For those who bought my book, Switchbacks

[velotel]

Now that the summer's over, creeping on towards winter, I'm wondering what those who bought my book, and presumably read it, or at least part of it, think of it. Like it, love it, disappointed in it, too big, not big enough, too long, too short, whatever. For me it's like I put all that energy into doing the book, put it out there, then it just kind of disappeared with only a couple of quick comments on it. So I'm curious.

Besides, if people liked it and say so, maybe others will think, cool, I need to buy it myself, or give as a gift to someone. Haven't quite reached the break even point yet so maybe, if feedback is good, there'll be a resulting sales boost to put me in the black.

I'm also going to be in Colorado early November for my son's birthday. Maybe there will be a book signing deal at Vecchio's while I'm there. Maybe. I'll have to reteach my hand how to use a pen instead of typing and how to sign my name for the maybe 3 or 4 books I'll be asked to sign.

Anyway, just a small request. Thanks for your time.

Cheers

[jmal]

I have not finished it yet as I'm usually riding or doing family activities this time of year. Once the riding weather disappears I'll return to it. I really like it, particularly the writing. There is very little good writing about cycling that is not related to racing or focused on tourism, where the exotic locale seems more the focus than the riding itself. I like your passion for riding and experiencing your local terrain, which may be exotic to some, but is familiar to you, and is presented that way. I'd buy a second volume if it ever materializes.

[tv_vt]

I need to buy it!

[Keith A]

I need to buy it!Here's the info to purchase his book...
http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=170477

[sparky33]

I really like that there is a topo map showing village names along each route. I like to flip back to the map occasionally while reading the story. Maps are great.

The book is great. Size is about right. The writing keeps you moving. I particularly enjoyed the intermittent stories that were not about specific routes... the ones about more general topics like riding in the rain or getting less-young.

[teleguy57]

I need to buy it!

It is on my Christmas list.

[zennmotion]

I love the book. Like many books, I started in the middle and I jump around, and I've read it in small pieces. The photos are the heart of the book and as a lover of mountains and landscapes (I was a geologist in my early career) I get fixated on those, and then my inner cyclist kicks in to check out the roads, and imagine where they might go at the edges of the photo frame. So that doesn't make for sustained reading on the first time through. But later I go back and read the stories and ride reports and I enjoy them, you and your son are guys I would love to ride with and tip a beer afterward (or coffee, shivering from hypothermia from some of those rides!) Mountains are hard to shoot, especially with a camera that fits in a little bag that you carry on your back, and you're not a professional photographer, so major kudos to you for a real work of passion. I would love a second volume! Maybe- just an idea- sprinkle in a few anecdotes of local history or descriptions of what we're looking at. And absolutely keep the maps, love the maps! What would a non-cyclist local say about their road, or village or farm? I've found the book to be a really nice stress release after a long day in wound-up-tight Washington DC. And it also reminds me that I need to make more of an effort to seek my own adventure rides. The Appalachians close to my home are not the French Alps by any stretch, but they have their own beauty and I forget what's out there and accessible even here. Thank you Hank!

PS you know what? I just looked again at the photos- critically. They are beautiful. Don't change a thing. Really!

[zennmotion]

I need to buy it!

Yes, you do, the internet cannot completely replace books like this. If you own a shelf, it needs Hank's book. And you will enjoy it longer than that carbon frame you've been thinking about...

Hey, I think I just wrote my first back cover quote! Too bad I'm not famous. For the right things anyway.

[54ny77]

It's my fireside read....and winter is fast upon us. ;)

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z113/jpmz06/Bike/IMG_20150923_132044_078_zpszhfbn9ec.jpg (http://s191.photobucket.com/user/jpmz06/media/Bike/IMG_20150923_132044_078_zpszhfbn9ec.jpg.html)

[bking]

anyone who loves to ride, anyone who "giggles", quietly--you know who you are, when they find that perfect mix of road, scenery and sun or shadow, will enjoy this book. thanks Hank for sticking your neck out there to share with the rest of us.
hope you move them, they deserve a better home than in some box.

