Customer Reviews

Over the Hills: A Midlife Escape Across America by Bicycle (Large Print)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Over the Hills is the product of a seasoned communicator relating an adventure that many may consider but few pursue. Though he portrays himself as an ordinary guy, riding alone on his Trek from Virgina to California is a high accomplishment. He aptly describes the physical and psychological demands of such a long time on the road. He also deftly weaves the history of cycling, his professional life as foreign correspodnet with the Los Angeles Times and his experiences on the road to provide a very entertaining book for both the general reader and those that have suffered through a multiple-day tour.

I put down his book while he was in Arizona because I wanted the book to last. He could have circled north to Seattle or just turned around and gone back to the East Coast and I would have eagerly read his tale. Lamb, or his editor, shows the good sense to not provide a day to day diary. He excludes a daily recounting of mileage, weather and road conditions, diet and equipment reports. Instead he gives us bits and pieces that really convey the feel of the trip. We come to appreciate how hard it is to get on that bike day after day. He also shows us a part of America that you never see unless you are on a bicyle.

So in the end it not only a story about David Lamb's great adventure, it is another telling of the unsatiable spirit for new horizons and a cultural tour of the country. Lamb's observations of the Heartland versus the Coasts couldn't be more relevant than it is today, most recently seen on the blue and red presidential electoral college map. His accounts of his encounters reinforces that the kindness of strangers is abundant.

He left me wondering as to some of his motivation, what he did in the months prior to his trip and his life with his wife. Yet all in all it was a most enjoyable read.

I thank him for his work and welcome a sequel!

Not really a book about "cycle touring" because it doesn't have the technology-and-technique stuff that cyclists love, Over the Hills is an "active meditation" on several themes: the spirit of adventure, vanishing rural America, and the delights (and problems) of meeting life on the road. I particularly liked it because, at least in part, it's a celebration of the bicycle, an almost forgotten device that is coming into its own as an efficient, simple vehicle -- and a hell of a lot of fun. Lamb has the direct, salty style of the journalist-sportswriter that he is, and the sympathetic perceptiveness of a guy who obviously likes people. I enjoyed the book immensely

I liked the idea that David Lamb rode across the country without getting in shape, buying all the latest gear, obsessing over his diet, etc. And the fact that he did not bore us with reports of his daily mileage figures, equipment details, etc. was refreshing. Yet I expected more of a story out of a reporter. He does meet some people and give details about them and their towns, but somehow his trip is just not that exciting. I would have liked to learn more about the people he met and their lives.

Granted, he does provide interesting observations of rural America and some nice history on the sport of bicycling and past pioneers in the cross-country biking realm, but as a story about a bike trip, this one does not entirely satisfy.

That said, I could identify with many of his observations (e.g. any time a non-biker describes the road ahead they are ALWAYS wrong). And he does give a good sense of what goes through a long-distance cyclist's mind (loneliness, the desire for people to find him interesting and ask about his trip, aprehension of the long distance ahead). The history of cycling, though interesting, didn't always fit and took me away from his narrative. At times I was rushing through it to get back to his story.

I also wish he had spent more time mapping out a route along interesting back roads rather than being forced through lack of planning to ride on interstates. How boring.

It is an OK account of a cross country trip through the south, but not the best account by any means.

Over the Hills: : A Midlife Escape Across America by Bicycle

by David Lamb is a book for folks who like to read travel writing, people trying to do their personal best, or real adventure books. This is a great story about a person who made a promise to himself despite the misgivings of family and friends. His description of how this trip affected his fitness and details of towns and cities are wonderful. It shows what one man can do, for himself. You feel like your peddling right along with David Lamb. A great book, a fast read, and a great literary adventure. Buy this book.

There's probably a million other people out there who've dreamed of doing this same thing, and it's heartening to read about an ordinary person who goes for it: no athletic icon, not someone to put on a pedestal, but the guy next door. And if you've ever wondered about the history of the bicycle, he comes across some amazing information within the small libraries scattered across America! For the armchair traveler, and also as encouragement to those of us who might just go for it ourselves, after all!

I'm one of those people who has always fantacised about riding a bike across the country. Of course, I haven't done it, but I've read a lot of books by people who have. Lamb's book is the best one I have read. Rather than just telling the reader how many miles he covered per day and how much it rained, etc., he covers the histories of several of the towns through which he passesd and indulgies in many tangents that refreshes the story. Clearly he is a writer first, and a biker second.

