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Miles from Nowhere
A well-loved, classic tale of adventure, a book you'll find yourself recommending again and again
This is the story of Barbara and Larry Savage's sometimes dangerous, often zany, but ultimately rewarding 23,000 miles global bicycle odyssey, which took them through 25 countries in two years. Miles From Nowhere is an adventure not to be missed!
Along the way, these near-neophyte cyclists encountered warm-hearted strangers eager to share food and shelter, bicycle-hating drivers who shoved them off the road, various wild animals (including a roof ape and an attack camel), sacred cows, rock-throwing Egyptians, overprotective Thai policeman, motherly New Zealanders, meteorological disasters, bodily indignities, and great personal joys. The stress of traveling together constantly for two years tested and ultimately strengthened the young couple's relationship.
Author Barbara Savage died from head injuries suffered in a cycling accident while she was training for a triathlon competition. This book stands as a tribute to her physical courage, spiritual strength, and loving, good-humored encounter with the world.
This is the story of Barbara and Larry Savage's sometimes dangerous, often zany, but ultimately rewarding 23,000 miles global bicycle odyssey, which took them through 25 countries in two years. Miles From Nowhere is an adventure not to be missed!
Along the way, these near-neophyte cyclists encountered warm-hearted strangers eager to share food and shelter, bicycle-hating drivers who shoved them off the road, various wild animals (including a roof ape and an attack camel), sacred cows, rock-throwing Egyptians, overprotective Thai policeman, motherly New Zealanders, meteorological disasters, bodily indignities, and great personal joys. The stress of traveling together constantly for two years tested and ultimately strengthened the young couple's relationship.
Author Barbara Savage died from head injuries suffered in a cycling accident while she was training for a triathlon competition. This book stands as a tribute to her physical courage, spiritual strength, and loving, good-humored encounter with the world.
340 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1983
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August 31, 2024
My review is an outlier, so I strongly encourage readers to read reviews of Miles from Nowhere.
Barbara Savage and her husband, Larry, traveled 23,000 miles on a bicycle odyssey that encompassed twenty-five countries. The book was published in 1983. Unfortunately, Barbara was killed in a cycling accident just before the book was published.
Thirty-seven years later, the book was republished with a new introduction.
I am an adventure, adrenaline junkie. When I received my first bicycle at age eight, I discovered freedom. This started my love affair with cycling. I hope to do a long-distance bike adventure within the next year or two. So I am reading many memoirs and books about long-distance cycling.
LIKES:
* Great descriptors of the various places they traveled
* Admiration at their grit, tenacity, and persistence
DISLIKES:
* Slow paced
* Sometimes it felt like Barbara was whining
* Portrayal of people in a city/town/state was based on a few single encounters
Barbara Savage and her husband, Larry, traveled 23,000 miles on a bicycle odyssey that encompassed twenty-five countries. The book was published in 1983. Unfortunately, Barbara was killed in a cycling accident just before the book was published.
Thirty-seven years later, the book was republished with a new introduction.
I am an adventure, adrenaline junkie. When I received my first bicycle at age eight, I discovered freedom. This started my love affair with cycling. I hope to do a long-distance bike adventure within the next year or two. So I am reading many memoirs and books about long-distance cycling.
LIKES:
* Great descriptors of the various places they traveled
* Admiration at their grit, tenacity, and persistence
DISLIKES:
* Slow paced
* Sometimes it felt like Barbara was whining
* Portrayal of people in a city/town/state was based on a few single encounters
October 5, 2007
I don't think I ever really read this book. Every winter my family used to pack ourselves into a van and head to some ski mountain or another loaded with enough books on tape to keep us happy for at least 10 hours. I have such clear memories of those tapes - Claire Bloom reading The Nutcracker, Patricia Routledge reading Wuthering Heights, and, hilariously, the entire TimeLife series of the biographies and music of classic composers. My best memories are of Miles From Nowhere, and it was on regular rotation in the van. There was something so perfect about listening to the Savages' adventures across countries and through continents I had absolutely no reference for. It was like the best of all possible responses to the request, "tell me a story". If I try, I can actually summon an audio memory of the narrator's voice telling stories of throngs of people crowded together in India while children run beside the Savages' bikes asking for "baksheesh;" Barbara slamming her feet against a tree in the Netherlands to try to regain feeling; the entirely disasterous phenomenon of Nepalese toilets; and the maddeningly repetitive flatness of the American Mid-West. I loved hearing stories of Floridian women biking in high heels, of old Catalunian men in berets sharing oranges and inspecting their bicycles, and the strangling, water-saturated air of Bangkok.
