Life Is a Wheel: Memoirs of a Bike-Riding Obituarist

by Bruce Weber

Life Is a Wheel chronicles the cross-country bicycle trip Bruce Weber made at the age of fifty-seven, an entertaining travel story filled with insightful thoughts about life, family, and aging; (The Associated Press).

During the summer and fall of 2011, Bruce Weber, an obituary writer for The New York Times, bicycled across the country, alone, and wrote about it as it unfolded. Life Is a Wheel is the witty, inspiring, and reflective diary of his journey, in which the challenges and rewards of self-reliance and strenuous physical effort yield wry and incisive observations about cycling and America, not to mention the pleasures of a three-thousand-calorie breakfast.

The story begins on the Oregon coast, with Weber wondering what he's gotten himself into, and ends in triumph on New York City's George Washington Bridge. From Going-to-the-Sun Road in the northern Rockies to the headwaters of the Mississippi and through the cityscapes of Chicago and Pittsburgh, his encounters with people and places provide us with an intimate, two-wheeled perspective of America. And with thousands of miles to travel, Weber considers his past, his family, and the echo that a well-lived life leaves behind.

Part travelogue, part memoir, part romance, part paean to the bicycle; and part bemused and panicky account of a middle-aged man's attempt to stave off, well, you know;Life Is a Wheel is a book for cyclists, and for anyone who has ever dreamed of such transcontinental travels. But it also should prove enlightening, soul-stirring, even, to those who don't care a whit about bikes but who care about the way people connect (The Philadelphia Inquirer).

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Memoir, Sports, Cycling, Autobiography, Biography

352 pages, Paperback

First published August 13, 2013

Reviews

[Mikey B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author of this book is a talented writer and introspective – this is not a superficial travelogue. The book sparkles – and entertains. For the most part it is about his journey by bicycle across the United States as he approaches the age of sixty. This is currently my age – and I did some bicycling years ago in my younger days – so this book appealed to me from the outset.

Page 114-15 (my book) – while cycling in Montana

This may a good time for a disquisition on wind, which is, naturally, a huge factor on a trip like this, a thrilling friend when it’s behind you, a wily foe otherwise, which feels most of the time...The psychological battle between a cross-country cyclist and the wind is more complicated than you would think. First of all, the wind isn’t a singular force but a plethora of little forces that coalesce into a prevailing notion, though not without a number of contrary opinions. In other words, the wind is a million winds, most of them working more or less in concert but many not, so that no matter which direction is prevalent, you’re being buffeted by a battalion of little dervishes.


It’s more than a bicycle journey narration which is where the author started losing me. It becomes an autobiography with rather long detours on the authors’ parents, friends, lost and current lovers’. I suppose I should have noted the sub-title more carefully – “Love, Death”. These digressions, to emphasize again, are well-written, but I found they interrupted from the main flow of the journey. And I also found them to be too personal (writer’s angst) – an overflow of the author’s personal life (i.e. love affairs that didn’t work, friends from the past who died...). But I did love the bike journey!

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love any kind of true adventure but I have a real soft spot for biking adventures, probably because the first book I read of this kind was MILES FROM NOWHERE by Barbara Savage, now considered a classic. Since my longest bike rides consist of a 6-mile loop in an urban park without traffic, it's beyond my comprehension to ever want to ride all the way across the United States, but that's what many people do and live to tell about it.

Bruce Weber had bicycled across the U.S. at age 39 but decided to do it again at age 57 despite many medical issues that can go with the age-- bad knees and chronic acid reflux to name a few (I have to admit I'd never seen GERD mentioned as a hindrance to do something). He took leave from his job as an obituary writer for the New York Times, had a custom-made bike made (to the tune of $8000), and shipped everything to Oregon where he embarked on a 4100 mile ride. Along the way he talks about the scenery, the people, the food, and even his motel experiences (unlike some readers, I can't get enough of these kinds of travel details). Occasionally he digresses to reflect on relationships, and life and, like he says, "...well, you know."

All in all I thoroughly enjoyed this combo of travelogue and memoir and recommend to anyone, whether they are like me and just tool around on a cruiser bike, or are road warriors and dream about doing this kind of a journey.

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book thinking it was about his trip across America by bike. While it was a little, it was mostly a memoir about an aging baby boomer who was a complete stranger to me. He acknowledged that most New Yorkers (the city, not the state) don't really care or even know the rest of the country exists and if anything, thinks the rest of the country is provincial. He must too, as he didn't tell the rich stories that other accounts about bike travel across the US have done. (see crazyguyonabike.com). He did his best in his account of a 1995 journey in Vietnam, in the middle of the book.

Stunningly, he rode his bike through some of the bike-friendliest cities in the US - Minneapolis and Madison, WI, and barely gave them a mention. More time was spent talking about the bad biking experiencing like Pittsburgh, Kenosha, etc.

If you are an aging baby boomer, who likes to ride bikes a little, you might like this book. Since I am not, I guess I need another 15 years before I can appreciate it more.

[Kay Sakamoto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not quite what I was expecting (in a good way). Author Bruce Webber mixes travelogue with ruminations on friends, family, significant others, and mortality as he rides from coast-to-coast for the second time (his first was in 1993). Recommended for cyclists and non-cyclists alike.

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's something about non-fiction, especially a travelogue, that keeps me riveted. I love the details and feel like I'm right there, going along for the ride. Especially the journey in Vietnam. Not high literature, but it's recommended and deserves a good, solid 4 stars.

[Edward Sontag · Rating 4 out of 5]

Makes me want to ride

For most of the book I enjoyed the stories. If I could write I think it would be like this. The stories of interactions with others were my favorites. I appreciated hearing his mindset on miles and hours.

[Silvio111 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I confess I only persisted about 25 pages into Weber's book. Like other reviewers here, I found that he focused on inconsequential things; mostly his own life and reactions, but for some reason I did not find his choices that compelling. I wanted him to focus on his surroundings, but he was too busy focusing on himself. Sometimes that works, but like another reviewer, I just did not like him enough to keep reading.

I am also the reader who got exhausted halfway through Bill Bryson's book about hiking the Appalachian Trail (right about the time Bryson got exhausted too...)

I do relate to his predicament; a middle-aged person who remembers a much earlier athletic effort to ride across the country. While I cannot claim to have done as much, I myself did ride 500 miles from Eugene, OR to San Francisco about 35 years ago, and at the time I was at the top of my game, while now, not so much. So I understand the bittersweet experience of trying to retrace one's steps and see the journal from a new perspective. there may be a time in future when I give Weber another try, but not just now, thank you.

[Karen R · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author of this memoir, Life is a Wheel, likely knows this country’s nooks and crannies better than most. Bruce Weber took his first cycling trip through America when he was 39 years old. Now, in his 50’s, he decides to do it again. He takes his readers along for the ride on a four thousand mile, three-month, two-wheeled journey. What an adventure! The landscapes he travels, the people he meets, his struggles and accomplishments are inspirational. Similar to the author Bill Bryson, Weber’s years of journalism experience shine through as he travels the nation mile by mile. For the serious ‘gearhead’ readers, he offers technical cycling details, but he doesn’t get bogged down with them. From seasoned cyclists to others who simply want to live precariously through the authors’ experiences, there is something for everyone here. Wonderful photos pepper the story.

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Update 2022: I found this book at the library and had completely forgotten that I had read it in 2015. Only upon looking it up on goodreads did I see I'd read it. Most of it was unfamiliar. That aside, I think I may have enjoyed it more this round. I didn't mind him veering off-course in his writing. Since I didn't remember it, I read the whole book again.

2015 review: A casual travelogue by a writer (NY Times obits) who embarks on his second cross country cycling trip (this one in his late 50s.) Pleasant enough read although he does veer off-course (in his writing, not so much in his cycling) a few times, once too abruptly for me (a short "2nd part" recounts a previous cycling trip in Vietnam.) Still, most of the time I enjoyed the book and found myself daydreaming of cycling cross country.

[Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Due to the difference between how this book is framed and executed, it turns out to be a less entertaining variety show than it should have been. Webber clearly can write and loves to tell stories (think cranky East Coast boomer at a bar type stories). Picking a format and sticking with it (a travelogue of a cross country bike ride) would have yielded more compelling results than a travelogue plus excerpts of unrelated writings plus his 9/11 story plus a hefty interlude about his trip to Vietnam.

[Mary Havens · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took a while to get into his writing style (kind of dry and "dude-ish") but I loved the clarity and honesty that he presented. The best parts are synopses of American life and his other travels he has taken by bike. The not-so-great parts, for me, were technical details about bikes and road logs. A book about traveling and self-discovery. Recommended for all adventurers, bike enthusiasts, and people that "get" why anyone would travel cross country in anything but a car.

[Serge Pierro · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't believe that a professional writer could deliver such an uninteresting book. It is hard to empathize with someone who spends $8,000 on a bike, has his trip financed by the New York Times, gets rides from motor vehicles, and flies around the country - all in the name of "riding across the country". I couldn't wait to finish this book.

This could have been interesting - if he had only stuck to the riding, instead of veering off on self-centered tangents.

A waste of time…

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this travelogue of author Bruce Weber's bike ride across America. I believe that I'm an expert reader of this type of travel writing and this is one of the best. This is in my top three with Bill Bryson's A walk in the woods being number one, Life is a wheel is number 2 and The handsomest man in Cuba by Lynette Chiang as number 3.

[Michael Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love bicycling so any book even tangentially about riding a bike across the USA will get a 3 star rating from me. I would have preferred more cycling and less "life insights" but overall it was more of a 5 than a 3. The author hints that he may do a southern swing next with his wife/girlfriend; and that will be a book I would be eager to read.

[Dee Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book when he wrote about riding and what he was seeing, who he was meeting, etc. I thought he was too obsessed with details of his life, the eulogies that he has given. He has a nice, casual style. I wanted more about the travel adventure and less about his angst.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bruce Weber rode his bike across America twenty years earlier. Now he’s in his fifties and he decides it’s time to do it again. Along the way, he meets lots of intriguing people and has lots of fun adventures. I’m happy I took this trip across America on a bike with him.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

not a cyclist myself (you don't count stationary, right?), but I celebrated this year's Tour de France by reading this 2014 account of a 2011 bike ride across America (4000+ miles, mostly northern route with some detours to accommodate places he wanted to hit or people with whom he wished to ride for a bit, in 79 days) by NYT obituary writer who turned it into counting as work by keeping a blog for their travel section.

He was 57 at the time and had cycled across the country at 39 as well, so there is a fair amount of calling back to that earlier ride, and of memoir in general as he starts a new relationship, reflects on recently deceased parents and friend, his thoughts about the country, and more. Understated humor and some interesting observations of the places through which he rode. Also liked that he was honest (I assume) about a few "cheats" like getting short rides through stretches that were miserably inconvenient for biking.

Epilogue re needing heart operation a couple years later that caused him to reinterpret some of the coughing spells during the ride that he'd initially ascribed to acid reflux was unsettling, and I don't really relate to his NYC perspective on everything, but all told an enjoyable read about something I would never want to do. I know people who have run across the country, which would be more my speed, but even so all descriptions of the road conditions (trucks whizzing by you etc.) are terrible.

I hereby declare that people who want to achieve remarkable endurance feats are authorized to cover the same amount of ground on trails/paths meant for and perhaps reserved for your type of transportation -- go back and forth on C&O canal towpath if you like. You don't have to actually go across the country on highways. I hope this helps.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always enjoyed riding a bicycle, so I was interested in Weber's story of cycling from coast to coast (something I will never do - too old). Weber is a quirky rider, creating some unnecessary anxieties because he fails to plan too far down the road. Early on, I thought, "sheesh - dumb" a few times. However, Weber owns his failures and "spins" an absorbing tale that had me hoping and praying for his success. A well-written story that goes down a few rabbit holes (e.g., bike trip in Vietnam years before). Whether you enjoy biking around your neighborhood or take long distance trips, this is a satisfying read. Have any women ridden solo on such an adventure? Off to do some research ....

