"Hampshire and the Isle of Wight" is one of 10 titles in the updated "Cycle Tours" series. The series has now been in continuous print for more than 15 years and with regular route revisions and updating the successful formula has gathered a large following. Each book in the series contains 20 routes all of which are either totally new or have been re-ridden and updated. There are 15 lane rides of between 23 and 37 miles taking you along low-traffic or traffic free roads, tracks and paths. These visit the beautiful villages and rolling countryside of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight with suggested short cuts for shorter rides, and suggested links to other nearby rides for a full day out. The 5 off-road rides of between 10 and 20 miles explore the Hampshire Downs, the New Forest, the Isle of Wight and the South Downs. A unique feature of the "Cycle Tours" series is the superb Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger mapping showing the routes of the rides.
The mapping not only gives the detail and clarity you need to follow the route with ease and safety, but allows you to plan short-cuts and detours, to look out for new places of interest, and to become truly involved in the landscape you are cycling through. Clear directions are given alongside the mapping and elevation profiles make planning the pacing of each ride an easy task. Extra information includes an introduction to the area of the route, nearest railway stations, places of interest with descriptions, guides to refreshment stops, and clear indications of distance, grade and terrain. The books are practically designed with a spiral-binding to make route-following as simple as possible.

Nick Cotton has written over 40 bike guides and helped produce many maps and leaflets covering the country from Cornwall to Scotland. Over the past 20 years he has cycled more than 50,000 miles in the course of his research, forever hunting the quietest, most attractive lanes, the finest offroad tracks and best waymarked trails while fuelling up at the great variety of cafes, tearooms and pubs he finds along the way. He has trekked and travelled extensively, climbing to over 18,000ft on three continents. He has taken his bike over the Atlas Mountains in Morocco and through the harsh beauty and cruel winds of Patagonia. Born in Bristol and having spent most of his life in Southern England, he and his family moved to Cumbria in 2004 and is still struck in wonderment at the surrounding beauty of the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales.