Off the Map: Bicycling Across Siberia

by Mark Jenkins

With this brilliant account of his journey―at once edge-of-your-seat exciting and literary―Mark Jenkins established himself as the master of adventure/travel writing. In 1989 he and six companions―two Americans and four Russians―set out on an arduous, first-ever crossing of Siberia by bike, cycling across rutted dirt roads, swamps, the Ural Mountains, and through Moscow and Leningrad.
This beautifully repackaged edition of Jenkins's travel classic vividly chronicles the highlights of this amazing voyage, including a month spent biking through an 800-mile swamp and the team's interactions with some fascinating characters―from the widow who makes Mark sleep in her dead son's bed to the Lithuanian searching for the concentration camp where his wife spent her childhood. Combining the exhilaration of record-setting adventure with thoughtful introspection, Jenkins's words allow readers to recognize the extraordinary in the day-to-day lives of ordinary Russians.
USA Today called Off the Map "a literary epic." Newsweek declared "the ornery, observant Jenkins [is] good company on every page." And Robert Pirsig, author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance , "Jenkins is a master of the fundamental writer's an ability to see things in new ways, as no one has ever seen them before."

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Adventure, Russia, Cycling, Bicycles

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

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

Reviews

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I nearly didn't make it through the first quarter of this book. Probably one of the most poorly written books I've encountered. The lack of punctuation and subject/object sentences were annoying, at best. There is one section near the end of the book that seems to have no connections at all to anything else in the book./p The only reason I stuck with it was to compare my own experiences with the Soviets in the same timeframe. But not riding a bicylce! After getting over the sloppy writing, or the author's pretensions of being another Faulkner,the story moved along. Half way through, it was clear that the author had some significant observations to contribute on the Soviet system and the inherent hospitality of the Russian people. Chapter 32 captures two very, very clear examples of life under the Soviet regime. Descriptions of trying to obtain a meal in a restaurant were re-runs of just about every restaurant experience I had in the former Soviet Union. Following on that description is a hilarious-maddening re-run of trying to make an international phone call. How many times did I and my family endure such insane logic as the following: "There are no Americans in Krasnoyarsk and there have never been any Americans in Krasnoyarsk so obviously it is not possible to make a reservation to make a call to the US from Krasnoyarsk. Bzzzzzz." /p There are some very realistic descriptions of the inherent kindness and hospitality of the ordinary, i.e. non-Soviet, Russians. These descriptions alone are worth the read. The mud, lack of roads and sheer grittiness of the bike ride is quite beyond belief. Though the author does describe well two types of motivations for the riders on the trip. Overall, worth the read.

[Kjersti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adventure! Biking! A great book about a group of americans who decide they want to be the first to bike across the entire Sovjet Union.

I loved this book, but I had to, because I love biking, travelling, stories about new places and challenges and new cultures - and I am deeply fascinated by Russia and its people and culture. All we ever hear about through media is Putin, alchoholism and what the military are up to and spend money on. we need more books like this where we get to hear stories about the people in Russia and how welcoming and generous and crazy and warm they are. This book is from the 90's and I bet there has been written many more good books about Russia, and many people have probably biked through the country since then, too. Any tips on good books about Russia or biking adventures will make me very happy!!

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a casual cyclist, and a fan of adventure travel books. This book was an obvious choice for those reasons, but I never expected that it would be so enjoyable. The journey is epic. The character stories along the way are memorable and touching.

Other reviews criticized the writing style, and gave me the impression that the writing would be sloppy or poorly edited - this is not the case. There are stylistic choices, such as run-on sentences, intentionally and effectively used to illustrate the scene.

Off the Map belongs on the same shelf with Jon Krakauer (Into Thin Air, Into the Wild), and Bill Bryson (A Walk in the Woods, In a Sunburned Country). It was a fun, fast, and ultimately satisfying read.

[Leslie · Rating 1 out of 5]

The subtitle of "Off the map" is "Bicycling across Siberia". But the subtitle should be "A pedophile bikes across Siberia". Consider these passages describing a 13 year-old female biker the author enountered near Birobidzhan: "A girl. Everything round her was out of focus but she was clean and clear and right beside me. Her head down and hair in her face. Her small breasts, nipples like buttons, poking out from a flat chest." "I saw her legs again. Legs so long. A woman's legs strong and velvety hooked to a high, tight curved bottom. I saw she didn't know this. Her entire body was tight and smooth and she didn't know it." "She was curved over her craft, her small breasts pointing down. Her fingers squeezing the handlebars." "Her face was flushed. We were in faultless harmony, air rushing around us as if we were one. Her legs squirming in frenzied circles, her arms pulling, her nipples erect and hard her mouth open her eyes half-shut her arms pullng and pulling legs jerking hips pumping when suddenly she looked at me and her eyes straightened and widened and her tongue fell back." OK< enough of that. You get the idea.

