One Man and His Bike

by Mike Carter

Brought to you by Penguin.

What would happen if you were cycling to the office and just kept on pedalling?

Needing a change, Mike Carter did just that. Following the Thames to the sea he embarked on an epic 5,000-mile ride around the entire British coastline—the equivalent of London to Calcutta.

He encountered drunken priests, drag queens and gnome sanctuaries. He met fellow travellers and people building for a different type of future. He also found a spirit of unbelievable kindness and generosity that convinced him that Britain is anything but broken. This is the inspiring and very funny tale of the five months Mike spent cycling the byways of the nation.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Cycling, Biography, Outdoors, Adventure, Bicycles

Audible Audio

First published June 2, 2011

About the author

Mike Carter is a freelance travel writer. His book One Man and His Bike followed what happened when his cycle ride to work one morning turned into a 5,000-mile cycle ride around the coastline of Britain. In 2008 Uneasy Rider, the chronicle of his motorbike ride of over 20,000 miles to the four extremes of Europe, won the Oldie Travel Book of the Year.

Librarian's Note: For disambiguation, this is Mike (1) Carter.

Reviews

[Aubade Teyal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was not the book I thought it might be.

I was ready for maps, journey times, lists, the voice of a seasoned pro with a few words of caution or warning for the wannabe, like me.

Instead I met Mike Carter. He skipped over the prosaic details, and settled on those moments of his journey when he was awed by his encounter with the natural world, or fascinated by the people he met.

He had a gift for getting people to talk: shopkeepers, ferrymen, camp site owners, commuters, hippies, monks, bishops. Everyone opened up to Mike. They began with small talk and soon they were sharing their inner lives and dreams. It was fascinating.

I read with delight every time Mike rode down upon some unsuspecting village square or rural pub. The locals were in for a treat.

Soon, I was living Mike’s journey, tracking his route on Google Maps (because I do like maps), thinking what I might do, where I might go, when I followed in his footsteps (which, by now, I desperately wanted to do).

It was when he reached the Hebrides, I understood why I loved this book so much. It was a pilgrimage. Mike was looking for true purpose and his true self. The convivial, gregarious, host of One Man and His Bike began declining hospitality, and riding past B&B’s, preferring nothing more than his simple one man tent, his beloved nightly routine, and an open view of sea and sky. And when the end of the journey around the coast of Britain neared, and the ego self returned, his sense of loss was palpable.

He wasn’t just losing sight of the solitary wild places of Britain, he was losing touch with the solitary wilderness within.

[audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely, gentle book about riding your bike around the circumference of Great Britain. The author shares Bill Bryson's eye for micro-histories and evocative place descriptions, but lacks Bryson's snark, hatred of fat women, xenophobia and generally miserable outlook.

As Carter navigates around Britain on his bike, he does encounter people and situations that are new to him and that he immediately starts to think about snarking at, but stops himself with a reminder to be a better person, one open to new experiences and assuming that most people will approach him with goodwill in their hearts. And perhaps I am getting old, but I really appreciated that reminder to me, as a reader.

Additionally, there is in the paperback version at least, a tiny bicycle icon that appears at the top left of the first page, and as you read, appears on every facing page, moving a tiny amount each time. And it took me until nearly 150 pages in to realize that the bike was traveling the circumference of the page as the book progressed, mirroring the author's journey and -- this is the important bit -- turning the pages into a flipbook.

I am old and charmed.

There are bits of the book that feel rushed, especially towards the end, but that rush plays into the larger narrative the author tells, about learning from his journey and using it as a time to sort out his head. So eventually I was fine with the rush, if only because I know this is one I'll be re-reading in the future.

[Kharis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. I love Mike Carter's style of telling his story. I got a great sense of place and felt really inspired by his journey. The emotion also comes accross as he hits tough times towards the end. I had read his previous book so was pleased to discover this one also.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read. This book was bought for me by colleagues as one of several gifts [including another bike book] for my 50th birthday. The author, a freelance journalist, writes well as he narrates his story of setting off on a bike at 45 years of age to circumnavigate the coast of Britain. A 5 000 mile road trip. I could really empathise with the enjoyment of visiting new areas, feeling the morphology of the land and directly experiences vast tracts of landscape in a day under your own power.
I'm not sure if I could ever take on a trip this long although a visit to Scotland just has to happen. I'm now totally fuelled up for a ride round the coast of Cyprus [650km] and looking ahead to Larnaca to Istanbul [about 1000km] or even the 4 000km from my home in Cyprus to London.