[Louise B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having completed a cross country bike ride last summer, I can’t seem to get enough of other accounts of the same adventure. Bruce Weber’s Life is a Wheel did not disappoint. The same questions I encountered every day on the ride are the same ones I want to ask other riders and are the same ones the author answers adeptly, showing his mark as someone who writes for a living.
These questions include: What motivated you to do this ride? What route are you taking? What do you think about while you ride? Does it hurt?

Everyone has their own twist on the questions. Reading this book gives my own answers perspectives. I squirmed at some of the more open answers, while understanding that doing this ride is deeply personal, and writing about it would necessarily encompass a range of life experiences, some conventionally acceptable, others not so much.

My favorite quotes from the book are those that ring the truest to me:

“However far you go, your achievement is measurable and unequivocal. You make an enormous effort, you worry about all sorts of things, you strain and sweat, you self-examine, self-aggrandize, and self-loathe, you exult, you despair, you exult again and despair again, but at the end of the day, at the end of the journey, you’ve arrived at a destination or you haven’t. What a relief from life’s more common challenges - family, work, love - and their irreducible ambiguities.”

“I’m struck by the conflicting needs of a traveler: to soak up as much as you can and eventually to get where you’re going.”

[Gwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weber is a good writer, and steady cyclist, who captures the challenges, joys, frustration, and pace of biking across country. It was interesting to compare my recollections of some of the same cities, albeit 25 years earlier than his ride. Life happens, and being in a bike seat makes one contemplate on both Big questions -- life, love, family, relationships - -and little questions -- where is that hotel? what am I eating today for lunch? In the end, all of these questions are equally important. We're lucky that Weber takes us along for the ride.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a cyclist myself, I really enjoyed Bruce’s travelogue across the country along with his great storytelling. Personally, I would never spend that much time in the saddle but it was fun to read about it. This book also has special meaning to me, it’s was a hand-me-down from my cousin who died recently. It made me think of him often and his great passion for cycling.

[Larry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being an avid cyclist, I wished this book covered a little more of that aspect, but an enjoyable read nonetheless. The two chapters on riding through North Vietnam shortly after diplomatic relations were established was fascinating.

[Eve Kofsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed this book! I’m sure that my tandem ride across the USA last year has something to do with my thorough enjoyment of this story. This was another “analog” book on my pile (since it came out in 2014)! It’s really well written and worth a read if you can find it!

[North Landesman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book about a guy who takes a cross-country bike ride at age 59. I enjoyed the descriptions of what Montana was like and the people he met along the way. Overall, too much of it was introspection, not enough description. Agree with most of the other reviewers here.

[CHRISTY · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this book because it didn't deliver what I had hoped. The book was full of asides about the author's life, and not as much about riding trails as I wanted. I hoped it would inspire vacation plans; it didn't.

[Mary]

What a RIDE. Weber regals us with his adventures, but alsi deepens the conversation with memories of his ride in Vietnam, the passing of his friend, and his friend-turned-girl friend Jan. Totally with the read.

[Corey · Rating 2 out of 5]

How can you make riding a bike across the entire country SO BORING? Also, about 40% of the book is actually about the ride. The rest is his new girlfriend, complaining about people who are mean to him online, and other inane random stuff that isn't the bike ride. Awfully disappointing.

[Lisa Aboudan · Rating 4 out of 5]

One man's inspirational journey on bicycle across the U.S. How many people would attempt such a journey? He seems like a regular guy accomplishing an amazing feat. I might start riding my bike again. lol

[Luke V · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very meditative and hard to describe book. Not really a bicycling book or a travel, though there is some discussion of both cycling and some of the places he sees. It's more the backdrop for Weber's ruminations on his life and how he ended up on this second cross country ride. Not a bad tale.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little bit each of love story, grueling days biking, health problems, and reflecting on life. It didn't capture my attention to the degree I wanted it to.