[unterhausen]

I've been thinking about making a coffee table. My wife really likes them, but we got rid of the last one because it was such a horrible piece of junk. This book would be perfect to set on a coffee table

[weisan]

Sometimes, we don't quite know the impact we are making until much later. It's especially true for most things that are not fashionable or the latest fad. People warm up to these things slowly. Over time, they get rediscovered again... and again, and enjoyed throughout the generations. They have the staying power.

And that's the way I think about Hank's book.
It's not a throwaway paperback. It's not sexy or glamorous. It's something that I can come back to later and discover details that I have missed earlier or relive the experience again without feeling stale or repetitive.

Using the analogy of a fire... Rather than the fast burning, almost blinding starter fire, it's more like the red-hot ambers, pulsating and offering different shades, I can stare at that thing forever and never get tired or bored. :D

[redir]

So far I've only looked at the pictures but they are fantastic. I'll get around to reading it soon. Should have brought it on my current business trip as thats when I get a lot of reading done.

[velotel]

I have not finished it yet as I'm usually riding or doing family activities this time of year. Once the riding weather disappears I'll return to it. I really like it, particularly the writing. There is very little good writing about cycling that is not related to racing or focused on tourism, where the exotic locale seems more the focus than the riding itself. I like your passion for riding and experiencing your local terrain, which may be exotic to some, but is familiar to you, and is presented that way. I'd buy a second volume if it ever materializes.
Vol II will happen if I sell enough of Vol I to cover the costs so my fingers are crossed.

Here's the info to purchase his book...
http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=170477
Thanks, Keith, for that. I should have thought of putting in a link to my site for the book but didn't. I'm afraid the marketing of the book isn't my strong point. Oh well. So thanks much for thinking of that.

I really like that there is a topo map showing village names along each route. I like to flip back to the map occasionally while reading the story. Maps are great.

The book is great. Size is about right. The writing keeps you moving. I particularly enjoyed the intermittent stories that were not about specific routes... the ones about more general topics like riding in the rain or getting less-young.
Have to laugh about the map comment because first off I included those somewhat reluctantly. Mostly because I don't have any software with which to do some really good maps but also because I just figured people wouldn't give them much of a look. Guess I was wrong on that. But I still feel a need to apologize for the maps because they're really not all that good. They're jpg's of maps from ridewithgps.com, a site for mapping my rides I rather appreciate and use regularly. But if I could have I would have done maps that really showed the relief better in some sort of 3-d presentation. I've seen that done but have no idea how to do it so just did it the easiest way.

I must admit I rather like all the little side essays in the book too. For me they break up the mass and add another dimension to the book. Glad you enjoy them.

I love the book. Like many books, I started in the middle and I jump around, and I've read it in small pieces. The photos are the heart of the book and as a lover of mountains and landscapes (I was a geologist in my early career) I get fixated on those, and then my inner cyclist kicks in to check out the roads, and imagine where they might go at the edges of the photo frame. So that doesn't make for sustained reading on the first time through. But later I go back and read the stories and ride reports and I enjoy them, you and your son are guys I would love to ride with and tip a beer afterward (or coffee, shivering from hypothermia from some of those rides!) Mountains are hard to shoot, especially with a camera that fits in a little bag that you carry on your back, and you're not a professional photographer, so major kudos to you for a real work of passion. I would love a second volume! Maybe- just an idea- sprinkle in a few anecdotes of local history or descriptions of what we're looking at. And absolutely keep the maps, love the maps! What would a non-cyclist local say about their road, or village or farm? I've found the book to be a really nice stress release after a long day in wound-up-tight Washington DC. And it also reminds me that I need to make more of an effort to seek my own adventure rides. The Appalachians close to my home are not the French Alps by any stretch, but they have their own beauty and I forget what's out there and accessible even here. Thank you Hank!

PS you know what? I just looked again at the photos- critically. They are beautiful. Don't change a thing. Really!
Thanks, and I really like your reaction about realizing that you need to get out and explore the roads where you are. Obviously my book is about riding here but in my mind, the book is vastly more about just riding a bike and getting out and exploring. Like I said somewhere I think in the intro, I make no claims that the riding here is the best because I know there's great riding to be found everywhere. But the only way to discover the great rides is to go and for me, the book is about hopefully inspiring people to put it down and get on their bikes and go ride, go find cool roads wherever they are. Thanks again for your words.

anyone who loves to ride, anyone who "giggles", quietly--you know who you are, when they find that perfect mix of road, scenery and sun or shadow, will enjoy this book. thanks Hank for sticking your neck out there to share with the rest of us.
hope you move them, they deserve a better home than in some box.
I agree, they do deserve a better home than sitting at the printer's waiting to get shipped. Thanks

Sometimes, we don't quite know the impact we are making until much later. It's especially true for most things that are not fashionable or the latest fad. People warm up to these things slowly. Over time, they get rediscovered again... and again, and enjoyed throughout the generations. They have the staying power.