[Lynette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved loved loved this!! It’s been on the bookshelf for about 5 years and for whatever reason I grabbed it before we set off camping. Perfect read. Made me want to get on the bike and ride off into the distance.
Mike has a really humorous writing style which really gave it 5 stars for me. Great.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Instead of going to work, wouldn't it be good to turn the other way? this guy did that and cycled around the country!
Excellent travel book. Really well written and insightful. Some funny parts as well

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a delightfully entertaining but also incredibly insightful read as Carter decided not to cycle to the office but instead to cycle around the coast of Britain in the years immediately following the 2008 economic crash. And instead of finding a broken country where everyone hates each other as the media of the time (and kinda now) would have you think, he found a country packed with goodwill, joy, and humour, with strangers willing to open up their homes and stick the kettle on at a moment's notice. He also uncovered the stunning natural wonders that we still have in this country and how they have influenced and continue to influence how we use and develop the land but also the people and communities that live around them (many requests of 'don't tell anyone' were heard, and rightly so too). He also found out that fully mirrored bathrooms are not a great design choice, camping beside open water in Scotland is not a good idea, hats are needed when visiting bird sanctuaries, and chips will fuel anyone to do anything.

I also loved the fact that there was a little bike along the edge of the pages that moved around the page as Carter cycled around the country. You can't go wrong when you have a bonus flip book for when you finish a read!

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another of these slightly humorous bike travel type books I seem to pick up every now and again and as with the others...well same story really..found this enjoyable ..mainly maybe as I can connect with the madness of Cycle touring.
Not that I've actually done any..well non of significance ..the odd jaunt into rural shropshire etc being about it for me ..but the love of the bike and the adventures and roads it opens is enough to allow me to connect with much of this book.
Anyhow this is a coastal tour of Britain which opens up a few post Lockdown plans for me if domestic holidays become the only option..it really showed how little I have travelled outside my own immediate area domestically...and well...when the new economy ..of which I'm sure there will be...rises around domestic travel I think there's a few places is like to see....plus that stornaway black pudding seems quite the thing...

[Kasia Kulma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t want this book to end! It’s such a rare gem in the travel section: a story where someone takes on a challenge of this scale (spending five months cycling along the UK’s coastline) and yet the book isn’t an egotistical account of personal struggles, demons, or trauma (not that there’s anything wrong with that!).

This book is truly about the journey - the special encounters, the unique places, and the moments that make travel meaningful. Carter does a wonderful job of capturing the beauty and atmosphere of the places he visits, and the warmth and richness of the people he meets.

He does all this whole making you laugh out loud, which is a bonus!

I especially loved how the book conveyed the mental state of being on the road day in and day out, with no deadline or pressure to be anywhere at a particular time. How can you not want to go on a cycling journey after reading this?!

I thoroughly recommend this book ❤️

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it.

I had it sitting on my shelf for 6 months after I was given it, but it turned out it wasn't what I thought it would be and regret not reading it sooner. Very readable, funny, and essentially a million snapshots of "modern Britain". I almost regret reading the hard copy, as there were so many good quotes and lines. The fact that the author was a journalist made it something different than your average travelogue.

A great mix of history, culture, cycling, mundane observations, human interactions, stories, and seeing your own country with different eyes. I have done a long distance hike before (40 days), and he captures the "rhythm of the road" perfectly.

[Pers · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining and engaging trip around Britain by bicycle meeting some proper 'characters'.

[Esther Turnbull · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book

[Zeb Roberts · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting and enjoyable in parts but overall found this a bit of an effort to get through, even in audio form.

Was at time repetitive (Hard Ride, smash food, down pints, rinse and repeat) even with the stories and characters along the way.

Maybe was expecting a little bit more given the other high ratings.

