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On My Own Two Wheels: Back in the Saddle at 60
When Malachi was diagnosed with diabetes in 2009, just a few months before his sixtieth birthday, he knew he had to take hold of his life and make some changes; dusting down the old bicycle parked in his backyard was just one of these. This memoir tells the personal story of how the author challenged himself to cycle around Ireland during the summer of 2011, following many of the same routes that he took as a keen cyclist thirty years earlier.
The book uses journeys made by Malachi on his bicycle to discuss his reflections on growing older and the challenges ageing presents. Malachi cycled for whole days, successive days, along Irish coasts in the west, over the drumlins of County Down, and the horrendously steep Torr Road in north Antrim. He was doing the things he used to do, whilst not losing sight of the pleasure riding a bicycle can give.
Malachi’s narrative moves between past and present – as the author looks back to a younger self and his first journeys and compares it to his recent experiences – and reflects upon his relationship with his father, a champion cyclist.
The book uses journeys made by Malachi on his bicycle to discuss his reflections on growing older and the challenges ageing presents. Malachi cycled for whole days, successive days, along Irish coasts in the west, over the drumlins of County Down, and the horrendously steep Torr Road in north Antrim. He was doing the things he used to do, whilst not losing sight of the pleasure riding a bicycle can give.
Malachi’s narrative moves between past and present – as the author looks back to a younger self and his first journeys and compares it to his recent experiences – and reflects upon his relationship with his father, a champion cyclist.
176 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 20, 2014
This book caught my eye when I was researching another author. I enjoy memoirs; I adore Ireland; I fight a family history of diabetes; and sixty is suddenly not such an ethereal concept. It was a soft sell.
What I found was an honest depiction of how he arrived at diabetes, and what he did to change his life. O’Doherty preaches peckishness, one of my new favorite words. In short: Love peckishness and trust it to go away.
O’Doherty returned to bicycling. He had cycled around Ireland in his younger days as well as a means of commute, and just fell out of the habit. His trips aid in his fitness and bring out the philosopher in him. I followed along à la Google, reveling in the beauty of Achill Island, Kylemore Abbey, the tiny village of Doolin, and Donegal Bay. After some intense trips, he settles into tootling—relaxed cycling for the joy of it. Rain or no rain.
'If you let the weather stop you, you’ll do nothing.'
I enjoyed the story; I like most Irish literary voices, and this one was winsome with that self-deprecating charm.
What I found was an honest depiction of how he arrived at diabetes, and what he did to change his life. O’Doherty preaches peckishness, one of my new favorite words. In short: Love peckishness and trust it to go away.
O’Doherty returned to bicycling. He had cycled around Ireland in his younger days as well as a means of commute, and just fell out of the habit. His trips aid in his fitness and bring out the philosopher in him. I followed along à la Google, reveling in the beauty of Achill Island, Kylemore Abbey, the tiny village of Doolin, and Donegal Bay. After some intense trips, he settles into tootling—relaxed cycling for the joy of it. Rain or no rain.
'If you let the weather stop you, you’ll do nothing.'
I enjoyed the story; I like most Irish literary voices, and this one was winsome with that self-deprecating charm.
Displaying 1 of 1 review