T.O.H.P. Burnham Free Library (Essex)

The road headed west, a 6,000-mile cycling odyssey through North America, Leon McCarron

eng

contains biographical information

portraitsmaps

no index present

non fiction

The road headed west

890181229

Leon McCarron

a 6,000-mile cycling odyssey through North America

"Terrified of the prospect of a life spent behind a desk, without challenge or excitement, Leon takes off to cross America on an overloaded bicycle packed with everything but common sense. Over five months and 6000 miles, he cycled from New York to Seattle and then on to the Mexican border, facing tornados, swollen river crossings, wild roaming buffalo and one hungry black bear along the way. But he also met kind strangers, who offered their food, wisdom, hospitality and even the occasional local history lesson, and learned what happens when you take a chance and follow the scent of adventure. With a sharp eye and a genuine go-where-the-wind-takes-me attitude, McCarron makes for an ideal guide on this cycling adventure. He passes through small towns, rolls up and flies down the winding roads of the Blacks Hills is taken in and fed by strangers, all on a quest to discover the 'real' America, and in the process, learn a little about himself. Funny, insightful, and full of life, The Road Headed West will inspire readers to chase their dreams and go off in search of adventure"--, Provided by publisher

Author's Note -- Prologue -- Map -- Part One: Beginnings -- The Leaving of It All -- Melancholy -- New York Blues -- Wanderlust -- The Plan -- Bridge to the Other Side -- The Empire State -- Mon-Tah-Sell-Oh -- A Man's Best Friend -- An Irishman Abroad -- Monsters -- Friends and Miles -- Susie from the Solomon Islands -- The Falls -- O Canada -- Down in the Dumps -- The Seat by the Door -- The Great Lakes State -- Handsome Jack -- Part Two: The Middle -- The Badger State -- The Hawkeye State -- Between a Rock and a Hard Place -- The Morning After the Night Before -- Boxcar Hobo -- The Mount Rushmore State -- Where Nobody Knows My Name -- A Million Miles of Cycling -- Kindred Spirits -- To Share the Road -- A Change in Scenery -- "Three Million?" -- Transitions -- A Work That's Open to the Sky -- Part Three: Into the Mountains -- The Cowboy State -- Higher Than the Clouds -- Buffalo Bill Country -- Riding Across a Supervolcano -- The Treasure State -- Drifting -- A River Runs Through It -- Idaho and Washington -- The Final Hurdle -- Part Four: South -- Seattle -- One Step North, Two Steps South -- South -- Keep Portland Weird -- To Sleep in the Trees -- My Witness Is the Empty Sky -- The Golden State -- Carried Away -- The Land of Milk and Honey -- The End of the Beginning -- Epilogue -- Cycle Touring : A How-to of Bicycle Travel -- Additional Resources -- My Kit List -- About the Author