Riding with Ghosts
Gwen Maka(Author)
TravellersEye (Publisher)
Published on 21. January 2003
Book
Paperback/Softback
287 pages
978-1-903070-00-0 (ISBN)
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Description
This is the frank, often outrageous, account of a forty-something Englishwoman's epic 4,000 mile cycle ride from Seattle to Mexico, via the snow-covered Rocky Mountains. She travels the length and breadth of the American West, mostly alone and camping in the wild. She runs appalling risks and copes in a gutsy, hilarious way with exhaustion, climatic extremes, dangerous animals, eccentrics, lechers and a permanently saddle-sore bum. We share her deep involvement with the West's pioneering past, and with the strong, often tragic traces history has left lingering on the land. When she rides the faded trails of the vanished American Indian nations she displays an almost psychic sensitivity to the atmosphere of the spectacular landscape, as if all the dramatic and poignant moments of its vibrant past are hanging invisibly in the air, only waiting for her to conjure them up vividly - sometimes with humour and frequently with passion. As she travels, the ghosts of Lewis and Clark, Chief Joseph and Geronimo, Custer and Crazy Horse - all the legendary figures of the Old West, ride with her.
We feel their presence constantly, and every now and then we almost catch a glimpse of them, just beyond the corner of our eye.
We feel their presence constantly, and every now and then we almost catch a glimpse of them, just beyond the corner of our eye.
Reviews / Votes
"A beautifully written book which achieves the delicate balance between poetic description, gritty humour and well-paced story-telling" Manchester Evening News "The book is written in a fluid and beautifully descriptive way" London Cyclist "It is a fantastic read" Cycling WorldMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Much Wenlock
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Eye Books
Illustrations
Col.ill.
Dimensions
Height: 194 mm
Width: 136 mm
Weight
314 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-903070-00-0 (9781903070000)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions

Person
Born in England in 1948, Gwen Maka's love affair with America and low budget travel began when she stepped off a plane at JFK airport in 1982 with GBP100 in her pocket, on her way to study underdevelopment on a Sioux reservation. Ten years later she abandoned her three grown up sons to their fate when a pin stuck in a map took her to Istanbul where she taught English for eighteen months. Prior to this her lack of long-term strategic planning (and need for cash) led her through dozens of jobs, including potato picking, cleaning, nursing, tree surgery, research assistant, development worker, to obtaining first and postgraduate degrees from the University of East Anglia, and Edinburgh University. She is currently living and painting in Holland.