Someone hand me my passport!

Karen and Terry Whitehill sound like the perfect dinner party guests. I've never met them but just reading about their journey on their quest to write the perfect cycle tour book of Europe makes me want to invite them into my home and learn more about their adventures.

Terry and Karen are well qualified to write a cycle touring tome - they are the authors of France by Bike: 14 Tours Geared for Discovery and they have logged countless kilometres researching the routes in their book 'Europe by Bike: 18 Tours Geared for Discovery'.

While much of the pre trip planning information is geared towards an American audience there is much that an Australian traveller can glean from the Whitehill's experience, including the suggestion to purchase camping permits for Sweden and Denmark and that a camping garnet is a good buy as it gives discounts across Europe in camping grounds.

Before they launch into the actual tour itineraries, Terry and Karen give loads of advice on planning your trip, outfitting your bike, what to take and some survival skills required. They emphasise the importance of locks for bikes and the wearing of bike helmets while riding. And they give very good reasons why a daily bike maintenance check is a good habit to get into.

One suggestion, which I have never managed on my overseas jaunts, is to take a notebook and jot down your day's memories. 'The time you spend recoding these moments will be an investment in your future and you'll go home at the end of your tour with a treasure of experiences that fading memories and jumbled recollections will never erase.'

As it's title suggests there are 18 tours mapped out where you can cycle in European countries including England, Holland, France, Luxembourg, Germany, Greece, Hungry and the list goes on. With some minor exceptions all of the routes are on secondary roads, quiet with only minimal local traffic. Traffic conditions are graded as you head towards some of the larger centres.

All of the tours list a starting point and a destination, with kilometres to travel, time expected to cycle, best time of the year to cycle, terrain and any connecting tours. I have my eye on tours 12 and 13, Vienna, Austria to Budapest, Hungry with a follow on trip to Prague, Czech Republic and ending in Frankfurt, Germany.

The Whitehills do rely on you to have done some pre trip homework and gathered the most up to date maps that you can find which can be displayed on your handlebars. The maps in the book are to be used as a guide only. The road names and details are quite comprehensive, but when travelling in or near the larger towns and cities routes may have changed and it is advisable to use local knowledge for your guide as well.

Each route is described in detail and broken down into a day-by-day ride. Some of the local lingo and common phrases are included and accommodation options listed. Address details for information centres as well as train stations and airports and information on how to get you and your bike to them is also included.

Descriptions on what you can expect throughout your day's ride are concise but enticing - 'Ancient stone houses, a tidy village church with a creaky cemetery and a covered market cross all beg a photographer's attention.' And the Whitehills are also brutally honest about some of the terrain you can expect in some of the rides - 'A diving descent to cross a tiny creek will lead you into an exhausting climb to another ridge top. Pedal onwards, cursing British roads with every stroke, then leap into a wild, curving downhill plunge that leads into an intersection with the suicidally busy main road into Bath.' Sounds like a daily commute in Brisbane to me!

Four years ago I had my appetite whetted for cycle touring in foreign countries by my participation in a cycle/hiking tour through the gorgeous Tuscan countryside. And after reading the non nonsense guide that the Whitehills have compiled I am ready to set off again - as I said, 'someone hand me my passport!'

For more details on 'Europe By Bike: 18 Tours Geared For Discovery' follow this link.