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bicycle literature — travels (authors A–K)

"In the end, her most important lesson was to approach the world with a sense of wonder. She has since changed careers completely and now writes cycling travel books... She says she would encourage anyone to take a page from her book: 'I would say you could plan this in a couple of weeks. Just get your credit cards and Swiss army knife and you're ready.'" —Calgary Sun

Marg Archibald celebrated fifty out in the world with her bicycle. She mortgaged her house and traveled alone to St Petersburg, Russia, then on to the Czech Republic, Corsica, Turkey, Cyprus, Rhodes, New Zealand, and an island in the Gulf of Thailand. She learned life lessons that ring true for us all: the power of her own faith that strangers would treat her well, how struggle & fear add to the richness of life, and the value of that small voice inside that tapped greater wisdom than she knew she had.

The character of Mike and travelling companion Robert shines through in this account of their 4000-mile overland journey from Shangai to Kathmandu through China and Tibet.

This book is currently out of print, and may be difficult/expensive to acquire.

"The only time you will put it down is when you finish it." —Australian Cyclist Magazine

"One of the best 'on-the-road' travel books of this generation ... you can feel the wind in your face." —Launceston Examiner

"Written by a Chinese-Australian solo cyclist who rides a folding bike, it is lively, well-observed and goes off the beaten track. Chiang captures the generosity of Cubans who have little or nothing, but prefer friendship to money. Although cashed up with dollars, she admits to being less generous than her hosts, making her an unusually honest narrator." —The Sun Herald /Sunday Age

Lynette tours the length and breadth of Cuba on her folding Bike Friday, and tells us the captivating tale of her journey.

The tale of two twenty-year-old Australian men who travel on recumbent bicycles from Russia, across Siberia, the Gobi Desert, and Mongolia to Beijing, China. The 10,000km journey takes fourteen months to complete, across some of the world's most hard-to-access terrain. The two philosphers on wheels prove willing and able to take on everything from the voice of the Steppes to the Russian villagers and the Gobi nomads. From this they draw an often funny, moving, and inspirational tale of living out a dream. Mixed into this journey is the story of their tumultuous relationship, as two opposing wills battle it out in the midst of heat, snow, and hunger.

This book is also available in an alternate edition.

Impeccable minimalism in the Crane cousins' choice of equipment, pared down prose in diary entries from each of them for each day, and an awesome challenge as they rode flat out from the coast of Bangladesh, through India and Nepal, up over the Himalayas, across the Tibetan plateau to Lhasa, and through the Gobi Desert, until they reached a remote north-west corner of China (near the border with Russia), the spot most remote from open sea in every direction. A total of 3,313 miles in 58 days provide plenty of opportunities for adventure and a real test of their stamina & survival skills.

This book is currently out of print, and may be difficult/expensive to acquire.

Fifteen fast-paced accounts of early tours in Europe, Africa, and India/Tibet by Nick Crane, the man generally credited for single-handedly firing up the rebirth of adventure cycling in the UK in the 1980s.

This book is currently out of print, and may be difficult/expensive to acquire.

"It is her well-developed sense of the ridiculous [that] makes her adventures so entertaining." —Today

First published in 1992, this is the first, the most far-ranging, and arguably the best of Josie Dew's impressive series of bicycle touring books. In this volume, she visits Africa, Belgium, Bulgaria, England, France, Gibraltar, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Morocco, Nepal, The Netherlands, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Spain, and probably other countries I've left out. Upbeat and lighthearted, obviously the product of a skilled (and fairly minimalist) cycle tourer. It's somewhat less inwardly focused than other books of this ilk: in her own words, I think it is called "introspection". I prefer to remain "lost within" and throw any self analysis to the wind.

Josie's 1994 book chronicles her eight-month journey across the U.S.A. (including Hawaii), in more or less a straight line. Again told in her fearless, positive style.

"A female Bill Bryson ... A Ride in the Neon Sun is full of delights." —Times Literary Supplement

In this informative 1998 memoir, Dew embraces the culture of Japan in a whirlwind Tour de Nippon, told from the saddle of her bicycle. It's an eye-opening account of a Gaijin (foreigner) in Japan, with honest and detailed social observations: a wonderful yet wacky trip. And as usual, plenty of technical details of her cycling equipment.

"Dew writes a lively, entertaining, and informative narrative and combines acute observations of Japan with an infectious passion for cycling." —Daily Telegraph

The setting is once again Japan for Ms Dew's 2001 book — a sequel to her A Ride in the Neon Sun — which covers an additional four months of her cycling travels there.

"Josie Dew needs little introduction ... her writing is chattery and matter of fact" —Cycling Plus

This 2003 book describes Josie's 5000-mile circumnavigation of the England/Wales coastline, starting and finishing at Land's End. As in all of her books, the engaging text is augmented by whimsical diagrams.

