Originally Posted by
The Historian
Yahoo was annoying, as was Lowrance's failure to put enough of himself into his book. By that I mean he told us what he did and sometimes how he felt in body and mind, but he neglected to tell us how he changed as a person. Often Lowrance's prose seemed cliche-bound or skirted importance because he didn't want to deal with the subject of himself. I expected more introspection from a person who named his ride the Bike of Peace.
A better written book is Brian Newhouse's A Crossing. Newhouse used his cross-country trip to focus on his troubled relationship with his father, his Christian faith, and his Christian fundimentalist girlfriend. I guess it took his mind off of the climbs in the Rockies. The author still follows the basic formula for travel writing: go places, see stuff, meet people, write about it. But he realizes that it's not just the landscape that changes on a bike ride, it's the rider changing too.
Clydes understand the importance of the rider changing far more than many other cyclists. It's not just about the ride, it's how the mind changes. You are an excellent example of the changing awareness of who you are. You challenged yourself to learn to ride, you are following up the challenge by riding across the United States, you have lost weight, gone through pain. You've also made peace with TS, which is something I admire greatly. You are a strong voice, and a strong presence, and I know I appreciate that.
East Hill