I am not sure how much of my powerful association with this book has to do with the method and circumstances of its experience, or with the prose itself. I do know that I experienced this book at a time when reading affects your life so profoundly, and I will never stop being grateful.
I am not sure how much of my powerful association with this book has to do with the method and circumstances of its experience, or with the prose itself. I do know that I experienced this book at a time when reading affects your life so profoundly, and I will never stop being grateful.
March 3, 2018
Dear Julie,
I just read a great book that you may wish to take to Tanzania with you to read when you are not teaching the children at your school. The book is titled: "Miles from Nowhere" by Barbara Savage. She and her husband traveled by bicycles around the world beginning in California, going up to Canada, and then back down to the U.S., over to Key West, Florida, and then took a flight to Ireland and continued on.
The trip to some of the European countries was interesting, mainly because of how they were treated by the people who had invited them into their homes or allowed them to camp on their land. Very hospitable, that is, until Germany. But the scenery, the food, and the people in these European countries made the book very interesting.
The book took another turn when they got to Egypt, and this is when it really became interesting, and it stayed that way until the last two chapters. It made our walking 11 miles into the Mexican jungle to the ruins of Bonampak look like a cakewalk, even though I had to walk barefoot in the mud most of the time due to it causing my feet to slip out of my sandals, and even with your getting malaria and my getting botfly larva inside my scalp. I remember how we were warned about Mexico, and this couple had their warnings too, but they didn't heed them either.
You can't imagine the filth, the poverty, and all that happened to them on this trip, especially in Egypt. The woman biking was almost raped by a man right in front of her husband, the food was filthy, and the rooms, well, imagine walking into a room that had blood on the walls, and then checking it closely to see what it was and finding thousands of dead mosquitoes smashed on it. Imagine having diarrhea and having to leave your room, walking up stairs to find the pot.
India was better, the people were kind, but the poverty, while not as bad, caused them illnesses. At one time they had a friend traveling with them, and I actually didn't think he was going to make it since he had dysentery. But while I could go on and on, I am going to just write a few things that are in the book.
In Canada:
"A little before you woke up, I heard something moving beside the tent...I put my face up against the mosquito netting, and right there at the very tip of my nose, staring right back at me, was a bear."
In the British Isles:
One of their friends from Paso Robles, Ca showed up and went on part of the trip with them. He had been raised in Paso Robles just as I was, so it made it more interesting. This friend talked like this, "Ther's this fly in ma tea. There's gnats in ma eggs. A slug's just 'about ta ooze its way onta that there plate a' toast. And we're surrounded by cow manure and sheep droppin's!" I don't think I have ever heard anyone talking like this in Paso or even here in Oklahoma. Later on this friend uses the word, "Ya 'll." He was raised in Paso? No. We used "You guys."
But then Barbara Savage goes on to describe this country town of Paso Robles as having many pickup trucks with gun racks. Gun racks? I had to think about that one. In Creston, 20 miles from Paso, farmers have gun racks. I remember when my friend Cathy came to visit me from the Bay Area and brought a male friend of hers. My husband and I decided to take them to a bar in Creston, The Loading Chute. He saw the pickups with their gun racks and was afraid to go inside. That is a S.F. man for you. They are used for hunting or for illegally shooting a lone coyote.
Now we are back in Egypt:
"...Sometimes animals staggering at the edge of the road keeled over just as we pedaled by, dead from starvation or disease. And we also noticed an increase in the number of diseased children--emaciated children, with their eyes full of pus." Why, as Americans, are we not helping these people?
Love, Jessaka
Julie's school room before they got desks.
P.S. a letter from Julie: "Americans are helping and so are other countries but the need is endless. I hate to say it, but traveling in 3rd world countries now is foolish. In Tanzania i am protected by my friends and Max's family. I have a sit down flush toilet and running water and a boiler to boil water, so while there is risk, it is minimal. When i hear of people traveling in the mid-east or other arab countries i think they are nuts. I'm sure people think i am nuts, too..."
