Amber, Furs and Cockleshells: Bike Rides with Pilgrims and Merchants

by Anne Mustoe

Vikings, Romans, Viennese Turks, Native Americans, pilgrims, outlaws, football fans, ballerinas, and saints: these myriad wonderful characters populate the pages of Anne Mustoe's fascinating book as she pedals along three very different, but equally evocative, roads—the Amber Route from the Baltic to the Adriatic, the Santa Fe Trail from the Missouri River to New Mexico, and the Pilgrims' Way of St. James from Le Puy to Santiago de Compostela. Battling against ferocious winds in Jutland; blizzards in the Rockies; traffic jams of cyclists along the Danube; and menus in Czech, Hungarian, and Basque, Mustoe survives with her usual fortitude and wry humor, even when she is knocked off her bike by a short-sighted nonagenarian in a Fiat Panda. Her warm and accessible style brings to life the history and magic of three fascinating roads—following in the footsteps of merchants and pilgrims.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Cycling, The United States Of America, History, Geography

234 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2005

About the author

Anne Mustoe was an English schoolteacher, a touring cyclist, author of travel books and former headmistress of Saint Felix School, Southwold, Suffolk.

Reviews

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This woman's bike journeys along the Amber Route in Europe, the Santa Fe trail in the states, and her ride along El Camino de Santiago were inspirational for me to start planning my future rides. I liked how she prefaced each chapter with interesting quotes from authors who could be related to the particular journey (Marcus Aurelius along the Amber Route, and e.e. cummings in the states etc.). She was great at weaving in history and relevant facts about each journey without getting into unnecessary details (like what she ate for breakfast). Overall, she has a great writing style which makes for effortless, informative, and inspirational (if you're into cycling) reading. She seemed like she was a fun and adventurous free-spirit who I will definitely think of the next time I plan my long-distance bike ride. I was sad to learn that she died a few years ago in Syria on her second cycling trip around the globe. She quite her job in the late eighties and has been cycling ever since! Truly a women who lived life to the fullest. I look forward to reading about her other cycling adventures.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three trips in one umbrella book: Central Europe, USA and France/Spain. Cycling enthusiasts might be disappointed with the lack of technical details, but it's a good read. I'm looking forward to Mustoe's new adventures in South America due out soon.

[Fiona · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not keen on compilations but bought this because I enjoy Anne Mustoe. Quite enjoyable but not satisfying.

[Glenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read of three different bike trips comprising of several weeks.

Anne’s account of her trips gives a background of the history of the countries she cycles through and a cultural experience rather than a full detailed account of her own personal journey.

I found myself googling the names of the towns, even though there was a map of her routes in her book. This way it cemented that place in my mind and where it was in relation to other places.

I enjoyed how she made decisions along the way to find accomodation and eating places through meeting and chatting to people. This would be refreshing in our technological world we now live in.

I would recommend the book, and possibly read another one of her books.

[Terry Galbraith · Rating 1 out of 5]

Snoring

Adventurer travel writing can follow this formula: engage the reader with a quote, follow with some background filler, finish with your personal experiences. Do this repeatedly, sell lots of titles.
Or, write whats real for you, fresh off the trail, the beautiful things you discover, people you meet, tell us how you overcame setbacks, express self doubt and fear. In effect, be real, reveal some of your own developing self. Be fresh, quirky-unique and therefore much more interesting.

[Caz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish I could have known Anne - how inspirational she is
Her earlier books captivated me
For anyone who has wanderlust and enjoys their own company, while observing others - please read

To just get on your bike and travel - she makes it seem so everyday and simple, yet how many of us wish we had the backbone to actually go and do it
What is it that stops us! when Anne clearly has magical, wonderful times that make her journies in life so amazing and worthwhile

[Tito Quiling, Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first time to read Anne Mustoe, and I got my start with an accidental encounter, but prior to actually reading this book, I've seen loads of good reviews of her works, particularly as a travel writer and I say that I should have looked for her works earlier.In Amber, Furs and Cockleshells: Bike Rides with Pilgrims and Merchants (2005), there is a rich recollection of the historical trails that the author passed through, while traveling on a bicycle. This reminded me of Chris Hatherly and Tim Cope's Off The Rails wherein two 22-year olds biked from Moscow to Beijing on recumbent bicycles. Mustoe, on the other hand, was basically on her own, riding a standard bicycle with a few modifications to suit her riding needs.

