For an exceptional fat-tire roundup of the Evergreen State, follow the highly informative tread of John Zilly. The author of Kissing the Trail: Greater Seattle Mountain Bike Adventures widens his scope with two volumes detailing some of the best trails in Western Washington. Mountain Bike! Southwest Washington, and its companion, Mountain Bike! Northwest Washington are the definitions of good guidebooks: they boast serious research, sensible organization, and a battery of useful trail maps and directions. What"s more, Zilly possesses a flair for the written word not often found in such practical guides; he steers the hungry cyclist through a variety of trail conditions and skill levels in style, highlighting particularly gnarly terrain and displaying an infectious enthusiasm for the thrill of a squirrelly widowmaker descent. Serious knobby-heads will also thank Zilly (and, later on the trail, curse him) for the inclusion of 30-mile "epics," all-day single-track journeys that combine awesome views, technical riding, and all-out endurance tests. Every mountain-biking hotspot should be so lucky to have a Zilly as tour guide.