I just read a great book that you may wish to take to Tanzania with you to read when you are not teaching the children at your school. The book is titled: "Miles from Nowhere" by Barbara Savage. She and her husband traveled by bicycles around the world beginning in California, going up to Canada, and then back down to the U.S., over to Key West, Florida, and then took a flight to Ireland and continued on.
The trip to some of the European countries was interesting, mainly because of how they were treated by the people who had invited them into their homes or allowed them to camp on their land. Very hospitable, that is, until Germany. But the scenery, the food, and the people in these European countries made the book very interesting.
The book took another turn when they got to Egypt, and this is when it really became interesting, and it stayed that way until the last two chapters. It made our walking 11 miles into the Mexican jungle to the ruins of Bonampak look like a cakewalk, even though I had to walk barefoot in the mud most of the time due to it causing my feet to slip out of my sandals, and even with your getting malaria and my getting botfly larva inside my scalp. I remember how we were warned about Mexico, and this couple had their warnings too, but they didn't heed them either.
You can't imagine the filth, the poverty, and all that happened to them on this trip, especially in Egypt. The woman biking was almost raped by a man right in front of her husband, the food was filthy, and the rooms, well, imagine walking into a room that had blood on the walls, and then checking it closely to see what it was and finding thousands of dead mosquitoes smashed on it. Imagine having diarrhea and having to leave your room, walking up stairs to find the pot.
India was better, the people were kind, but the poverty, while not as bad, caused them illnesses. At one time they had a friend traveling with them, and I actually didn't think he was going to make it since he had dysentery. But while I could go on and on, I am going to just write a few things that are in the book.
In Canada:
"A little before you woke up, I heard something moving beside the tent...I put my face up against the mosquito netting, and right there at the very tip of my nose, staring right back at me, was a bear."
In the British Isles:
One of their friends from Paso Robles, Ca showed up and went on part of the trip with them. He had been raised in Paso Robles just as I was, so it made it more interesting. This friend talked like this, "Ther's this fly in ma tea. There's gnats in ma eggs. A slug's just 'about ta ooze its way onta that there plate a' toast. And we're surrounded by cow manure and sheep droppin's!" I don't think I have ever heard anyone talking like this in Paso or even here in Oklahoma. Later on this friend uses the word, "Ya 'll." He was raised in Paso? No. We used "You guys."
But then Barbara Savage goes on to describe this country town of Paso Robles as having many pickup trucks with gun racks. Gun racks? I had to think about that one. In Creston, 20 miles from Paso, farmers have gun racks. I remember when my friend Cathy came to visit me from the Bay Area and brought a male friend of hers. My husband and I decided to take them to a bar in Creston, The Loading Chute. He saw the pickups with their gun racks and was afraid to go inside. That is a S.F. man for you. They are used for hunting or for illegally shooting a lone coyote.
Now we are back in Egypt:
"...Sometimes animals staggering at the edge of the road keeled over just as we pedaled by, dead from starvation or disease. And we also noticed an increase in the number of diseased children--emaciated children, with their eyes full of pus." Why, as Americans, are we not helping these people?
Love, Jessaka
Julie's school room before they got desks.
P.S. a letter from Julie: "Americans are helping and so are other countries but the need is endless. I hate to say it, but traveling in 3rd world countries now is foolish. In Tanzania i am protected by my friends and Max's family. I have a sit down flush toilet and running water and a boiler to boil water, so while there is risk, it is minimal. When i hear of people traveling in the mid-east or other arab countries i think they are nuts. I'm sure people think i am nuts, too..."
October 2, 2012
Mountaineers Books Staffer: I LOVE this book. I'm a cyclist so this is a subject that gets my attention, but -- REALLY -- this is a wonderful adventure story whether you've ever pushed a pedal or not, and no doubt one of the best bike-touring stories ever written. It's got adventure, drama, tenderness and more. The Savages bike toured around the world for two years at the end of the '70s. They went to places where first-world women didn't go in those days. The Savages made their trip at a time when Addidas tennis shoes were the bike shoe choice, jeans were worn instead of Spandex, helmets hadn't been invented, and a garbage bag with arm holes served as rain wear. Barbara Savage was one tough cookie, and an absolutely endearing voice to carry readers down the with her. I can't anyone not enjoying this book.