[Jtomassetti · Rating 3 out of 5]

OFF THE MAP BICYCLING ACROSS SIBERIA by Mark Jenkins.

The journey across Siberia begins. The year is not mentioned. But soon it is apparent that the Berlin Wall has not yet fallen. It isn’t Russia. It is the Soviet Union. Three Americans, One Russian and Three Soviets make the team that will be the first to cross Russia from the Japan Sea to the Baltic Sea on bicycles. Asia from Istanbul to Shanghai was crossed by bicycle in the 1880s. This journey is 100 years later. As the book unfolds the hardships of Siberia explain this time gap.

The story moves along. The author rebels against the Soviet system. Like a person digging at an infected scab, he probes everyone he meets about the failure of communism in Russia. The book is an excellent Russia travelogue but most of the time the stories of the journey overshadow the cycling. Off The Map is well written and it transports you to the location and makes you want to get off the couch to take a long journey by bicycle.

[Thebestdogmom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t love it. Was just ok. Their adventure was off the charts amazing but the book itself was just ok.

[Hancock · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good book. It was written near the end of the Soviet era so it includes all of the usual mocking of Soviet bureaucracy and rigid Soviet thought. At a few moments in the story the Jenkins seemed to be naive, immature, or just an ungrateful guest of the Soviets. One may not like one's hosts but one should not mock them in their presence.

The joys and travails of crossing Siberia by bicycle are compellingly told. The famous generosity and kindness of Russians citizens is wonderfully communicated. The author made two decisions that made this book a four-star book rather than a five-star book. The author is an excellent writer but periodically he tries to be a poet as well, making the prose a bit difficult to follow and, as in my case, encouraging the reader to skim over those passages. The author also introduced an erotic chapter early in the book that was unwarranted. Gratuitously erotic... but not sexual. I was embarrassed for the author when I read this chapter but he did an excellent job through the remainder of the book.

[Don Fallick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jenkins has a unique style. Some readers hate it, and think he's a bad writer. Joseph Heller, Ernest Hemingway, and Robert Pirsig had the same problem. The book is fantastic, on many levels. The trip across Russia is merely the most obvious, but the author's spiritual journey is the real meat. One chapter (about his bicycle trip to a junkyard as a young boy) may be one of the best short stories ever written, besides being a metaphor for the entire book. Truly amazing. Read it slowly, deeply, and often.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of the first cycling expedition across Siberia which occured before the fall of the Iron Curtain. It's an absolutely ridiculous story and, like all Jenkins books, extremely well-written. At one point they had to walk their bikes along train tracks for 700 miles where there are no roads. Along the way, they got to meet villagers and get to know what life is like in the USSR. Phenominal story.

[Pat Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extreme cycling in the USSR. Well written, Mark Jenkins, from Seattle, has climbed on 5 continents and cycled across 4. His words draw mental pictures of the hardships and delights. I too saw much of the Soviet Union that same year. However my route in the south was much less challenging.

[Mary F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book I didn't cycle but took the train across Russia from Moscow to Valdosta I can't endnote begin to imagine cycling iam cyclist toured many countries cycling but Russia no way a good book a must read

[Richard Schick · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read more from a cultural aspect than as a cycling book. Drags a little early but gets better as you go along.

[Tatiana Udalova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah, what a story! I would have loved to do what they’ve done - cycle across Siberia. Such a genuine, interesting book - all about cycling ‘adventures’ in USSR in 1989 showing the true colours of people, places and what it was back then. The only downside of this book is how poorly it’s written and lack of punctuation.

[Rari Marks · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to believe a ride like this was possible. It is a pretty short book for such a huge adventure. 7500 miles! I wonder if this ride was chronicled by any one else on the trip. Good, quick read.

[Kai · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book inspired me to go for a really long bike ride...

[Jessica Anderberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic story of adventure. Reminded me of my time in Ukraine. Loved this book.

[Leah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had been so excited to read this book (the topic! Siberia! Biking! These are things I like a lot!). Unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations at all, though I found myself liking it slightly more toward the end.

I was quickly turned off by the author. Fairly early on in the book he described the nipples of a early teen girl he was riding with and makes the end of the chapter a thinly veiled metaphor of sex. Blech, nasty and even if it hadn't been a bit pedophilic, overdone. This sense of being bombarded with things I didn't care to read continued. Jenkins spends a lot of time complaining about the Soviets without doing thoughtful analysis of why things might be the way they are, why people might be the way they are. I had at least expected some descriptions of the landscapes he was cycling through but for the most part they weren't evocative. He spent a lot of time describing the feeling of cycling, which I understand but don't need to read entire chapters on.

