Customer Reviews

You Can't Ride a Bike to Alaska. It's an Island!

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having read many books about long-distance cycling trips (and written one myself), I'm a rather harsh critic of these tales. I've been burned after reading some that were little more than collected e-mails sent home during the trip. That said, I liked this story of a guy who, without much cycling experience, undertook the trip of a lifetime. It's not a book of eloquent prose, rather a very interesting account of small Canadian towns and the people he encountered. I enjoyed hearing about these remote places that I'll likely never see.

He took this trip with a group years ago, before such trips had really gotten popular. His first encounter with a newfangled thing called a "Mountain Bike" brought a nostalgic smile for those simpler times. He gets in some jams, details the hardships he faced, describes some pretty awesome scenery and enjoys his accomplishments. You can feel his excitement and pride as he nears the finish line in Anchorage.

No book is without its flaws, though. One of the most annoying is the way that words break when he puts photos on a page. Sor
t of li
ke thi
s. Har
d to read.
But that's a small quibble really.

Also, at first I felt like the book was a bait and switch, when the author was forced to hitchhike (and not bike) for many days due to leg pains. But in retrospect, his account of those non-riding days passed fairly quickly, and the rest of his riding days were interesting.

SO unless you're seeking the mellifluous prose of Blue Highways, it's hard to imagine you'll be disappointed in reading about the experiences of Thomas on this ride to Alaska.

[...]

Mickey Thomas takes you on a fun journey with him to Alaska by bike. It's obvious that he had fun because the book is full of warm and sometimes ironic humor. The book is easy to read and hard to put down.

The story of the group's trip is well constructed. There are interesting characters, dramatic events, funny interludes, and suspenseful developments.

The book makes me want to read more of Thomas's cycling adventures.

I started this book with some trepidation and finished with a longing for the story to continue. Although there are some grammatical/typographical areas of concern, the story itself keeps the reader engaged and interested. I liked the gut-level humor and insight the author provided as well as the intermittent history of the areas he was riding through. The book stands on its own and will satisfy any reader looking for a tale outside of the formulaic pap spoonfed to him/her through the conventional publishing mainstream.

I have read many many books about hiking the Appalachian Trail or walking the coast or across America. I have never read a biking journey. It was very entertaining. Right off, the title of this book caught my eye. I loved the reason behind the choosing of the title . There are so many children that grow up not knowing exactly where Alaska is located. Many adults and children believe it is an island South of the California coast. How tragic is that!
Mickey Thomas brought me along with him on his ride, and I laughed at his many hillarious encounters and I also felt his pain. I enjoyed his account of meeting up with the wild animals on his journey North and I could relate to the story about camping in a tent beside a motor home that ran a generator all night. I , too have had that experience and when several of our fellow campers complained-it didn't make a bit of difference to the motor home dwellers. Having the map displayed at the beginning of the book helped me envision every segment of his ride and as I got closer to the end of the book and looked at the map and realized the destination was only a short distance and just a few pages away, I too did not want it to end. I wanted him to keep going.

I like reading bike touring books because, alas, there is more time to read about touring than there is to do it. I've read many books on the topic, some have good functional tips, some are poorly written but deeply felt by the author, many are dull. What Thomas conveys so well in this book is the mental fortitude it takes to do a long distance self contained trip. There isn't info on what kind of panniers to buy or what kind of gearing to use...but instead, what kind of emotional hardships are battled and how impactful this can be to your confidence, your pshyche, and the way you handle discomfort and facing the unknown. I don't want to make too big of a thing about it, as he didn't expressly dwell on any of these things so much as just leave you with the understanding of what a tough, adventurous, life changing trip can be like. I found it very inspirational!, and actually thought about it when riding fully loaded in 7 hours of rain in Montana this summer.
Although i'm a cyclist (and a once-a-year tourer) you would not have to ride a bike to enjoy this book.

and if you like it, you might also like "Once Upon a CHariot" by Iris Paris, the story of Norma Jean Belloff who established the US women's record for cross country bicycling in 1948.

What a treat! Mickey shares the ups and downs of an amazing and amusing trek across the continent. Great read and very insightful...maybe I'll dust off my old Schwinn!

I felt like I was on the trip with Mickey, without enduring the pain. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who has thought of taking an adventure bike trip.