A Ride Across America: A 4,000-Mile Adventure Through the Small Towns and Big Issues of the USA

by Simon Parker

On the eve of the 2024 election, a fascinating - and frequently funny - tale of one man cycling the breadth of America.
'Finally, I emerged onto a sealed asphalt walkway, with twigs in my hair and blood streaming down my legs. Feeling like David Livingstone without a machete, I had tamed the impenetrable woodlands of Eastern Mississippi. Hurrah! But then my sense of adventure sobered suddenly, when a woman in yoga pants and flipflops wandered past, walking a Bichon Frise.'

Frustrated by the shallow headlines focusing only on Trump, guns and divisions, award-winning travel writer Simon Parker decided that to better understand the USA he would have to travel across it, slowly.

Did the America of his teenage dreams really exist? And was it really as fractured as the headlines suggest? On his journey to find out, Simon cycled 4,373 miles through eleven states and numerous extreme weather events, via mountains and prairie lands, forests and freeways. Along the way he visited homes, schools, churches and rodeos, meeting hundreds of (extra)ordinary Americans behind the clickbait news posts to discover a nation whose portrayal has become vastly oversimplified.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel

308 pages, Hardcover

Published July 18, 2024

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoyed this travelogue of the author travelling from north west USA to south east USA and him documenting the change in the US post 1st trump and Biden and the looming 2nd term Trump.

[Vivienne Webster · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this as a different read - I might not cycle America but it's certainly given me ideas for a USA campervanning trip. Never really fancied the US but the encounters SP has on his mammoth trip gives me a more balanced perspective; who knows I might just do that van trip with a smidgen of cycling thanks to SP

[Christie Bane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A British guy decides to cycle across the United States, from the northwestern-most point in Washington State to the southeastern-most point in Key West. The result is a surprisingly interesting look at our country through the eyes of a foreigner. He’s a very entertaining writer, and also very insightful in a way that I think is harder for Americans who have never lived in any other culture. This is one of the books that I read out loud to Will; that’s the only reason it took me so long to finish. It’s a really great book but did not at all inspire me to cycle anywhere.

[Martin Jackman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m interested in riding or at least travelling the US and in that respect it’s interesting. The author seems an amiable and determined man and I do envy his can do attitude.

So what’s my problem with the book. Well it’s the political slant and biased and one sided narrative of the people he meets. All the lovely people are ‘left leaning New York Times readers who also read the Guardian and have lovely houses and cute dogs and dare for the environment. All the bad people are republicans with flags, keep off signs and dangerous dogs.

That’s ridiculous and surely skewed. And all these ‘lovely people’ seem to have huge houses, plenty of land and the time and money to be able to virtue signal and back it up for all to see.

I much preferred Tim Moore and his relentless drive through the Trump states on a Model T Ford meeting real republicans who were no less lovely with far less money to afford the luxury.

This could have been so much better but as it stands ‘Virtue Signaling across the US’ might have been a better title.

[Sean Farrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a liberal-leaning cyclist, interested but not obsessed with the lunacy of America, I of fourteen found much to like in this book. Well written, engaging and unencumbered by bitterness or anger, it's a relatively light read covering some of the most complex and controversial topics imaginable. I liked the authors willingness (bravery) to speak with people of all backgrounds, and though none of it was really surprising, it was still interesting to read about the increasing polarity if views. Sadly, it does feel as though Britain is on the same polarized path, with friends amd family avoiding political conversations because they morph too quickly into arguments with no middle ground.

The references to the cycling itself were a good touchstone, those frustrations of flat tyres, unexplained creaks and the drain of a wind that goes against you being all too familiar, but reassuring at the same time.

A good book, nicely written, some interesting insights. Recommended.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a bit of an impulse buy, but I'm really glad I did so.

It is a - not perfectly - but almost perfectly balanced travelogue.

The author describes the journey, describes the places and provides social, cultural and political context for what he is describing.

I would have preferred a bit more about the places he passed through, but it is so well written that it makes up for that.

And that is only the balance I would prefer - for anyone who prefers the social commentary more than the travel descriptions themselves then this will already strike the right balance for them.

I would recommend for anyone who likes travelogues or discussions about the US.

[Claire Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating insight into parts of America (both the people and the geography) that we don’t often see. Parker allows people he comes across to share their opinions, without judgement. The result is informative, often funny, sometimes depressing but ever hopeful. The reader rides along with him, experiencing the highs and lows of cycling solo through such a vast country, with its extremes of weather (hurricanes, tornadoes, torrential rain) and political opinion. A real page-turner.

[Gerard Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent travel writing - with moments of humour and some drama - a very good analysis of the current state of the Union.
Meeting a mix of characters and exploring such key issues as gun control - freedom and God Simon Parker produces a fascinating and ultimately life affirming picture of life in such an enormous country.

Highly recommend

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given this book for Christmas basically because I love books about America. I have zero interest in cycling but it was a fascinating account of his epic journey across the States, the people he met along the way, the places he visited
Lots of humour in this and a good travel document
Loved it!

[Adam Carberry · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to enjoy this novel so much more than I ultimately did. An insane adventure, a cycle route from the north western most point of America to its most south eastern. An expansive exploration of middle Americas small towns, their communities and the issues that divide them. Sadly just found the writing overly pithy and reasonably dull. More of a sports article than a beatnik adventure.

[Roo Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read, which left me with two clear thoughts: 1. Don’t cycle across the US, if the rabid dogs are not enough the infrastructure is just not geared up to keeping cyclists safe; and 2. Don’t spend your life obsessing about politics, if you only ever talk to people who agree with you, you are missing out on meeting a lot of kind and interesting people.

[Ramesh CV · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and humorous. Given that this was the pre 2024 election, I would have liked additional political commentary. There was some coverage but the book was more about the ride.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful read. Absorbing from the start and the writing just flowed. I love America and I am fascinated by the people, their views and way of life.