Having made the daring decision to set off around the world by bicycle, Pam Goodall left the comfortable surroundings of her home in West Sussex one spring morning, and went on to pedal her way through Europe, Asia and America. She was approaching her sixtieth birthday and travelled alone. Riding It Out is a record of this remarkable journey, giving a vivid and lighthearted account. This includes the trials of finding a place to sleep each night, the reality of owning a Brooks saddle and choosing to ignore persistent warnings from well meaning strangers of the dangers lurking ahead for a lone female cyclist. The challenge of obtaining visas throughout Asia proves nerve-wracking and costly. This one woman tale of adventure encapsulates the spirit of freedom of the open road (or bumpy track) so that you can enjoy the experience without the discomforts.

2007-06-06 Armchair cyclist stuff .....

Pam Goodall decided to cycle around the world alone. Most of us have similar, wild dreams at some time or another - but unlike most of us, Pam actually DOES what she dreams about doing. She meets a variety of people along the way - not all cyclists - some very kind, some less than kind and some very odd characters, for sure. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although it took a while to read, since it lacks the grabbing aspect that a lot of books usually have. (At least, the ones I normally read !) Also, I found that the authors many remarks about her own age began to wear a little thin. ("You're HOW old ? That's incredible !") We know from the first paragraph on the back of the book just how old she is, so there was no need to be reminded of this as often as we were. I felt the tale was good enough without it.

I was interested to read how a cyclist was received outside of the tourist areas in, for example, China. Being a birdwatcher myself, I could understand a little of her experience here. I find that locals treat visitors entirely differently to tourists when they discover you have a REAL reason to be in their part of the world, like cycling on a journey such as Pams or seeking out the country's wonderful birdlife. (Especially in third world countries where local people must be weary of tourists trying to get a feel of the local culture by observing, say, their poverty or just how difficult it can be to fetch clean water.)

All in all, a pleasant read. Bit of a pity there weren't colour pics in the book, as it looks as though she had some wonderful photo opportunities along the way, but don't let anything like that put you off !