[Ian Pierce-Hayes]

I loved this book as an adventure and just getting on your bike and cycling. The lack of preparation is really funny-he didn't take a map with him from London and so much stuff-brilliant. But, its is openness to adventure and meeting people that I love and and its a real adventure and an amazing feaat.

[Tim Theobalds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable overview of the UK. Unfairly disparaging about Middlesbrough I thought.

[Mat Greener · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked up book for inspiration for a trip but didn't expect to be funny. Turned out to have many funny moments in it relatable to cyclists even if you have not toured or been to places mentioned.

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun, emotional and inspiring, except maybe the midgies in Scotland and a couple of hairy road choices.
Thinking about it I realise I have everything required to get going and like Mike, more than enough to jetison along the way.
Thanks Mike.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise sounds really amazing as it revolves around a man travelling around the UK on just his bike but because the author travelled around so much, a lot of the writing was based on the descriptions of where he was going, so I didn’t really care for this all that much.

[Rachel Welton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Snort out loud in public funny. Excellent tale of an epic adventure encountering so many highs and lows: people's generosity and other's distrust; places with beauty and those with neglect; motivation that oscillates from uber enthusiasm to exhaustion. Well worth the read.

[Jane Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. The story of journalist Mike Carter who during his commute by bicycle one day decides to cycle the entire coastline of Britain, it is fascinating, witty, heartfelt, adventurous and absorbing. I'm currently engaged in my own tour of Britain although in a somewhat different format to Carter, I try and go somewhere new once a month, and I recognised many of the places he mentioned including the hills of the West Country, the desert-like shingle of Dungeness and the spectacular isolation of Cape Wrath. Those places I've not yet visited I now yearn to see. His descriptions of the Outer Hebrides are particularly mouth-watering. The book is populated by the various characters he meets on the way, including 72-year-old Jack who is engaged in the same endeavour but cycling the opposite way. Their paths cross twice during the book. Carter also finds gnomes, drag queens, drunken priests and contemplative boatmen, and he discovers the hard way about why visitors to the Farne Islands should wear a hat!
This is a book that restores your faith in human nature and in Britain. Carter has plenty of offers of rooms for the night, meals, and tips for the journey from people he meets on his epic trek. Forget everything you read about Broken Britain, this book shows that even in the grimmest coastal towns there is kindness, generosity, humour and a hefty dollop of Great British Eccentricity. Highly recommended for anyone who loves cycling and/or Britain. I loved it.

[shark typhoon · Rating 1 out of 5]

He is clearly not much of a cyclist - somehow he feels ‘liberated’ being exposed to brain damage and calls people who insist on protecting their brains ‘lobbyists’. He acts like wearing a helmet is just for show but all proper cyclists (including professional athletes) wear one, as they don’t want a simple mistake or accident (which could happen at any time) to ruin their life.

As a serious cyclist myself, this comment turned me off the book. What a moron.

Important point: I can’t believe what he has written as he writes that St Andrews graduates had mortar boards…but none of the old Scottish university graduates wear these, as an absolute fact. So clearly there is a lot of artistic licence here and I have to ask - was he even where he said he was, and did anything in this book actually occur?

[Cale Mooth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very inspiring. A good portion of the phrases and vocabulary were lost on me, but it wasn’t difficult to connect the dots. The typesetting was distracting, double (or maybe 1.5) spacing after each period drove me crazy. There was so much detail described in the route with so many locations. Unfortunately, the included map was incredibly dumbed-down. The book could have been half the length and communicate the story just as effectively.

[Ann-marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this tale of cycling around the coast of Britain. Inspiring, funny and sad, I want to know what happened next, clear sign of a good book. Enjoyed reading about places I've seen, and many more I haven't. One day!

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heartfelt letter to the isle, warts and all. It is no tour guide but it is a real sign that Mike is the sort of person you could happily spend an afternoon down the pub with.

Read in quarantine on sofas and in a small garden.

[Katie Piatt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gave up on this, wasn't enjoying it at all.

[Joe O'Donnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cycling Travelogues seem to be ten-a-penny these days, with a lot of them – and “One Man and His Bike” isn’t an exception to this trend – involving middle-aged men jumping on their expensive racing bike for a lengthy trek after experiencing some existential crisis. But Mike Carter’s account of his journey traversing Britain’s 5,000-mile coastline turned out to be much more profound than I was expecting.

