The Cyclist Who Went Out in the Cold
Adventures Along the Iron Curtain Trail
Published on 6. October 2016
352 pages
978-1-4735-2285-5 (ISBN)
Description
'Bill Bryson on two wheels' Independent
Scaling a new peak of rash over-ambition, Tim Moore tackles the 9,000km route of the old Iron Curtain on a tiny-wheeled, two-geared East German shopping bike.
Asking for trouble and getting it, he sets off at the Arctic winter's brutal height, bullying his plucky MIFA 900 through the endless and massively sub-zero desolation of snowbound Finland.
Haunted throughout the journey by the border detritus of watchtowers and rusted razor wire, Moore reflects on the curdling of the Communist dream, and the memories of a Cold War generation reared on the fear of apocalypse - at a time of ratcheting East-West tension.
After three months, 20 countries and a 58-degree jaunt up the centigrade scale, man and bike finally wobble up to a Black Sea beach in Bulgaria, older and wiser, but mainly older.
Scaling a new peak of rash over-ambition, Tim Moore tackles the 9,000km route of the old Iron Curtain on a tiny-wheeled, two-geared East German shopping bike.
Asking for trouble and getting it, he sets off at the Arctic winter's brutal height, bullying his plucky MIFA 900 through the endless and massively sub-zero desolation of snowbound Finland.
Haunted throughout the journey by the border detritus of watchtowers and rusted razor wire, Moore reflects on the curdling of the Communist dream, and the memories of a Cold War generation reared on the fear of apocalypse - at a time of ratcheting East-West tension.
After three months, 20 countries and a 58-degree jaunt up the centigrade scale, man and bike finally wobble up to a Black Sea beach in Bulgaria, older and wiser, but mainly older.
Reviews / Votes
One hundred per cent self-inflicted ... Beyond stupid ... It's hilarious. -- Adrian Chiles * Radio 5 Live * Bill Bryson on two wheels. * Independent * The world's funniest travel writer. * Observer * A good, entertaining writer, laugh-out-loud funny in parts. * Irish Independent * It's a hoot. -- Michael Kerr * Daily Telegraph, Book of the Year * It's a hoot. -- Michael Kerr * Daily Telegraph, Book of the Year * Terrifically engaging * Times Literary Supplement * [An] entertaining travelogue. * Sport * Moore's books are strangely inspiring. It's hard not to be impressed by a man in his early 50s who hasn't really ridden for two years...deciding to undertake a huge ride on a completely inappropriate bicycle. It makes the daily struggle to get motivated for ride to work seem a little weak, and whets your own appetite for a bike-based adventure. It probably won't be quite as amusing without Tim Moore for company though. * Bike Radar * An epic trip... Underpinned by Moore's pinpoint accurate observations and engaging style that has you rooting for him from the moment he pedals forward on his folding bike. -- Peter Sharkey * Post *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Random House (Digital)
File size
20,09 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-4735-2285-5 (9781473522855)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
05/2017
Yellow Jersey Press
€16.50
Available immediately
Person
Tim Moore's writing has appeared in the Daily Telegraph, the Observer, the Sunday Times and Esquire. He is the author of Gironimo!, French Revolutions, Do Not Pass Go, Spanish Steps, Nul Points, I Believe In Yesterday and You Are Awful (But I Like You). He lives in London.
