Pedaling to Hawaii: A Human-Powered Odyssey - Hardcover

Smith, Stevie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0881507091 ISBN 13: 9780881507096

Publisher: Countryman Press, 2006

Synopsis

An amazing and deeply insightful account of how two normal guys decided to embark upon the unthinkable: an attempt to circumnavigate the globe using just human powered means.

On a rainy, miserable Monday morning in Paris a twenty-something bureaucrat decides there must be more to life than the United Nations project on which he is working. Stevie Smith tries to figure out what he could do of great significance and hit upon the notion of a trip around the world using only human powerno motors, no sails, no balloonsmaybe the last great first. With no experience, no particular expedition skills, and no money, the adventure begins.

A pedal-powered boat, a bike, in-line skates, and a lot of hilarious non-heroics take Stevie and his buddy, Jason, where no one has gone before. A bike ride through Europe by a guy who's never ridden much beyond the corner grocery; a pedal-boat trip across the Atlantic in 111 days by two guys whose combined sailing experience was a bout or two in a dinghy on the English coast; a bike and in-line skates get them across America; more pedaling to Hawaii

No travel writing has more accurately captured the old adage, "it's the journey and not the destination." Therein lies the simple beauty of this entertaining travel talea search for simplicity, integrity, and freedom. 12 black & white photographs.

About this title

About the Author:

Stevie Smith (1902-1971) was the author of three novels and nine poetry volumes and lived almost her whole life in northern London. She was officially recognized with the Cholmondeley Award for Poetry in 1966 and the Queen’s Gold Medal for poetry in 1969.

From Publishers Weekly:

In 1994, two English adventurers in their late 20s embarked on Expedition 360, an underfunded attempt, initially sans sponsorship, to circumnavigate the world using only human power. Instead of relying on sails, balloons and motors, Smith and his traveling companion, Jason Lewis, used bicycles, skates, kayaks and their 26-foot pedal boat, "a ruthlessly Spartan composite of varnished plywood, plastic, and steel as cosy as a cheap coffin." Crossing the English Channel that summer, they biked through France, Spain and Portugal, then set forth on a "seemingly endless expanse: 4,250 nautical miles of ocean to pedal across at walking speed." Pedaling through the Atlantic in two-hour day shifts and four-hour night shifts, the duo arrived in Miami 111 days later, and then cycled and skated across America, eventually pedaling the Pacific. Smith is an accomplished writer, contrasting evocative descriptions of dolphins, seascapes and beckoning vistas with stories of days of fatigue, boredom and his own wild fantasies. He interweaves environmental observations and his inner spiritual quest with powerful passages on the more harrowing moments. Neither man had previously spent a night at sea, and mentions of their oversights and inexperience add to the suspense in this entertaining yarn. Nine maps, 10 b&w photos. (May 1)
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About this edition

• Publisher: Countryman Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0881507091
• ISBN 13: 9780881507096
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 292