He also doesn't dwell on how fit one has to be to do what he did. Actually, he is a smoker and indulges quite a bit in drinks along the route. Nike might want to talk to him aobut a Just Do It campaign.

Anyway, great book. Unqualified recommendation.

Over The Hills is the author's narrative of his 3000 mile, 60 day bicycle journey from Washington D.C. to Santa Monica, California in the mid-1990s. Though being 54 years old, the trip was not undertaken to salve any kind of midlife crisis. The motivation for the journey was a continuation of the author's sense of adventure perhaps overly developed by years of overseas assignments as a reporter covering dangerous situations. He was not a particularly fit or experienced bicyclist, but the trip was reasonably well planned in terms of equipment and supplies, the route, and overall and daily strategies.

The book is pretty much devoid of precise statistics and numbers. Not one date is cited; daily mileage is only occasionally mentioned; and outside of an occasional reference to miles per hour, little bicycle technical data is given. However, there is a surplus of daily minutia, such as the laborious exercise of washing clothes, oiling his bicycle chain, drinking milkshakes, eating coconut custard pie, etc.

In addition, the book consists of the author's observations, both on his psychological state and on his surroundings. The state of rural America is a constant theme. Most of the journey consists of passing through unevenly dispersed, decaying towns sitting on what were once main highways, but now bypassed by the Interstate system. Though life in those towns seemed to be isolating and difficult, he found an essential goodness in those he encountered. The author's own eating, smoking, and drinking habits did not put him out of step with the locals, who were mostly indifferent or unaware of cosmopolitan society.

The journey was by no means easy. The author admits to suffering from both loneliness and nagging doubts concerning his ability to complete the trip. The hilly and mountainous terrain, especially in Virginia, Tennessee, and Arkansas, proved to be very taxing. Occasionally, the planned route had to be deviated from or in some cases proved to have some unanticipated dangers. Despite these difficulties, the author seems to only partially appreciate his incredible luck on this journey. He had no serious bike troubles, experienced no crashes, was not once ill or injured, enjoyed unusually peaceable relations with motorists and individuals, and was not rained on even once in sixty days. On some occasions he was able to fortuitously obtain lodging.

As sort of complementary information concerning his trip, the author injects bicycle history into his commentary. The bicycle has an odd history. In the 1880s and 90s bicycling became immensely popular only to decline rapidly with the advent of the automobile. And though bicycle sales have surged in recent decades and tens of millions claim to ride bicycles, bicycles remain as a peculiar fit in our society.

The trip seemed to be ultimately satisfying to the author. It was an adventure that he successfully completed. Beyond that not much remains. No enduring relationships were formed. No contact is made with those encountered on the trip. The interest in bicycling has ebbed to pre-trip levels. Yet the experience does remain.

For the various readers interested in rural America, in an extended and difficult venture, or those contemplating a similar journey, the book has merit. Just being able to come along on the author's journey and experience second hand what he encountered is very interesting and even useful. Even though the routine was pretty much the same on a daily basis, the book did not really get bogged down. And there is a map of the journey including a breakdown of the trip into segments with roads taken.

Mr. Lamb's writing is one of those books that starts out very quietly, but by the fifth page, you're travelling with him. He isn't out to impress us, just to tell us about his trip. His writing style reflects his journey; it reads like poetry. Along the way, he tells about his views of America, relating his contacts with the many folks he met on his long trip.

We begin to understand why he made the trip. As well, he gives us interesting information along the way about the history of the bicycle. His story will become more poignant as the years go by, as the automobile may become the paramount mode of transportation. But the bicycle is still the most efficient.

Buy it, read it, then do it!! I really wasn't sure what to expect but what a perfect book. He kept everything in balance. He told enough about himself and what he does. I don't like when reading a book like this and the author doesn't tell much of his background but Lamb does it perfect. He tells of America and his thoughts, which are accurate if opinions are. Several times I was laughing out loud which automatically gives it 4 stars. It got 5 stars because I thought it was so well written. It is not a "how to" book which is good because "how to" books can get old. I opened this book every chance I got. Even if you have no desire to do a trip like this it was simply a fun read.

I had previously read the work on the Arab world by Lamb. I read this one because I, too, have pedaled the roads coast to coast. I followed the route from west to east, over many of the same roads. Lamb very accurately coveys the feeling of being of the open road, a long ways from home, on two wheels. Specifics about Oklahoma, eastern Tennessee and elsewhere, could have come from my journal... although I'm no professional writer. Good book. Also, try his earlier trip around the US, to minor league baseball towns: "Stolen Season."