The TL:DR version of this book is Moats and her 18yo son cycled across Europe, to Asia, unsupported. And to be fair, that alone should give you plenty of reason to read this book. After all, how many long-distance cycling tales of a mother and son combo have you heard of, let alone read? A … Read more
I recently reviewed another cycle touring book by Steve Silk, and that reminded me I never got round to doing a review for The Great North Road, despite having purchased my copy quite a while ago. Harper Silk is a great fan of the writings of Charles G Harper, who in 1903 published a book … Read more
When the blurb for a book start with “Award-winning author”, you immediately have high hopes for the book. In this book, Herrick tells of when he crossed France by bicycle, from west to east. The book is somewhat unusual in that Henrick didn’t do a continuous 1 200 km journey. Instead, at times he hired … Read more
William Spencer, and his mate Brian, were young men when they decided to set off from 1970s England, and cycle to India. Inspired by what he read about Auroville, in India, Spencer developed a growing interest in meditation (though it wasn’t something he could actually do). Newbies The pair weren’t very experienced cycle tourers, but … Read more
During the economic crash of 2008, Leon McCarron was in a predicament: jobs were few and far between, and after a 6 month stint of working in New York city, he’d had enough. What he needed was an adventure, and what better adventure than to cycle across the USA? This book tells the story of … Read more
I’m not sure that I’d want to cycle in the Siberian winter, and even if I did, I’m quite sure I wouldn’t simply rely on an untested postie pair of winter over-trousers to keep me warm. Clearly, Lilwall and I have different approaches, but I’ll freely admit his approach makes for a better story. Camping. … Read more
Anna McNuff is a British adventurer, perhaps best known for her barefoot, long-distance running. She had this idea of using a scooter (the type that you push with one foot) to travel down the length of South America. To accompany her, McNuff enlisted a friend of hers, Faye. When initial testing (in the UK) showed … Read more
This book is unusual in that you don’t often read of a father-and-son cycle touring combination. Charlesworth writes of when he joined his son – who was cycling around the world – to cycle through Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan and India. For any would-be cycle tourers, now would be a good time to get out a … Read more
The blurb on this book hooked me from the start: “Paul is more than your average cyclist. About five stones more.” It goes on to say it “follows Paul’s novice attempt at cycle touring”. So far, it sounds great. The start The book starts with Parsons describing cyclists who carry almost nothing on the bike, … Read more
Gears for Queers is a book by Abigail Melton and Lilith Cooper, or Abi and Lili, as you’ll get to know them. In the foreword, the authors say the book was “written specifically for the queers, for other fat, disabled, trans, female, femme and non-binary people”. While it may have been written with all those … Read more
Africa Solo tells the story of Mark Beaumont’s record-setting ride, down the continent of Africa. He rode 6 762 miles, to complete the race (and a race it was) in 41 days, 10 hours and 22 minutes. Beaumont set the round-the-world cycling record in 2008, and set a new round-the-world record again, in 2017. That … Read more
Millikin cycled from his hometown of Reading, in the UK, to Reading, in Pennsylvania, USA. Why end there? Purely because of the name, which seems as good a reason as any. His journey of 46 500 kilometres took him three years, with a budget of just £6 per day. The beginning Millikin set off with … Read more
In a nutshell, The Life Cycle tells the story of Rawles’ 8 000 miles ride along the length of South America. However, that’s only a fraction of what the book is about. As a dedicated environmentalist, Rawles’ bike ride was more than a sigh-seeing trip. Along the way, she diverted regularly to meet local people … Read more
Riding Out tells the story of when travel writer Simon Parker decided to cycle from the UK’s northernmost point, Muckle Flugga, in Shetland, to the southwesternmost point, Bishop’s Rock. The catch? It was during the height of the pandemic. Parker barely made it to Land’s End, when Lockdown 1 scuppered his plans. When restrictions were … Read more
