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morgan3llis's review
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
3.5
Loved the self reflection and travel stories. Hated the references to old explorers.
tophat8855's review against another edition
4.0
It goes faster than it feels. I was a little lost at the beginning, assuming the bike ride you start off in is the bike ride the book is titled for, but I figured it out. Maybe needed less about her school life, but I guess it’s a memoir/travelogue instead o just travelogue. It reminded me a lot of Full Tilt, which I read last year. But more recent.
ginabyeg's review
2.0
This was not the book I was anticipating based on the synopsis. This book leads one to believe its about a bike ride, and the author’s experience of all aspects of that ride, perhaps with elements of history and culture to be woven in. Something along the lines of Wild by Cheryl Strayed. Rather, this book was a history and geo-political book, with elements of a bike ride experience. Frankly, I feel like she could have narrated the facts and information in this book without the bike ride, and it would not have lost anything as a reference book.
I feel like Harris does not convey a lot of emotion in this book, either (though she talks a lot about eating Ramen noodles). Additionally, the book felt more cynical than motivational/insightful. Perhaps that was the reality of her trip, but I feel like there’s not a large sense of hope that comes through in the [fleeting] positive experiences she describes. Nor a lot of gratitude regarding the experience. Reading this book has felt much like her bike ride came across to me—a kind of slogging thru. I skipped most of the last couple chapters, because I just couldn’t read any more of an experience that had failed to be conveyed meaningfully all along.
I feel like Harris does not convey a lot of emotion in this book, either (though she talks a lot about eating Ramen noodles). Additionally, the book felt more cynical than motivational/insightful. Perhaps that was the reality of her trip, but I feel like there’s not a large sense of hope that comes through in the [fleeting] positive experiences she describes. Nor a lot of gratitude regarding the experience. Reading this book has felt much like her bike ride came across to me—a kind of slogging thru. I skipped most of the last couple chapters, because I just couldn’t read any more of an experience that had failed to be conveyed meaningfully all along.