July 2, 2012
A friend recommended this book, published in 1983, and as far as I recall, hearing nothing about. It's a memoir of Barbara Savage and her husband Larry's 23,000 mile bicycle journey around the world in 1979/80. It's an amazing journey, especially read 30 years later.
They start out in their home town of Santa Barbara riding all the way to Prince Rupert, BC, then through the Canadian and American Rockies, cross-country to the east coast and then to Miami, crossing the Atlantic to bicycle thru Europe, England, Ireland, Egypt, India, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, New Zealand and Tahiti. You are with them every mile of the way learning about their physical struggles, relationship issues, geography and weather, current political events at the time, but most importantly, the many people they meet along the way.
If you enjoy travel and learning about different countries and cultures, you will love this book, as I did. It's easy to read; there's lots of ground covered in its 324 pages. Ms. Savage successfully gives you more detail in certain areas and gets you from one destination to the next with limited, concise information so in that way, the book is a varied read.
Sadly, Ms. Savage died in a biking accident only three years after returning from their 2-year journey from head injuries suffered during a bike accident close to her own home town of Santa Barbara.
They start out in their home town of Santa Barbara riding all the way to Prince Rupert, BC, then through the Canadian and American Rockies, cross-country to the east coast and then to Miami, crossing the Atlantic to bicycle thru Europe, England, Ireland, Egypt, India, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, New Zealand and Tahiti. You are with them every mile of the way learning about their physical struggles, relationship issues, geography and weather, current political events at the time, but most importantly, the many people they meet along the way.
If you enjoy travel and learning about different countries and cultures, you will love this book, as I did. It's easy to read; there's lots of ground covered in its 324 pages. Ms. Savage successfully gives you more detail in certain areas and gets you from one destination to the next with limited, concise information so in that way, the book is a varied read.
Sadly, Ms. Savage died in a biking accident only three years after returning from their 2-year journey from head injuries suffered during a bike accident close to her own home town of Santa Barbara.
January 11, 2018
This book reads like a litany of despair - one complaint after another. Oregon was too rainy. Canada had too many mosquitoes. South Dakota was too flat and boring. New York was too cold. Florida drivers were rude. Egypt was filthy. India was too crowded. And so on and so on. How tiresome!
Here's my advice: If it makes you so miserable stop doing it. And for heaven's sake, don't write a book about it.
Here's my advice: If it makes you so miserable stop doing it. And for heaven's sake, don't write a book about it.
June 7, 2012
While the book was written from a world touring adventure over 30 years ago (1978-1980), this book is best of its type that I have read so far. I knew from reviews that Barbara died from a bicycle-related accident sometime around 1985 when the book was in the process of being published. Having that knowledge changes how you understand Barbara’s words as you read. When she tells of close calls, you sadly realize that one day it will actually happen (of course). But more than this her words of what she experienced with her husband Larry -- and how her love for him & other people was deepened to a new level through trying times -- take on an extra impact. Barbara still speaks after her death about the importance of leaving the “stuff” of the world behind and spending our time & energy where it really matters.
While I have never completed any bicycle touring to the level of Barbara, Larry and others, I have done enough to receive “you must be crazy” comments from others. I personally identified with Barbara’s observation after one similar encounter: “The man saw no adventure, no challenge, no conquest, no sweat, and no sense of accomplishment in what we were about to do – only stupidity. There was no way to explain to him our need to explore, to find out about the rest of the world, and to discover and develop ingenuity, endurance, and self-reliance – that pioneer spirit that had been buried under the comforts of modern society (p17).” If you agree with Barbara (and many others like her) on this statement, then this book is definitely for you.
Other reviewers have mentioned that whether you have embarked on the joy of a bicycle tour before or if you have never thought about it, you will enjoy this book. I add my voice to theirs in agreement. Cyclist or not, the book is more about experiences available to us and the people we can meet in the world. The bicycle was just the way the Savages chose to enhance their travels. Read the book, then take your own ride!
