The Fundamentals Of Bicycle Touring

From the producers of the excellent The Fundamentals of Bicycle Maintenance (VL-7/93), this new program shows viewers the basics of taking an extended bicycle tour. Following a cycling quartet, the video covers choosing a destination, having the right bike and gear, proper dress (and more importantly how to pack it all in), picking a group leader, handling mountains, simple safety reminders, eating on the road, and camping out. Traveling as a group allows friends to share opinions on interesting philosophical subjects (the three main areas of discourse appear to be "gravel," "potholes," and "glass"), determine fairly quickly who the "weak sister" is, and argue over who makes coffee in the morning. Not really; it all looks like a lot of fun, actually, and those companions who've taken Trivial Pursuit about as far as it will go, may welcome the opportunity to start punishing their bodies rather than their minds for a change of pace. Of course, the foursome on the video makes this look a littler easier than it is: they blithely peddle over the second largest mountain pass in Washington State, for Everest's sake! Not only would I never attempt this on a bicycle, if I tried it with my 4-cylinder Hyundai, that gutless wonder would no doubt rear up on its hind wheels, and make a desperate U-turn at the first sign of an elevated grade. But, hey, for the physically hardy, or people who live in Kansas or Arizona, this is a great tape. Highly recommended. (R. Pitman)