Partly this is because Carter sets off on his tour in 2009, when post-financial crash Britain was beginning its descent into recession and austerity. Carter reacts with empathy to the “Boarded-up Britain” he pedals through, but his real skill in “One Man and His Bike” is his ability to get people to open to him and share their hopes, fears, and passions. Whether encountering commune-dwelling hippies, religious orders, fishermen, former miners and shipbuilders, or gangs of teenage ‘Neds’, Mike Carter reacts to them with cheeriness, open-mindedness, and kindness.

And it is this sense of kindness that really elevates “One Man and His Bike” above the rest of the pack. The real virtue of Mike Carter’s travelogue – even at a remove of fifteen years and after everything the country has endured during that time – is to show that the denizens of Britain aren’t a completely irredeemable rabble, and that sound people are out there if you just ‘get-on-your-bike’ and go out and look for them.

[Rob Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have suffered from the same itchy feet at Mike Carter from my early 20's I have been, I guess, running away from something, the life as I knew it, wives, jobs, it always seemed easier to jump on a plane, join the British Army (WTF? Wife No1) emigrate - South Africa in the mid-70's (WTF #2 why didn't anyone tell me about Apartheid?), work in Holland. etc etc. I am now in China in my 60's - go figure. So this journey struck home. I also have visited some of these far-flung places, usually on holidays and highways (notably Xmas0 cos I never wanted to be at home. So alone on an Orkney Island one year, in a Hare Krishna retreat in Snowdonia another year, Findhorn some other time. You get the picture. So I devoured this book. Now married to a Chinese woman (I never learn) as I read I can feel the itch... I am on my own journey where it will end - who knows, but the destination is not important anymore - its what you do during the bits between the start and the finish that are important.

[Sarah Morton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book in a neighbourhood little library and decided to read it because I am going to set off on a long cycle of my own soon. I didn’t have very high expectations of the book and I was particularly concerned that it might be written by a blokey bloke who would be a bit irritating to read.

However my fears were unfounded as Mike is a lovely guy and the way he writes about this trip just brings the reader along with him. Especially the way he meets and talks people to people and gets out of his London-head.

He finds a Britain that is much nicer than he expects and we go along on his journey with him meeting these people and learning so much about the country.

Towards the end of the book he starts to get weary of the journey. It’s a shame because the second part is not as rich because we are mainly dealing with his struggle to think about what the end is going to be like for him personally.

I love learning more about the coastline of Britain the bits I didn’t know and the bits but I did. I really feel like I have been round the coast and can picture it all in my head.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mike Carter really took me on his journey. I was absorbed into his world. Feeling exhausted, excited, awed and joyful and now and again disappointed along with him. Uncomplaining, he deals with the hardships and setbacks as he pushes on through wind, rain and punishing hills, without being macho and boastful. His encounters with the people he meets and their brief shared experiences are recalled gently and mostly kindly. I like the pacing as he emotionally glories in stunning nature but skims through and bluntly describes Britain's less lovely parts. I hurt for him in the final gruelling sections. The love that he feels for his little tent and trusty Ridgeback is so genuine it brought a tear to my eye. While reading, I had been aware of a randomly placed tiny bicycle icon on the edge of each right hand page. And was delighted to discover that it does a circuit of the page when you thumb through it, flick-book style. Ingenious.

[Brian Gowthorpe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poignant and, as might be expected from a Guardian copy editor and travel journalist, nicely written, with many wry smiles and some laughs-out-loud. And he goes to Berwick, where we live, and he meets Norman in our local bike shop. As a fan of cycle touring, there is a lot to enjoy. I was unexpectedly surprised at how many of the places were familiar but, having both spent much our childhoods on the east coast, we are fans of seaside towns, even the grotty ones.

The journey was ultimately cathartic and Mike Carter seems to have found some easing of his lifelong restlessness. It seems to have been largely due to having restless and unhappy parents who finally split up when he was 13. At the beginning of the book we find him increasingly unhappy at living in London. I see from his LinkedIn account that he now seems to be based near Abergavenny, which must be better for his soul and I hope that he has found greater peace of mind.