New Guidebook for Bicycling Gettysburg – Get Yours!

March 2019 UPDATE: Bicycling Gettysburg National Military Park is released!

NEWS – Today, Civil War Cycling announces plans to publish the guidebook, Bicycling Gettysburg National Military Park, starting first with a limited set of Advance Review Copies. These pre-release copies offer a sneak peek of you to learn U.S. Civil War history on a bike. And also, the guidebook is complete, tested, copy-edited, proofread, and ready to send to a commercial printer.

Take a ride back in time…

Bicycling Gettysburg National Military Park is a guidebook for both experienced and recreational bicyclists. But it also includes a treasure trove of historical summaries that most everyone can understand. For the bicyclist, the narrative relies heavily on the Gettysburg landscape and historic monuments to tell the story of the Battle of Gettysburg.

But first, a little background. I didn’t start out to write a guidebook. What really happened was different; I experienced the Gettysburg battlefield as a big puzzle of roads, monuments, and ridges.  I enjoyed figuring out the “best” bicycle routes through Gettysburg and creating maps that identify orienteering landmarks. And then I lost myself in the fun of sharing what I had learned about biking Gettysburg.

In the same way, I reveled in the experience of snapping photos. I got hooked reading monument inscriptions and connecting them with stories that I had read.

And now, after four years of fun but intense work, it’s time to publish this guidebook for biking Gettysburg.

New Guidebook for Bicycling Gettysburg – Quick Description

The guidebook includes:

• 34 highly detailed, color bicycling maps over 6,000 acres of park land
• Turn-by-turn directions for a 8-mile circuit, mostly on park roads
• Tips on bicycling gear, restrooms, water, picnic areas, racks,
• 100+ monument photos and GPS points, most marked on maps
• Map-to-text and text-to-map cross references for learning on the road
• Monument histories tied to all 3 days of battle events (July 1-3, 1863)
• 35 labeled landscape photos
• Orienteering tips to connect the battle story to Gettysburg geography
• Concise summary of the Battle of Gettysburg
• 6-page glossary of basic Civil War terms
• 10-page annotated bibliography
• 173 endnotes that document sources

New Guidebook for Bicycling Gettysburg – More Details

Bicycling Gettysburg National Military Park is a 6″ x 9″, full-color, 286-page guidebook that unlocks the logistical keys to a safe, educational, and fun bicycle ride through Gettysburg.

The book tells the three-day story of the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863) from the perspective of a bicyclist. It is packed with 34 maps, more than 100 photos and GPS points, human interest stories, and years of cycling experience that — all in one book — provide expert guidance on planning a 23.8-mile Gettysburg bicycle tour.

For history buffs, Bicycling Gettysburg National Military Park provides a never before published experiential framework for learning U.S. Civil War history on a bicycle. Even if you never plan a bicycle tour, this book makes it easy to tour the battlefield landscape in your mind while learning about the people impacted by the Battle of Gettysburg.

Early praise for the book’s companion maps

“The maps are wonderful. They are easy to carry and give you clear options for longer or shorter rides. They are sufficiently detailed to enable you to catch upcoming turns from one road to another and to keep your bearings in relation to the rest of the battlefield; but not so detailed as to be overwhelming. To make use of them is to see the full — and delightful — advantages of touring a battlefield on a bike.” ~ J. Edelman, University Professor

October 2018 UPDATE: GNMP Complanion Maps are now available for purchase as PDF files. The format is much different than the physical maps shown below. Click here to purchase your digital maps online.

I can’t wait to share all of this material with you!

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