While I have never completed any bicycle touring to the level of Barbara, Larry and others, I have done enough to receive “you must be crazy” comments from others. I personally identified with Barbara’s observation after one similar encounter: “The man saw no adventure, no challenge, no conquest, no sweat, and no sense of accomplishment in what we were about to do – only stupidity. There was no way to explain to him our need to explore, to find out about the rest of the world, and to discover and develop ingenuity, endurance, and self-reliance – that pioneer spirit that had been buried under the comforts of modern society (p17).” If you agree with Barbara (and many others like her) on this statement, then this book is definitely for you.
Other reviewers have mentioned that whether you have embarked on the joy of a bicycle tour before or if you have never thought about it, you will enjoy this book. I add my voice to theirs in agreement. Cyclist or not, the book is more about experiences available to us and the people we can meet in the world. The bicycle was just the way the Savages chose to enhance their travels. Read the book, then take your own ride!
August 7, 2009
I loved this book and was extremely sad to see it end. I was even more sad to learn that the author, Barbara Savage, was struck and killed by a car whilst cycling. She was a fabulous writer and had such a spirit of adventure. This is a book I will enjoy reading again and again, a status I rarely grant to book since there are just so many books to read in life! I recommend it heartily to anyone who enjoys travel writing.
March 15, 2021
A bicycle adventure by Barbara and Larry Savage who embark on a worldwide 23,000 mile bicycle tour that took them through 25 countries in two years. First published in 1983 the trip actually was started in 1978. I found the book both enjoying and annoying. Bicycling around the world in 70's was a daring thing to do. It took a great deal of courage and adventure to pull one off. The safe bicycle paths that many of us use today were primitive and nonexistent back in the 70's. Those early bike paths were secondary roads where the rider had to deal with potholes, crazy drivers, biting dogs, and gps units to map you did not exist. Dealing with these problems were some of the major problems encountered by these two bicyclist. There share of complaining about these and how hard the demands of bicycling got old after while. Part of there problem was the result of poor planning. Complaining about sore knees and the constant change in weather had me wondering why they started this journey to begin with. They took little care to avoid illness in places where sanitation was not good and they paid severely. There was also an instance in which the wife was propositioned in a Moslem country, even though she was warned and ignored rules of dress, which drove the idea of ill prepared more. This is not to say it was all free wheeling downhill the book has its moments. The trip was a challenge as well as a triumph. Ironically, Barbara died of a head injury from cycling accident in her home town as this book was going to be published. This was before helmets were considered a must for all riders. The books photos of their trip show both Barb and Larry had circled the globe without helmets. All in all, fabulous inspiration for anyone that's thinking about long-distance cycling but is doing it for the experience not because they have got something to prove...and above all be safe.
July 28, 2008
When I become involved in a new activity, I tend to read everything I can find on it. Twenty years ago, while living in California, I was an avid bicyclist. I enjoyed riding long distances, and with my wife entered numerous races and rallys, both in CA and in Mexico. Necessarily, though, my dream of a cross-country bicycling journey took a back seat to marriage, children, and my professional aspirations. However, I enjoyed reading about others who took the path less trod.
Unlike me, Larry and Barbara Savage took a two year hiatus from their careers, and rode their bicycles, not just across country, but around the world! This book is the narrative of their adventures, and it is exciting reading. Through some 25 countries, both industrialized and third-world, they learned to make do with the bare minimum of resources, embraced a wide variety of different cultures, built new friendships, and strengthened their own relationship in ways that most of us are never challenged to do.
I found it compelling reading, and it helped to stoke my lifelong desire to travel widely and experience new cultures. Highly recommended to anyone with similar interests.
Unlike me, Larry and Barbara Savage took a two year hiatus from their careers, and rode their bicycles, not just across country, but around the world! This book is the narrative of their adventures, and it is exciting reading. Through some 25 countries, both industrialized and third-world, they learned to make do with the bare minimum of resources, embraced a wide variety of different cultures, built new friendships, and strengthened their own relationship in ways that most of us are never challenged to do.
I found it compelling reading, and it helped to stoke my lifelong desire to travel widely and experience new cultures. Highly recommended to anyone with similar interests.
September 18, 2007
Like William Least-Heat Moon, but by a lady on a bicycle on a trip around the world.