Toward the end of the book, Jenkins starts telling the stories of people he meets, which becomes more interesting. He also seemed to start enjoying the trip more, as the cycling group began staying in people's homes. However, his conveyance of the region is extremely black and white. There are Russians and Soviets. There are people he likes (who are outwardly against the Soviet regime) and there are the "rumplesuits." This binary ignores the complexity of society and history, and what Svetlana Alexievich calls "the small executioner" (for a million people to be put in the gulag, it takes a million informers, and it takes another million to guard the prisons). So many people were complicit - sometimes willingly, sometimes helplessly - in the regime, and many of these same people were simultaneously victims. I find Jenkins' attitude too simplistic and too dismissive, especially when he complains about certain specific people who he in fact hardly knows.

So, a grand adventure that was told not so grandly. At least it was a quick read and not a boring one.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story. Having done two long distance bicycle tours myself, I could relate to some of the trials and triumphs along the way. Even though both my tours were in the States, the friendliness and generosity people will show complete strangers is universal. Quite an amazing adventure.

Unfortunately, the writing wasn't as enjoyable for various reasons. There's really no other way to put it, the writing was poor. Punctuation has a purpose. I don't know who to blame more, the author or the editor. Either way, this book would have been much more enjoyable to read just by inserting some commas and periods. Also, as another reviewer mentioned, the part where he's riding along side a 13 year old Russian girl was uncomfortable to read, to say the least.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mark rides 7500 miles across Siberia from east of Vladivostok to Leningrad (it was still Leningrad in 1989 when he did this ride) with three other Americans and 4 Russians - well 3 Soviets and 1 Russian. He learns that the Russian people are warm and welcoming but the Soviets are fearful, frozen and never have any fun. There is a lot riding through mud, rain and wind - Mark says that it never feels heroic during the ride but afterwards it starts to gain in heroism. I found it started slow but then totally enjoyed the adventure - liked the way Mark interacted with the people he met and with his travel companions. Btw, these are hard core cyclists.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This bugged me quite a bit, at first, so much so that I started it and then put it aside for a full year. It's partly because in some sections, Jenkins intentionally skips punctuation altogether, which is a pet peeve of mine -- sorry, but unless you're Faulkner, that doesn't fly with me -- but more because for about half the book, he's a smarter-than-thou cocky jerk who rolls his eyes at his fellow riders and at people in general.

Then Russia breaks him down, physically and mentally, humbling him so he can truly "get" what he's experiencing, and when that happens, the whole book suddenly makes sense.

[Gabriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The poey-prosie writing only sometimes interfered with my intense ejoyment of the story, and often they meshed quite well (don't let the first chapter fool you - it is generally quite comprehensible). It is a unique tale and worth reading. Certainly makes me want to read more stories of being an outsider deep inside the Soviet Union or Russia in the late 80's and 90's. Texturally,I would compare it favorably to Werner Herzogs' journal Walking in Ice. Three stars feels cheap, but there were chunks that were awesome and bits that just bugged me, so I split the difference.

[Rishikesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had read excerpts from this book in readers digest many years ago, and had wanted to read the complete version. Finally ordered this from a store in US, and wolfed it down over the weekend. It is a fascinating read. The sheer size, emptiness and romance of siberia is well captured by the author.

At times, he does tend to ramble along and the sentences are not formed with reader in mind. So, its not the most reader-friendly book, but nevertheless, found it hard to keep down.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

The subject is better than the author. It has been years since I read this book but it met my criteria for travel/adventure. I liked the trip by bicycle across Siberia I just wish it was better written. It is a great look at Siberia before the fall of communism. I hear that capitlism is ravaging this beautiful wilderness.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dude lit - I was expecting more of a macho romp through Siberia but when he ditches the Soviet handlers and comes into contact with the Russian people the author shows a real sense of humanity. He tells about the simple joy of the people and the sorrows of living under an oppressive regime. Note that this book documents a trip taken in the late 80s.

[David. Luck · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great story about bicycling across Siberia: a physical test by all measures. Published in 1992, it paints a great picture of the Soviets grappling with new independence and the Russian people: a different breed within the same country. Or put another way, the Suits vs The People. Still a good read in 2012.

[DrMischevo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing style wasn't great, it felt like he was trying to hard to write "prose" and it detracted from the reading a lot. But if you can push through that there is a great experience here that Mark shares with us and it was very interesting to read about the lifestyles of the average rural Russians at that time.

[Larry Gagnon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted more about riding bikes, did not get that. Story telling was good. Crazy long and jumbled sentences and paragraphs was creative, but also confusing and annoying. Author finishes off an epic story about crossing Siberia in last pages of book, felt like he was thinking I want this to be done.

[Darcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very impressive book about a very impressive journey! I felt along for the ride, and yet free of the killer mosquitoes and the man-eating mud. A wonderful snapshot of tough residents of the PNW outlasting the locals as they traverse Sibera by bicycle. One of my top 3 travel essays (If all Bill Bryson's travel essays are lumped together)

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was almost too over the top. The writing started to seem almost fictional, so I started to feel like I wasn't there any more. Couple that with a lack of pictures (though, this is understandable given the climate) and I just never got invested in the story.