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| Cycling Back to Happiness: Adventure on the North Sea Cycle Route | 
 enlarge | Author: Bernie Friend
Publisher: Pen Press Publishers
Category: Book
List Price: £8.99
Buy Used: £6.25
You Save: £2.74 (30%)
New (14) from £6.42
Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 32433
Media: Paperback
Pages: 290
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1
ISBN: 1906206716
EAN: 9781906206710
ASIN: 1906206716
Publication Date: April 28, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
Secret benefits of cycling touring revealed on uplifting trip August 21, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
The author goes through a number of distressing ordeals before setting off on what must have been an epic quest for a rookie cyclist still raw from great grief. After all, this was hardly a slow pedal to the shops!
And it is the adventure which makes this story so interesting - the random characters and obscure places visited enroute.
This is not just a journey of the body, but also of the mind as the writer discovers the true secret of cycle touring, absorbing the countries around you and taking the time out to think and relax.
This two wheeled healing process is punctuated superbly with hilarious encounters with unlikely lodging offerers, wild loose shaggy bulls, rabid bike hungry dogs, drunken Swedish card schools and geriatric half marathon runners with Jim'll Fix It medals hanging from their wrinkled necks.
The whole book flows nicely and the humour sits well with interesting facts about the towns and villages passed through, as well as the local history.
At the back of the book are useful hostel and camp site addresses, plus ferry websites etc... it even has a North Sea Cycle Route soundtrack listed at the back!
The fact the author has managed to produce a funny, uplifting tale, while tackling some dark and difficult subjects, is a remarkable achievement.
Cycling World Review August 21, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Cycling Back to Happiness traces two journeys; one round the North Sea Cycle Route, some 6,000km of pedalling; and a second, much longer journey, back to health and happiness, when medication and therapy failed to help.
The style is distinctly individual, as one suspects is the author. He is best at describing the places and people he saw, while touring cyclists will relate to his escapades with ease born of familiarity. At best he has that rare ability to encapsulate in words the flavour of the experience of travel, by bicycle, through many different places. It is refreshing to find that he found so many friendly, helpful folk along the way and that he chooses to emphasise the unexpected pleasure of chance meetings and events, rather than the annoyances and obstacles.
The book improves as it progresses along its way. Initially there is, in my view, too much ranting and bitterness. This is probably inevitable given the origins of the personal journey being made and that this is a mix between travelogue and autobiography. If you find this either distressing or hard-work, it is well worth persevering.
However, when the cycling takes over, it becomes much more enticing as the focus shifts to the writer's relationship with the rest of the universe, possibly reflecting his improving mental state. It reinforces the unspoken secret of cycle touring: the restoration of mind and body at a slow pace along with the simplification of life and the rebuilding of faith in fellow humans, especially strangers met by chance.
All aspects of life are covered fom going to the toilet and farm-style brothels in Denmark, to local history. This breadth is testimony to a great achievement in what is a great read. It certainly rivals the work of names that are far better known in this genre. If Bernie Friend sets off on his bike again, I sincerely hope he'll let us know about it.
Do a Bernie, get off your backside, and buy it! July 30, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I bought this book whilst living in Spain, at a time when my life was about to change. Bernie, so full of fears, takes on a massive challenge, in the face of all his fears, at the hardest of times, following the loss of his dear Mum.
The way he opens his soul for all to see is awe inspiring, you desperately want him to succeed as he pedals against all the elements and are delighted with the characters he entertains and is entertained by on his trip.
You will constantly be flipping through the pages of your atlas (or the map kindly provided at the front) either to find the places you didn't know existed, or to get off your own backside, and do a 'Bernie' yourself!
Intriguing and Inspiring June 5, 2008
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
Having never read any travel books before, I wasn't sure what to expect from Cycling Back to Happiness, but it sounded intriguing so I thought I'd give it a go. It begins by painting a picture of the author, Bernie Friend, and his life and fears before the journey and reasons for doing it, which completely pulled me in.
I've never been to any of the countries along the North Sea Cycle Route (apart from the UK of course!), so it was a very insightful look into how the people of these countries live and how they treat visitors to their lands while also describing the scenery, landscapes and animals (lots of sheep!) encountered along the way.
However, the book wasn't just about the route itself, but also of Bernie's journey to conquer his fears and fight some of the demons that have long lived inside of him and I felt quite privileged to be allowed to follow him along the way.
Cycling Back to Happiness doesn't just appeal to those who are interested in travelling or cycling, but anyone who likes a well written, often comical, yarn filled with adventure!
First class debut and saddle sores to prove it. May 24, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Bernie Friend a first time travel writer captures the full glory of exploration in his `trails'& tribulations along the North Sea Cycle Route, in this quite wonderful light hearted and equally touching travelogue. Peppered with historical fact, geographical insight and humorous trappings, it catapults the reader from page to page with the steady propulsion of a `Halfords' finest mountain bike on a mission. Hooking up with a mate part way through, you capture a relationship between author and chum, not dissimilar to Hunter S. & his attorney, although stimulants never exceed a strong cup of coffee & a few Tuborg's.
Driven to take on a trip well outside of his comfort zone for reasons that are both touching and heartfelt Bernie peddles his way through personal demons and hang up's and brings the reader along with him, safely tucked in his saddlebag. Cycling back to happiness is a debut that hopefully will be the first of many more adventures, and why not? After all there's a coastline round every continent waiting to be explored and here we have an environmentally friendly travel hack who whilst green in his mode of transport is no longer green in penning a decent yarn.
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