And that's the way I think about Hank's book.
It's not a throwaway paperback. It's not sexy or glamorous. It's something that I can come back to later and discover details that I have missed earlier or relive the experience again without feeling stale or repetitive.

Using the analogy of a fire... Rather than the fast burning, almost blinding starter fire, it's more like the red-hot ambers, pulsating and offering different shades, I can stare at that thing forever and never get tired or bored. :D
Hey, what's this! You saying I'm not fashionable, not the mode, not sexy and glamorous! Damn, guess I better change my hair style and clothes. And get a carbon fiber framed bike. But then again on second, even third thoughts, none of that would probably do me much good, kind of like that saying about putting lipstick on a pig or something like that, could be I've totally mixed up some stuff there. Oh well.

But really thanks very much for your generous and kind words. Very much appreciated

And thanks to all for taking the time to reply. Like I said in the post, I've been wondering what in the heck people think of the book. Now I'm getting an idea. Thanks much

[OtayBW]

Perhaps a different slant on things. I really do enjoy the book and your posts here, of course. However, like 'reading a Playboy', I always look at the pictures ahem...first. Point is that it's clear (to me) that you really enjoy writing. As rich as it is, however, I simply do not always have the time - or frankly, the interest (forgive me...) - for reading things at length. I look at your book sometimes this same way. It can sometimes be too much reading for what I'm interested at the time. That's just me, though....

AI used to have a professor as an undergraduate who wrote/published the textbook for a course that dealt with complex, theoretical geometric visualizations. He had this unbelievably good technical illustrator produce some amazing figures, and then he created incredibly rich and detailed figure captions that were so good, he barely needed much text to accompany them. It was a relatively short book as a result, but I still consider it to be perhaps the most effective textbook that I have ever seen. It still sits on my bookshelf.

So, what I'm suggesting is that you consider adding some descriptive figure captions to guide the reader, and let them decide what they want to read of the text at their leisure. The pictures are front and center; the narrative and your writing style add a great deal of richness, but the pictures tell the story. Highlight them more directly, and I would bet that your book might have broader appeal than that which appeals largely to us cycle nuts....

Best of luck, and I'll be at the front of the line for v.2.

My own long post now over....

[weisan]

Otay pal is right on the money.

[velotel]

Perhaps a different slant on things. I really do enjoy the book and your posts here, of course. However, like 'reading a Playboy', I always look at the pictures ahem...first. Point is that it's clear (to me) that you really enjoy writing. As rich as it is, however, I simply do not always have the time - or frankly, the interest (forgive me...) - for reading things at length. I look at your book sometimes this same way. It can sometimes be too much reading for what I'm interested at the time. That's just me, though....

AI used to have a professor as an undergraduate who wrote/published the textbook for a course that dealt with complex, theoretical geometric visualizations. He had this unbelievably good technical illustrator produce some amazing figures, and then he created incredibly rich and detailed figure captions that were so good, he barely needed much text to accompany them. It was a relatively short book as a result, but I still consider it to be perhaps the most effective textbook that I have ever seen. It still sits on my bookshelf.

So, what I'm suggesting is that you consider adding some descriptive figure captions to guide the reader, and let them decide what they want to read of the text at their leisure. The pictures are front and center; the narrative and your writing style add a great deal of richness, but the pictures tell the story. Highlight them more directly, and I would bet that your book might have broader appeal than that which appeals largely to us cycle nuts....

Best of luck, and I'll be at the front of the line for v.2.

My own long post now over....
Thanks for the suggestions. I've already had some thoughts a bit along those lines for Vol II, assuming I do it. The first was a good learning experience. I'll keep your advice in mind. Thanks again