I wanted it to never end!
I wanted it to never end!
May 29, 2012
Read this book and went straight out and bought myself a $250 Specialized bicycle and started my first bicycle tour. Changed my life.
July 9, 2009
The first bicycle touring book I ever read, and it is by far one of my top favorite books. Completely inspiring, witty, funny, and fascinating. It will make you want to drop everything, hop on your bike, and ride around forever! Barbara writes beautifully and, like others have mentioned, you never want the journey to end.
December 24, 2015
Think about the book more often than would have expected. Interesting what happens around the world that reminds me of Barbara's book.
Here's a link to a review
http://familyonbikes.org/blog/2008/03...
Here's a link to a review
http://familyonbikes.org/blog/2008/03...
March 8, 2019
This was a lucky find from a roadside “Little Free Library,” picked up on a bike ride, how appropriate! While it’s true, as some say, that Savage seems to exaggerate many of the trials of her round world trip, her engaging writing style makes the experience come alive.
September 19, 2010
This remains one of the best bicycle trip travel narratives ever written.
September 9, 2024
Every cyclist and travelogue fan MUST read this compelling memoir.
February 12, 2025
3.5
This Memoir is a definition of 'TMI'.
While the account of bicycling around the world is interesting, there were too many unpleasant, personal and gross details that could have been withheld from the book. I don't know if I ever seen diarrhea mentioned so many times in one book or described in such details...
I liked the beginning, when Barbara and Larry cycled through USA and Canada, and the end, where they were wrapping up their adventure in New Zealand and Tahiti.
This Memoir is a definition of 'TMI'.
While the account of bicycling around the world is interesting, there were too many unpleasant, personal and gross details that could have been withheld from the book. I don't know if I ever seen diarrhea mentioned so many times in one book or described in such details...
I liked the beginning, when Barbara and Larry cycled through USA and Canada, and the end, where they were wrapping up their adventure in New Zealand and Tahiti.
July 14, 2025
I’m a sucker for a biking/running/hiking trip, so I loved reading about Barbara and Larry’s 2-year cycling journey. Maybe I’ll get a bike soon (even though I’m a little terrified based on the incidents Barbara recounted)…
April 17, 2025
Very interesting to hear first hand all the experiences and the closeness you get to the people in different countries, good and bad, when you are not zooming by in a car.
May 13, 2019
Outstanding travel memoir... two people tour the world on bicycles. Barbara Savage and her husband, Larry, traveled through North America and Europe, Northern Africa and a few Asian countries before going to New Zealand, Tahiti and then home again. This book gives amazing descriptions of people in a variety of countries, back in 1978-1980. Their last day of the two year journey was April 18, 1980.
After reading this, I know I'd never make it on a journey like that, especially at my age (I'm in my sixties now.) What they went through was severe and distressing. Even in wealthy countries, there were challenges, from crazy drivers to uncertain sleep opportunities. Finding a place to pitch the tent wasn't always easy. But the situations in third world, poverty stricken countries in the 1970's were horrendous. One would have to read this book to understand the things they had to go through to make this trip.
Barbara Savage did an excellent job of describing the conditions and their experiences in every country they cycled through. She kept a journal along the way. Barbara and Larry also wrote letters to their family and friends, and the many kind people they met along the way.
Bicycle touring can be a grand adventure, or it can be a disaster. Barbara had a bit of both. Her resilience as a young 20-something was what helped her adapt to all the difficult circumstances. This book is a treasure within the genre of cycling literature.
Another cycling memoir I enjoyed was Across America by Bicycle: Alice and Bobbi's Summer on Wheels by two retired women who cycled across the USA.
I read Miles From Nowhere for the 2019 PopSugar Reading Challenge prompt #8, a book about a hobby. Google assured me that bicycle touring is a hobby!
After reading this, I know I'd never make it on a journey like that, especially at my age (I'm in my sixties now.) What they went through was severe and distressing. Even in wealthy countries, there were challenges, from crazy drivers to uncertain sleep opportunities. Finding a place to pitch the tent wasn't always easy. But the situations in third world, poverty stricken countries in the 1970's were horrendous. One would have to read this book to understand the things they had to go through to make this trip.
