Customer Reviews

Metal Cowboy: Tales from the Road Less Pedaled

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Joe Kurmaskie's first book, "Metal Cowboy," is fashioned from loos, flowing prose, the kind that invites adjectives like "witty" and "insightful." But heart-warming, feel-good travel narratives are easy to find. It is more unusual to read one that fosters a deeper understanding of the overall experience and transcends mere outrageousness.

These 40 "Tales From the Road Less Pedaled" do not follow chronological order. Instead they jump around - from childhood sailing trips to crossing the Rocky mountainsto spending a season on the isalnd of Aruba - and focus more on developing a conversational yet intimate manner with the reader.

Most of the stories feature a quirky man or woman, somehoe alienated by society, who is living life on their own terms, determined to follow their heart. Either they live ina small town and share an experience with Kurmaskie, or they spend a few hours or days cycling with him. Elvis impersonators, a double lower leg amputee, a flamboyant Italian barber, overprotective geese, and a bomb-builder turned zealous rockhound are merely a sampling of the characters Kumaskie meets on the road.

However, Kurmaskie doesn't rely on extremes to keep his book engaging. He deftly tackles difficult subjects, too, and displays a remarkable aptitude for compassion and contemplation. For example, in "Doing the Hokey-Pokey," Ranada O'Ryan, a high-school drop-out turned factory worker takes Kurmaskie to her senior prom and he graciously plays the part of adoring boyfriend. He connects with parents who have lost their children to accidents or disease, assists a man suffering from AIDS, and struggles to make peace with both loggers and environmentalists.

Overall, he understands many readers crave a vicarious experience, one that satidfies their sense of adventure and enhances their understanding of people. His stories are full of optimism, zaniness and insight, a winning combination that will take readers on a delightful ride.

I love this book! From it's eye-catching cover to it's unique format. It's autobiographical yet reads like a series of fictional short stories. Sometimes touching, other times amusing, and always interesting. It's a great read!

This book will have you on the floor laughing. It will have so lost in thought that you won't realize that it is 1 am and you have to be to work by 6am.

I recomend this for anyone with interest in the things that make us human.

What a surprise to read a book about cycling that's really about life. The last book I read that got to me this much was Blue Highways. Metal Cowboy comes at you in perfectly timed spurts. It's funny for a few stories then works into you with some heartfelt moments. I really did feel like I was taking an unpredictable but wonderful thrill ride with this guy.

The best way to reach me is to make me laugh. Metal Cowboy delivered time and again. It makes the tearjerkng parts in these stories better because the tension is released. You feel like you are riding into these places and meeting the people in vivid detail. Good on ya, Mate as they say downunder... the outback story about the friendly game of darts was my favorite piece... get this book for that one alone.

I can't say I've ever met the metal cowboy but I feel like I know him. These stories, which cracked me up most of the time, opened up a window into the workings of a talented writer and even more, a very decent human being. You get to know all sorts of off beat, lost and found type folks who people these essays, but it's the metal cowboy who is just as interesting. That's saying something because the heros and villains met along the way are not window dressing. Colorful halfwits and misunderstood genius throughout who shine on their own, but even more so because the metal cowboy is sincerely interested in them, where they're going and how they touched him and vice versa. A laugh on the surface with more than meets the eye. highly recommend.

We caught the metal cowboy performing some of his stories at a bookstore/coffeehouse the other evening and bought the book just on the strength of his performance. Sometimes a guy can be a wonderful storyteller but not much of a writer. This is not the case here. It's a treat to see him live but he captures the adventure quite well on paper. It's lively and fun. There's also something underneath. I finished the last essay this morning. I can hope there's more tales from the road less pedaled coming down the pike.

A "born again bicyclist" who thinks bicycles will save the world, I went to the library to get books about cycling & bicycles. I discovered The Metal Cowboy and hung on to it even though it wasn't "technical". I tried to read a funny bit aloud to my family but I was giggling too hard.
The almost-romantic chapter is my favorite.
Reading this book makes you feel like there is hope for America's privileged middle class kids. By getting lost on a bike we can find ourselves.
Joe's most recent book (Momentum is Your Friend) is equally excellent.

As I live my life, going from one task to another, there is a part of my brain that yearns for more, something a little closer to the edge of my comfort zone. I received "Metal Cowboy" as a gift a few years ago and there it was, the life less ordinary that always seemed to escape me! Joe Kurmaskie tells wonderful stories about true humanity and the good that exists in this world. Sure, I only get to experience a slice of this life on long weekend rides and the last full week in July on RAGBRAI, but the Metal Cowboy makes me hopeful for the future.

It's more a book about why we cycle than cycling. Great series of short stories about a young man's exposure to the best and worst of the human race. From love stories to male bonding to the ultimate practical joke in `a friendly game of darts'. This is a must read book for anyone who identifies with the freedom of `life on the road.'.