Review of A Cyclist's Summer: Adventures And Musings On A Two-Wheeler

A Cyclist's Summer: Adventures And Musings On A Two-Wheeler
Average Rating: 5.0 Total Reviews: 4
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Life's a journey not a destination

On: 2007-01-23

At the end of ones life all we can hope for is having made a positive contribution to this world we live in.... So that when its our time to go, we leave this world a better place than how we fond it....
This book is such an example, as a group of cyclists commit to something larger than themselves and strive to make a difference in their lives and in the people around them....

Get off the couch!

On: 2005-09-20

This entertaining book about a fundraising ride from Canada to Mexico inspires the reader to GET OFF THE COUCH! Although Im not a cyclist, the story reminded me of the highs and lows in all sports--the doubts, drive, disappointments, exhaustion, and exhiliration that come with doing something that is physically challenging. Plus, the vivid descriptions of people and places made me want to go, go, go. So, if youre an athlete, a travel enthusiast, or a couch potato looking to live vicariously, this is a great read.

A fun read

On: 2005-08-28

Remember when you road your bike everywhere in your youth? This book will stir up all those fond childhood memories. The story takes you along the Continental Divide, through three National Parks and over the highways and byways of the Rocky Mountains. It is written with humor and a touch of sarcasm that will make you giggle. Even if riding a bike is not your thing, this fun read is entertaining and offers a heartwarming message. Pass the time on a rainy day or on an airplane trip with this interesting, easy to read story
about an adventure that will arouse your imagination.

A good read, and more

On: 2005-08-02

This is a wonderful book. I wish I had written it.
A Cyclists Summer is a first person memoir about a small group of riders on a 14-day, 1,300 mile bike ride from the Canadian border in Montana to Vail, Colorado. The weather was hot, cold, dry, wet, and muddy; highways were often dangerous, the sights ranged from gorgeous to boring and depressing, and total feet of elevation for the trip was over 50,000 feet. Carlson describes this as a ride, not a race. Survival alone was good enough.
This literary genre--man alone with nature in a challenging environment--has a long tradition. The parent narrative, as least for an American, is Thoreaus Walden (1854). Yet if you read alternately paragraphs of Carlson with paragraphs of Thoreau, you soon tire of Thoreaus solopsistic passivity: "I do not wish to be any more busy with my hands than is necessary,"Thoreau writes.
Do we learn more about ourselves when we contemplate the dawn, or when we engage the day actively? There is an answer.
In a pre-lapsarian world--Adam and Eve before the fall--comtemplation was adequate. But ever since then we have been directed to earn our bread by th swreat of our brow. Thats what makes us human. Thus, athletic exertion as a personal challenge, not a profession, continues to fascinate us.
The value of this book is in the voice of the narrator. It is in the subtle strength, patience, wisdom, and good humor of the writer as he faces various challenges of life that make the book. Of course there are entertaining side-essays on the history of the Tour de France, mountain biking, the enigmatic American cyclist Greg Le Mond, and the history of the derailleur (gears). But Carlsons real message is always present, personal and relentless, and that is what makes the book. It is a good read, and much more.
Wight Martindale