Barbara Savage did an excellent job of describing the conditions and their experiences in every country they cycled through. She kept a journal along the way. Barbara and Larry also wrote letters to their family and friends, and the many kind people they met along the way.
Bicycle touring can be a grand adventure, or it can be a disaster. Barbara had a bit of both. Her resilience as a young 20-something was what helped her adapt to all the difficult circumstances. This book is a treasure within the genre of cycling literature.
Another cycling memoir I enjoyed was Across America by Bicycle: Alice and Bobbi's Summer on Wheels by two retired women who cycled across the USA.
I read Miles From Nowhere for the 2019 PopSugar Reading Challenge prompt #8, a book about a hobby. Google assured me that bicycle touring is a hobby!
February 8, 2017
This is an amazing story of a woman's journey across the world on a bicycle. I am staggered by the ambition and courage and energy and persistence that such an adventure would have required, but I'm equally impressed by the enormous rewards the author and her husband enjoyed. No way would the travel experiences have been so rewarding had they arrived by tour bus and stayed in first class hotels.
I've been a year-round cyclecommuter for a few years now, but my daily trip is twenty minutes each way, mostly by trail, and I just have to make sure that in wintertime I have waterproof layers, lots of lights and studded tires. That's not even basic bikepacking, let alone pedalling this epic.
The author's voice is fresh and clear, relating the conversations and experiences along the road, some of which were wonderful, but others very trying. It seems that not much has changed - for example, the typical North American drivers attitude towards cyclists is gradually improving, but there is a long way to go. Some of it is also very funny - the story about the bowel movement in the shower might be tops!
I believe that the strong partnership between the author and her husband was the key to their success, and that neither could have completed this journey alone. I think they made the right choice by starting their journey the US and Canada to toughen themselves physically and mentally for the middle part of their journey, then winding up in paradise on the way home. They also took lots of short breaks to rest and regroup and make friends along the way. I only wish there had been more photos in this book.
I've been a year-round cyclecommuter for a few years now, but my daily trip is twenty minutes each way, mostly by trail, and I just have to make sure that in wintertime I have waterproof layers, lots of lights and studded tires. That's not even basic bikepacking, let alone pedalling this epic.
The author's voice is fresh and clear, relating the conversations and experiences along the road, some of which were wonderful, but others very trying. It seems that not much has changed - for example, the typical North American drivers attitude towards cyclists is gradually improving, but there is a long way to go. Some of it is also very funny - the story about the bowel movement in the shower might be tops!
I believe that the strong partnership between the author and her husband was the key to their success, and that neither could have completed this journey alone. I think they made the right choice by starting their journey the US and Canada to toughen themselves physically and mentally for the middle part of their journey, then winding up in paradise on the way home. They also took lots of short breaks to rest and regroup and make friends along the way. I only wish there had been more photos in this book.
August 6, 2013
I think if you're a reader into world travel adventures, you are going to love this book. There are more than enough memorable scenes to go around. On the other hand, if you are into tour cycling with an eye for minimizing easily avoidable problems, this book will eventually wear you down. I mean the woman can really write, but who on earth would start out a cycling trip around the world without taking tools for simple bike fixes? I could go on and on and on. I'll admit I'm a "be prepared" kind of guy, but this bordered on bizarre. Nevertheless, the author and her husband, did actually go "miles from nowhere", so I have to give her credit for that. In finishing my reading of this book, I realized there were three types of stories she related: #1 Riding long tortuous miles, #2 Interesting interactions with native peoples and fellow travelers, and #3 Seemingly endless wallowing in pleasant surroundings doing pretty much nothing. Needless to say, I preferred #2. And I'm a guy, so I still don't know why women would prefer to talk about their problems rather than actually solve them, so #1 only frustrated me. And #3, well, you have to actually be experiencing utter pleasure to really appreciate, don't you? I really do not think you have to be into cycling to enjoy this book. In fact, I think it is probably better if you aren't. Enjoy.
May 27, 2011
This book about a bike journey around the world is made very poignant by the fact that Barbara Savage was killed in a bicycling accident as the book was going to press. So as one reads of her harrowing misses by traffic on the roads of Egypt or Thailand or even the U.S., there is a sense of sadness that one day the worst would indeed happen.
