Reviewed
by: BigAl
Genre:
Travel Memoir
Approximate
word count: 50-55,000
words
Availability
Click
on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes &
Noble, or Smashwords store
Author:
A
Kansas native, Neil Hanson has had a variety of jobs, currently
working as a project manager. His other books include an
inspirational/spiritual book and a companion guide to Pilgrim
Wheels that focuses on
the route and logistics. A follow up to Pilgrim
Wheels is on tap next.
For
more, visit Hanson's website.
Description:
“In
2011, at 57 years old, Neil Hanson began a 3400-mile cross-country
bicycle journey, exploring an America that can only be discovered on
winding backroads from the saddle of a bicycle.
More
than just a travelogue of a bike ride across the country, Hanson's
delightful and beautifully written story takes the reader on a
journey that is engaging and insightful, often hilarious, sometimes
poignant, and always inspiring. It's a must-read adventure that will
stir your soul.”
Pilgrim
Wheels chronicles the
first half of Hanson's journey. Another volume covering the second
half of the journey is planned.
Appraisal:
I'll
often refer to a travel goal or a travel memoir chronicling a trip
with a specific goal (in this case to ride a bike from coast to
coast) as a quest. What I'm thinking when I say that fits one of the
dictionary definitions which is what a medieval knight was doing when
he set out to accomplish a specific goal, for example finding the
Holy Grail or to go on an adventurous expedition.
But usually there is another level to this whether the traveler knows
it or not. That's the act of searching for something, another
definition of quest.
In the
introduction to Pilgrim
Wheels Neil Hanson talks
about this same concept in different terms, describing the
progression of a trip starting out as an adventure, turning into a
journey, and eventually becoming a pilgrimage. While I enjoy getting
a sense of the difficulties and logistics involved in a trip like
this, the main thing I'm looking for is to understand what the author
got out of the trip. It could be internal (understanding themselves
better), it could be external (understanding their world, its
history, and their place in it). The list of possibilities is long,
many of which I've seen in various travel memoirs over the years. A
long trip taken at the speeds you'll reach on a cycle give the
traveler time to really see the country they're travelling through
with lots of time left to ponder many of the questions of life. To
say that Hanson grew from his trip is an understatement. As a reader,
we can hitchhike with him and share in those insights without a
single turn of the pedal.
Format/Typo
Issues:
No
significant issues.
Rating:
***** Five Stars
No comments:
Post a Comment