Note: Originally written for the "graphic_librarians" bookstagram.
La Ride tells the real life story of two friends Simon (author) and Florent (illustrator), who embarked on a five day bike trip from Paris to Bourgogne with the intention to escape busy Parisian streets, hard working rhythm and to get in touch with themselves.
Like in every (bike) trip, Simon and Florent experienced ups and downs, various (mis)adventures, that at the end of the road they recognized as real treasures of life experience.
This book perfectly captures how easy it is to get lost in the maze of Parisian suburbs, with the confusing road signs and endless streets of concrete buildings that make you claustrophobic. You will be reminded how life is different outside of metropolis – slower, simpler, quieter. You will see how going out of your comfort zone can leave you on mercy of weather conditions, with various mechanical problems or just extremely tired, but those are the moments when you see who you really are, and you discover there are people, friends or strangers, who will help you.
That’s the most beautiful part of the book to me,: a reminder that, we humans, are compassionate, friendly, and care for each other.
All these beautiful adventures and emotions are perfectly illustrated by Florent Pierre thanks to warm colors and shapes that make me nostalgic of my past bike trips, and excited for the upcoming ones.
As you can understand, I absolutely loved this book. But hey, I’m obviously biased, since I practically live on my bike, and it reminded me of my very first bike adventure with a friend – it was a three days trip from Paris to Dieppe and it changed my life.