One More Horizon: Ohio to Hong Kong the Long Way [Paperback]

Scott Zamek (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2003

Pedaling a bicycle around the world was a lifelong dream, but everyone told him it could not be done. Dismissing the skeptics, disinterested sponsors, and a woefully inadequate bank account, Scott Zamek resolved to try. Some 20,000 miles and millions of pedal revolutions later, Zamek had encountered Bengal tigers, angry mobs, prison and sandstorms. He had suffered hypothermia and heatstroke. And it was in his moments of greatest need, good Samaritans intervened to help. "One More Horizon" takes us on a roller coaster ride of endurance and fatigue, success and setback, thieves and kind-hearted souls. But what shines through in the end, is a reminder of all that is right with the human spirit. "I couldn't put it down ... A book soaring with adventure." --Independent Review

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An extraordinary biographical work by a man ever so much more audacious and persistent than most of us Vicarious Vikings." -- Jack D. Hunter, author

"By sharing Scott Zamek's experiences, we can all be inspired. Men, women, athletes, and couch potatoes." -- Independent Review

"He was roughed up by Syrian Police, had everything stolen, and then ... and then they wouldn't let him enter Iran!" -- The Hillsborough Beacon

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

FOREWORD

When I completed the final draft of the manuscript you now hold in your hands in the form of a book, I handed it to my editor and declared my work done. Days later, a phone call proved me wrong. "You have to tell us why you did it, Scott. People want to know."

I never gave the question much thought, but other readers echoed the same sentiment. After ten readers in as many days, I became haunted by the question, "Why?" Why explore? Why adventure? Why put your life at risk?

These are difficult questions to answer, because the people who do these things do not know why. To them, it is as natural as walking or talking, as necessary as breathing, eating and sleeping. In Gibraltar I met a traveler who had been on the road for twenty years. When he told me he was about to get married, and his fiancée in England had insisted he remain home, I asked him why, then, he found himself in Gibraltar. "Because I wanted to see one more horizon before I settled down," he told me.

Robert Louis Stevenson put the matter to rest when he claimed, "I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move; to feel the needs and hitches of our life more nearly; to come down off this feather-bed of civilization, and find the globe granite underfoot and strewn with cutting flints."

But for those who have no desire for adventure, almost any explanation represents a vague philosophy. People want neat beginnings to things, and neat ends. They want unanswerable questions tied up with ribbon and bow in a comprehensible package, then presented so they can clutch the idea and understand. They want the inception of an adventure, the motivation, distilled down to where domestic life ended and travel began. They want to know what spark initiated the fire, so they can hold it in their hands and make it a part of themselves.

They want to know, "Why?"

My beginning, my addiction with adventure, began when I was twenty-one. I hoisted a tattered pack, put out my thumb, and made my way for an entire year around the dusty roads of America. The year lasted what seemed like five lifetimes, and I experienced a freedom I had never before known. I learned to push my body and mind to their ultimate limits, and each time the limit was reached, my boundaries became wider--limits farther away. And I reveled in my newfound abilities: a mountain top which was before unreachable, a forest which was inaccessible, miles which were then unattainable.

In the achievement of certain goals, life became at once simpler. In walking that last mile beyond all strength, trivialities faded. The basics became important, they became luxuries, and it was during those times I found myself most fulfilled. I learned that the trifling day-to-day expectancies of American life obscured life's true meaning.

When I returned home after twelve months of travel, everything seemed to have changed. People's goals and aspirations appeared constricted, dreams were a thing for children or nighttime, and no one cared what was over the next mountain top. Their realm was their immediate environment--the town, the school, the surrounding ten miles--that was their entire world. I had returned home to my own people, my own community, but they were no longer mine. I had become a citizen of my experiences; while surrounded by those with less, I would forever find myself on the outside looking in, even in my own home town.

It was then people began greeting me with a blank, vacant stare, empty, devoid of any thread of commonality--like a floating object with no frame of reference. The look was often accompanied by a squint of the eyes, wrinkled nose, and stretched lips, as if to suggest I were some circus novelty to be viewed safely from afar.

It was then I knew I would leave again.

Seven years after returning from the American adventure, having been congratulated by family and friends for "getting it out of my system," the travel seed began to bloom anew, but a seed that blooms also must grow. All my other adventures had been on a small scale, the North American continent. This time I wanted to see the world, and my experience hitchhiking in the States told me I wanted to travel in a manner that would help me meet the people, incorporate myself into the culture, as well as add a little spice and challenge to my journey.

Secretly, I made a list entailing different modes of travel. I told no one, fearing my friends and coworkers might think me crazy. The list included canoeing, walking, bicycling, hitchhiking, motorcycling, and driving--among others. I began reading everything I could get my hands on regarding these subjects and, as the research intensified, the list slowly narrowed. Hitchhiking was eliminated since I wanted a new experience after my American adventure. With more reading, others were rejected for various reasons until, remaining on the list was left one word--bicycle.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Castellated Press (November 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 097464160X
• ISBN-13: 978-0974641607
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,790,827 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spanning 35 countries and two years, February 6, 2004

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: One More Horizon: Ohio to Hong Kong the Long Way (Paperback)

One More Horizon: Ohio To Hong Kong The Long Way is author Scott Zamek's personal reminiscence of his 20,000 mile journey around the world by bicycle. Spanning 35 countries and two years, the bicycle odyssey was not an easy one - the author survived being taken prisoner by the Syrian Secret Police, was stranded in a Pakistani immigration camp, and suffered a hepatitis affliction in China among his several trip-related traumas. Yet Zamek also achieved an immeasurable breadth and depth of experience in people, customs, cultures, and the chance to see the truly majestic beauty of nature, whether in the Sahara and Gobi deserts, or while traversing the two largest mountain chains in the world. One More Horizon is a powerful and involving testimonial for armchair travelers or especially those contemplating actually setting out to see the world the hard way.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down., January 29, 2004

By 

Jonathan Pratt (Pittsburgh, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: One More Horizon: Ohio to Hong Kong the Long Way (Paperback)

I sat down today to start to read a little of Scott's book, well I finished it. Scott's acute awareness of his surroundings comes through beautifully in his storytelling. I couldn't put it down... seriously!

I was utterly impressed and jealous at how he was able to continue on such a monumentous adventure no matter what was thrown his way. The wonderful descriptions of his interactions with the people and lands he encounters are priceless.

If you are a fan of the travel adventure genre you are going to love this one! Thanks for the journey Scott!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Adventure for the Soul", December 28, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: One More Horizon: Ohio to Hong Kong the Long Way (Paperback)

This is the writing of a man's journey on a bicycle, "around the world"! WHEW! Scott Zamek is a man filled with will and determination as he rides from Ohio to Hong Kong. He is faced with many challanges that this world has to offer. It wasn't just the journey that he takes you on with him, it is the soulful way he describes his adventure. I found myself laughing and crying. I couldn't wait to read whole book. If you can't put it down, why read it! I felt as if I was watching a fabulous movie, which was filled with adventure, grit, guts, and what a cyclists challenges are on a journey of this nature. I can't wait to read Scott's next book!