The American women’s rights activist Susan B. Anthony said the bicycle “contributed more to the emancipation of women than anything else in the world”. For the British author Hannah Ross, whose book “Revolutions” is now available in German, cycling is still a feminist concern today.

In it, Ross tells of women “who changed the world on bicycles”. For example, the pioneers of the late 19th century, who made the then new vehicle socially acceptable for the female sex.

About Alfonsina Strada, who mastered the Giro d’Italia in 1924, about Simone de Beauvoir, whose diaries testify to her enthusiasm for cycling, or about Missy Giove, who won eleven World Cup medals in downhill. And of female cyclists who are fighting for a fair and female Tour de France today.

So what’s the deal with this bikepacking? When Gestalten Verlag publishes a book about it, you get an idea: it’s a trend. But this photo-heavy volume also shows an attitude to life: Just set off by bike, have everything with you, do without comfort, experience small and big adventures.

There are plenty of ideas for exactly this on the 288 pages of the book: It goes to whiskey distilleries in the Scottish hinterland, through the Franconian provinces, over Alpine passes and Wadden Sea islands. Each tour is personally described and garnished with route information.

There are also tips on creative pannier solutions, route planning and the question: What is the best way to spend the night in the wilderness? Even if some tours seem unattainable, for example in Canada or Mexico, they all make you want to set off on two wheels – trend or not.

Sure, you can google the result, but we won’t spoil it here, because this book describes how the Austrian extreme cyclist Christoph Strasser is preparing for a world record attempt: Is it possible to break the sound barrier of 1000 kilometers in a 24-hour individual time trial break through?

The author friend David Misch accompanies Strasser in the meticulous preparation on the hunt for the perfect day on which the limits of what is humanly possible are to be shifted.

Whether following in the footsteps of Goethe through the Harz Mountains, hopping in the vineyards to Baden or along the route of industrial culture through the Ruhr area – anyone who leafs through this book will quickly notice: Germany is a cyclist’s paradise!

The authors of the Mybike magazine have put together a fine selection of 25 tours – from a short weekend trip to a cycling holiday of several hundred kilometers.

For each tour there is a travel report, information about the route and photos that make you want to go on the next tour – GPX tracks are included.