Donald Petterson

For someone who claims to be writing a book about how aging isn't necessarily a roadblock to doing physical things, he doesn't take his own advice well. He even begins a chapter with a quote about how failure to prepare can result in failure, then tells us how he really hasn't prepared for this journey. The account of the journey itself is little more than "left at 5.30 after eating a banana, had pancakes at 9, ended the day at 1 when I found a hotel and had a beer." He tries to flesh it out preaching about cognitive and physical issues that affect us as we get older. Unfortunately, there's precious little about his interactions with other people on the ride or his thoughts while biking, even after he gets hit by a car. There are lots of more interesting touring books out there.… (més)

You would think this book would be right up my alley, being an old man who likes to cycle and has pedaled many hundreds of miles bike touring. The author's writing style is reasonably professional. People, especially older people, will find it interesting if they haven't done the same kind of feat, i.e., long-distance, multi-day cycling. It sets a sort of life goal for them. Do something you didn't think you could do. Not something you didn't think you could do as a senior citizen, but something you never thought you could do. Period. And the author does indeed ride his way across America. Solo. However, he does it with a brain function that repeatedly lets him lose his way, leave valuables behind, pack defective equipment, fail to replace it, forget how to do basic bike maintenance or use essential equipment he had along, talk endlessly about the wind speed (despite knowing from the outset that he was traveling against prevailing winds), and lecture on nutrition while ignoring much of what is known about it. His approach to reporting his trip was also flawed. Writing the book about twelve years after the feat, he would publish daily entries from his trip journal and then comment further. Sometimes he would do what you would want: add facts left out of the journal or clarify the situations listed. Other times, he would simply restate what you had just read in the journal for no advantage. This was also where he would do his "lectures" without citing sources for his wisdom and frequently omitting key facts. Ultimately, these daily reports became more and more repetitive. Drink coffee in the morning. Drink milk shakes at lunch. Drink beer at night. Rinse with Gatorade and repeat. Nevertheless, he complained frequently of cramps from dehydration. I don't recall him ever mentioning proteins as a necessary part of nutrition, just carbs, nor do I recall him ever eating any vegetables. Ah, those authoritative lectures on nutrition. Clearly, it was very important for the author to show how vibrant he was physically "for an old man". He repeated it often enough. Good for him for being physically healthy, but he can -- and should -- ride alone, as long as he likes.… (més)