About book The Man Who Cycled The World. Mark Beaumont (2010)
If you're looking for rich descriptions of the places Mark saw and the people he met or even sentimentality about how we're all human beings no matter where we live . . . look elsewhere.It's a shame: I really *wanted* to like this book--and it's author--but he made it hard for me by being *SO* focused on breaking the world record (and he did: by TWO MONTHS so a bit of side-trekking wouldn't have hurt, would it?) that he seemed to blow past any attempt to make any connections or observations along the way.Maybe this is just more of a sports book than a travel book: For Mark, it was clearly about the athletic accomplishment of circling the globe, alone, by bike, in just a matter of a few months. But the downside of that was that he seemed to meet no one, talk to no one, notice nothing. His reaction upon meeting supporters or would-be new friends seems mostly to be annoyance that they might slow him down.It's a puzzle, I admit: Do you marvel at this guy's physical (and mental) accomplishment? Or do you look askance at the fact that it seemed like he kind of acted like a jerk in the process?P.S. Oh and apropos Mark's experience in Lafayette, Louisiana: Yeah, getting essentially mugged by drugged-out gangsters would sour me on a country, to be sure. Same thing with the various drivers in the U.S. whom he said yelled at him to ride on the sidewalk. I'm inclined to be forgiving that his final feeling was that the U.S. wasn't a very nice place. Truthfully, it seems like his route took him through the worst parts of several different countries. Simply written, but very engrossing. Although the travel commentary was enlightening, I most enjoyed reading about what was going through his mind and spirit. As a cyclist myself, I felt as though I was flying down the road with Mark, reliving some of my own long-distance challenges, although they were nothing compared to his. What is missing here, unfortunately, is an epilogue. What happened in the three and six months after the race ended? What was the recovery like, both physically and emotionally? How did he cope with being back in the real world? But in any case, thank you very much for allowing us to share in the adventure.....
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Two people I knew read this and thought it was boring. I thought it was amazing.
—Sarann