As the title suggests, Mustoe's bike rides with pilgrims and merchants gave her the opportunity to traverse three significant routes, meeting various personalities, interesting and otherwise, among others. The first trail is the equally important European counterpart of the Silk Road, which was the Amber Route -- starting from the Baltic Sea going all the way to the Adriatic Sea. The second route, situated in the United States, is the famed Santa Fe Trail, crossing the lands from the Missouri River up to New Mexico. Her third and last trail brought her to South America, for the Pilgrims' Way of St. James, traveling from Le Puy to Santiago de Compostela.

While some of the chapters can be quite slow to read, the more interesting parts of the books for me are her recollections on the roads that she has gone through -- from arid deserts, to wetlands, to tiny villages and large towns, there is an abundance of cultural and social difference that makes the narrative easy to anchor, and hard to let go of. The weather is another factor that she has to note, due to her exposure to the elements as she rides through the mountains and borders, in spring and even in winter. Despite the varying state of the roads, Mustoe completed her journey, and calls it as a pilgrimage. How she defined the term truly embodies what traveling is all about, and it made me wish that the roads in the Philippines could be better in terms of pedestrian's use and smaller forms of transportation, specifically, for bicycles.

[Rosario]

Mustoe is a keen cyclist and in Amber, Furs and Cockleshells we get an account of some of her travels. Each of the three items in the title describes one of the trails she describes in this book. First is the Amber Route (quite simply, the route through which amber from the Baltic was traded south towards the Mediterranean). That's about as far as I got. I missed the Santa Fe Trail (across the Western USA), where I assume furs were traded, as well as the route of the Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, in Northwestern Spain (pilgrims would carry a cockleshell as a symbol that they'd done the pilgrimage).

I stopped reading after about 60 pages, halfway through the Amber Route. The problem was that although the locations Mustoe was cycling through must have been amazing, she wasn't making them come alive. Nor was she providing any of the other things that could make a travel book interesting, whether it's providing insightful cultural commentary or comedy. I find that in travel books the narrator is just as important as the subject matter, and Mustoe was a really bland one. I didn't hate this book, it just bored me.

MY GRADE: DNF.

[Lexie Conyngham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure how I would classify this book, which I picked up thinking it was about Vikings. The three bike journeys are slightly artificially tacked together and it is not a travel guide, a poetic excursion, or a how-to book. Yet it definitely has charm - I found the narrator very sympathetic and admired her courage tremendously. Each story drew me in swiftly and I felt I learned a good deal along the way as well as being entertained. It was more like dipping into her diaries than anything else, but the diaries were certainly very well written!

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, Anne Mustoe! "Leghorn" is the worst English attempt at a place name in the whole of Italy. How hard was it to say "Livorno"?!

This is travel writing at its best. (Or perhaps I should say, the author's observations and opinions would help me form my own travel plans, because her tastes are similar to mine).

She lost me on the United States trip, only because I find that country rather dull. So four stars.

I'm very sorry Mustoe is no longer with us.

[Kelvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderfully simple easy-reading lovely book. Anne writes separately about three journeys, two across Europe and one across the USA. Each story is charming, funny and informative. An inspirational good read. I suggest you start the book by reading the last page first, the last page talks about her kit or more specifically her bike. This is important information for me.

[Sally McRogerson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the best of hers, but worth a quick read

[Paul Lloyd]

So far so good, an enjoyable read and inspiring to read about an older woman taking up the challenge of riding long distances and enjoying life!!

Slow but enjoyable read.

[Diane in Australia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars = Okay. I liked the book. It was worth reading.