Diminished By One: John Egbers, the Trans Am Bike Race and a Place Like Kansas

by Heath Ryan

On June 14, 2018, when almost at the halfway mark of the 4,208-mile Trans Am Bike Race from Oregon to Virginia, Minnesotan cyclist John Egbers was struck from behind, in broad daylight, by a car driven by Mr Angel Labra. The weather that day was clear, and the road was straight and dry. Three weeks later, John's heart stopped beating. Mr Labra's excuse was that he was distracted by the nearby fields. The Kansas Highway Patrol and the Wichita County Sheriff's Office failed to charge Mr Labra, and Wichita County Attorney Laura Lewis agreed with them that John's death was just a tragic accident. In doing so, she failed to hold the driver accountable for his actions or to deliver justice for John, his wife and their family. That same week two other competitors in the race were also struck from behind by Kansan drivers - Englishman Ash Sharp and American T.C. Cheng. While Ash made a full recovery, T.C. struggles daily with life-changing spinal injuries. In telling their stories, Diminished By One celebrates their love of cycling and the friendships that develop in races like the Trans Am Bike Race. It is also a testament to how the human spirit can triumph over adversity.

250 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2002

Reviews

[PurplyCookie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Based on the screenplay written by Guy Ritchie comes this thin, barely believable plot of the changing of fortunes of a capitalist woman and her blue collar employee as they become castaways on a deserted island.

Amber's gorgeous, spoiled, temperamental, and demanding. A sexy capitalist consumed by her father's fortune, she's entitled to everything daddy's money can buy. Giuseppe's the slave, a crewman on a private yacht sailing six friends on an idyllic cruise from Greece to Italy. They become castaways on a tropical Eden not unlike that of the Blue Lagoon. It is here where the roles of master and slave, and man and woman, will shift.


Book Details:

Title Swept Away
Author Kathryn Wesley
Reviewed By Purplycookie

[Michelle Campbell · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was given to me by a friend. The only reason I even bothered to read this was because my wifi was down and I couldn't add anything to ibooks. The plot was not at all believable, the characters were predictable and ignorant, and the entire thing was too predictable. I'm not at all surprised the movie tanked, only surprised that someone even bothered to make a movie about this dumb book.