"An extraordinary achievement ... a diverting commentary on the highways — and more often byways — of three continents." —Sunday Telegraph

Johnny Ginger was an inspirational character from the author's childhood, an elderly man with an air of mystery whose strong impression on the young boy would eventually compel Tom Fremantle to undertake his epic 1996 journey from Swanbourne, England to Swanbourne, Australia — a very small town near Fremantle (named after his ancestor, Captain Charles Fremantle, who founded the port 200 years ago). Tom chose not to sail, instead taking an alternative (17 month, 12,600 mile) overland route through twenty countries, including Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Afghanistan, Tibet, China, and Cambodia.

This book is currently out of print, and may be difficult/expensive to acquire.

"Its power comes from the excellence of the writing." —The Independent

A one-year-less-a-day dash across the deserts of Australia, the bushlands of Africa, and the Andes of South America to raise money for Intermediate Technology. Andy, a petroleum executive, and Tim, a rugby playing teacher of English and PE, contend with intense heat, numbing cold, funny aborigines, lousy cops, fearsome bandits, and yes, a giant elephant. This tale of self discovery is a delightful and inspirational read.

Having made the daring decision to set off around the world by bicycle, Pam Goodall left the comfortable surroundings of her home in West Sussex, England, one spring morning, and went on to pedal her way through Europe, Asia, and America. She was approaching her sixtieth birthday and travelled alone. This vivid and lighthearted account of her remarkable journey includes the trials of finding a place to sleep each night, the reality of owning a Brooks saddle, the nerve-wracking and costly challenge of obtaining visas throughout Asia, and choosing to ignore persistent warnings from well meaning strangers of the dangers lurking ahead for a lone female cyclist. "The story is not just about the bike, it's also an examination of life and relations." —New York Daily News

"While not exactly a how-to manual, 'The First Big Ride' offers a thorough grounding to anyone pondering such an expedition." —The Seattle Times

Non-cyclist Eloise Hanner started from zero, training for several months to work up to where she could ride for an average of more than 80 miles a day. This to participate in the inaugural Big Ride (sponsored by the American Lung Association), in which more than 700 bicycle riders crossed the country from Seattle to Washington, DC, in the summer of 1998. More than a travelogue, this illuminating book is an examination of career, values, and what to do with the second half of life.

An inspiring, lively, and humorous account of a family of six's 1500-mile ride from Denmark to Budapest, taken over three months during the summer of 1994. Read this if the kids are holding you back from your cycling adventure!

This book is currently out of print, and may be difficult/expensive to acquire.

Slightly reminiscent of Barbara & Larry Savage's journey of a decade earlier, this book is carefully transcribed from the diaries kept by Bruce and Tass Thacker on their 26-month around-the-world bicycle trip. They crossed four continents through sweltering temperatures and winter snowstorms — punctuated by 42 flats. Tass contributes some excellent photgraphy, making it even easier to relate to the people and places they visit. "Joe Kurmaskie's stories are full of optimism, zaniness, and depth: a winning combination." —Seattle Times

"Like the travel books of Bill Bryson, Kurmaskie focuses on the unexpected and the little known." —Booklist

Forty short, well written, entertaining stories drawn from Joe's days on the road. (The Metal Cowboy moniker was bestowed on him by a blind rancher in Idaho.)

"[a] collection of essays chronicling [Kurmaskie's] life and adventures as a devoted cyclist. Here we find the author in Ireland, tracking the elusive all-girl bagpipe squad; in Acapulco, Dumpster diving with a fellow called Sammy D.; in Alaska, touring Kicking Horse Pass. Kurmaskie, for whom cycling is not a hobby but a vital part of life, takes readers on a world tour, inspiring us to get off our butts and into the saddle. The book, like its author, is full of energy and wit, a celebration of the two-wheeled wanderer, of a lifestyle where every corner, ever hillcrest, can lead in wild new directions. The world looks different from a bicycle seat, and, with his unique point of view and distinctive voice, Kurmaskie fills us with the cyclist's spirit of adventure." —Booklist "Give Huck Finn a bicycle, give Lance a sense of humor, give Kerouac a good editor and you have Joe Kurmaskie." —Tom Lang, author

Unlike the first two Kurmaskie books, this one describes a single trip, but quite an astonishing one: four thousand miles in two months, from Portland, OR to Washington, DC. And not alone, but with Joe's seven-year-old son, Quinn, riding a tagalong bike attached to his dad's, and five-year-old Enzo behind that in a bike trailer! Unassisted (no support crew), the Metal Cowboy pedals hundreds of pounds of gear and offspring over mountain passes, across wide plains, through thunderstorms, and into the heart of what it means to be a dad.