camp guide of choice for France with a selection of 2,600 campsites. It is useful for planning before you leave home and as the entries gives distances to various towns it is useful for finding alternative camp grounds while on the road.

The guide is helpful when you are planning your budget. . From it you will learn that campsites nearer the coast tend to cost more and that generally the municipal sites are good value.

Often web addresses for the campsites are listed.

A regional map at the front of the book guides you to the relevant section, which in turn has a map showing the location of towns and campsites.