Aside from this poignancy, the book is a frank tale of both the joys and trials of living with only what one can carry on a bike. Savage and her husband do spend blissful weeks on pristine beaches. But the stories of their sometimes hand-to-mouth existence as far as finding food and water, the tales of the absolute filth they had to endure, and the rather unappealing specter of being crushed by moving vehicles at nearly every turn certainly disabuses this endeavor of all romance. I know that for myself, I’ve removed “bike around the world” off my Bucket List.
Savage imbues the tale with pathos, humor, and honesty. It deserves a read as a travel adventure.
Aside from this poignancy, the book is a frank tale of both the joys and trials of living with only what one can carry on a bike. Savage and her husband do spend blissful weeks on pristine beaches. But the stories of their sometimes hand-to-mouth existence as far as finding food and water, the tales of the absolute filth they had to endure, and the rather unappealing specter of being crushed by moving vehicles at nearly every turn certainly disabuses this endeavor of all romance. I know that for myself, I’ve removed “bike around the world” off my Bucket List.
Savage imbues the tale with pathos, humor, and honesty. It deserves a read as a travel adventure.
April 18, 2008
First book I read about someone else touring with their bike so this one holds a special place. The personal views and the effort it took are well told. They were such novices I as they set out. They learn so much as they go and begin to be comfortable with what they are doing. They were not a harmonious pair. In fact there seems to be a lot of interpersonal animosity that surfaces as they stress out with the effort. But they change and grow as they travel.
In many ways these two seem to naive to survive yet they do. They survive bandit territory, small village curiosity, flung stones, even serious diarrhea.
It was Larry sitting in stunned silence in Portugal that was one of the best descriptions of their travails. All he could say to her queries was 'They're gone'. He'd gone numb in the crotch and thought it was permanent.
In many ways these two seem to naive to survive yet they do. They survive bandit territory, small village curiosity, flung stones, even serious diarrhea.
It was Larry sitting in stunned silence in Portugal that was one of the best descriptions of their travails. All he could say to her queries was 'They're gone'. He'd gone numb in the crotch and thought it was permanent.
November 4, 2009
This was a really interesting story of bike touring across parts of the world. I had some issues with the author's tone throughout the book toward the people she came across in her travels in foreign countries. She was rather insensitive and condescending in her descriptions, although I do give her some slack for the era in which she was alive and experiencing these different cultures. Also, I would have loved for her to talk more about the effect of the touring on her relationship and her own emotional health - it often read a bit impersonal in parts, like a report of sleeping, eating, and toileting for pages and pages, rather than of what this ridiculous trip was like in her own mind. Overall, glad I read it. I prefer Bill Bryson's travel writing over this, though.
July 14, 2019
I really enjoyed this book. This is the true story of a young couple from Santa Barbara, CA who rode their bicycles around the world (well, they rode through many parts of it, anyway.) It is set in the 1970s, but the story does not feel dated in any way. I really enjoy reading about other's adventures, living vicariously through them. However, author Barbara Savage's honesty made me glad I was reading about them, rather than actually having these adventures (especially in a few of the countries they visited.) Ms. Savage's candor and openness add to the story. She doesn't hesitate to tell all and I learned a lot about each country they visited. If you have any interest in reading an adventure travelog, this is a good one. It's no wonder it still appears on many "best of" lists.
May 14, 2022
A cult classic for bicycle touring folk. Barb and Larry’s adventures were not for the meek. Cycling across the world in the 1970s had a share of danger. By traveling by bike though, they had the opportunity to see the real countries and people, not just the glitzy tourism areas. They witnessed first hand the poverty and promise of the world.
August 8, 2022
This is one of the best adventure travel books I've ever read. Barbara and Larry Savage made a trip that was epic - both physically and mentally. They endured astonishing discomfort and had wonderfully rewarding experiences as well. Thankfully, Barbara was a dedicated journal-keeper and an extremely good writer, resulting in a bicycle touring classic.
February 17, 2016
This is probably my favorite travel memoir, and one of my favorite books of all time. It is an account of a 2 year bicycle trip around the world by husband and wife Larry and Barbara Savage. Well written...exciting, interesting, informative, this book has it all. Highly recommended for everyone.
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