The deck has 50 routes on 4 1/16" x 5 5/8" cards. On one
side there's a color route map, on the other side a brief description
and a mileage log.
The cards
are printed on sweat-resistant stock. That's no to say they're
laminated, but they're a lot more durable than you might imagine. To
get the most life out of the deck, I advise slipping the card into
a sandwich bag. Even better, just make a copy.
What about the book? Chronicle Books has no plans for a fourth edition. The third edition will go the way
of the other two editions. The deck updates the third edition
with 12
new rides.
The deck follows the same format as the book, with
road, off road, and casual routes. Road, dirt, and path are color-coded. Many parks are designated in green.
To help understand the terrain, the maps have route arrows
numbered from 1 to 4, with 1 being a gradual slope.
Red arrows designate
climbing and blue arrows descending.
(The key is wrong.)
As with the book, route profiles show
terrain variation.
While there's less text to fit the
cards, there's still enough to tell you what to expect on the ride, and the
mileage log is left relatively untouched from the book.
One feature I had to leave out was
"how to get there." However, I used Google maps
here to pinpoint the
exact location where the rides start. You can zoom out to get your
bearings and plan how to get there.
You may be wondering: How big is the type? Not as big
as you'd like, but good enough for most people.
Map - actual size.
Text - actual size.
What's in past editions?
All three editions are available from used
book sellers. The third edition is still in stock in some
stores, but buy now before it goes out of print. I use AbeBooks.com
to find used books. Rides in each edition follow:
4th
edition deck (2008 - 50 rides)
3rd edition (2002 - 51 rides)
2nd Edition (1994 - 51 rides)
1st Edition (1990 - 40 rides)
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