Question:
I am starting my research on where to go, etc., and I need to pick up some maps---preferably 1:200 000 or 1:300 000. Can someone give me the names of some good maps or an online shop? My local Borders bookstore only has a few of the Michelin maps and so far I like the ones with spiral binders

Answer: I am interested in going somewhere in the Spring and in the Fall. I am looking at both southern Spain and Greece for an April trip and in September, I am thinking about Ukraine and Hungary. I will be going on a bicycle, so I need pretty good detail of the smaller roads...and the topography. I have already noticed a big difference in the Michelin maps of, say, 1:400 000 and 1:200 000 scale because the first maps do not bother to show much terrain detail--which is fine if you are driving a car, I suppose.

I need one or two more places for my April plans and also for my September plans. I have been toying around with Oaxaca in the Spring or even somewhere in South America like Chile. I have already been to Turkey, but not Istanbul.

I have been watching travel videos, but it seems they all assume a person wants to hit the big cities and ignore the countryside. That's the beauty of bicycle touring--seeing the smaller towns in the countryside.