(CNN)The magic of the open road, trail or mountain has long captured the imaginations of cyclists, whether they are professional riders or weekend warriors.
Ian Dille, author of “The Cyclist’s Bucket List,” spent nine months compiling races and rides from around the world into one comprehensive guide. The publication boasts a detailed description of “75 quintessential cycling experiences” covering six continents.
“These are the sights, the smells, and the tastes that every cyclist should experience before they die,” he writes in the prologue.
Dille, a former professional cyclist, is hard-pressed to pick a favorite given how each trip appeals in its own way to his love for the sport.
“Every one of these, to some extent, became my favorite one as I was working on it,” he said.
Here are nine rides from the book that will leave you itching to grab your bike and take to the road.
Tour d’Afrique, Africa
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Western Tasmania, Australia
When the heart aches for complete remoteness and pristine wilderness, Western Tasmania satisfies that desire. The area’s ruggedness is more welcoming to 21st-century cyclists in search of adventure that it was to the convicts who escaped nearby Sarah Island in the 19th century.
Pass through the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, which covers more than 1.6 million hectares. The rugged land features rock basins, ancient caves and expansive glacial lakes that reflect stunning blue skies overhead.
Dille suggests taking the Lyell Highway from Queenstown to Strahan, near Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park. Here, dense rainforests above and twisting rivers below awe visitors.
Riders then head north to Zeehan and and on to Mount Murchison, the tallest peak on the western part of the island. Eventually, the road winds back to Queenstown, altogether a 150-mile loop.
The area may be “some of the last true wilderness on earth,” Dille writes.
