Old Man on a Bike

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He did send a message that old age (whatever that is!) does not have to mean physically decline. Or at least you can draw it out and enjoy a lot more years of active physical activities. For the past few days I have been pursued by a middle-aged hen. Today the hen slinks into my room while Nora collects my laundry. I discover the hen on my bed. She has laid an egg.'

Although travelling, I am on familiar territory. We are always on familiar territory, all of us. Yet we divide ourselves from this reality by erecting fake barriers and boundaries of nationality and race and religion.' Reminded how much I loved it, and with new tools like Polar heart monitors, and Strava, I have really gotten into it again. (From 7/1 to 7/26, I pedaled 604 miles.) I will very soon be 62. The ride was a series of individual and yes, combinations of strong head winds, steep hills and both cold and hot weather extremes. But he was literally driven to meet all the challenges.This book is singularly unique in that it draws the reader inside an older person's mind. I found it an enriching, often comforting and pleasant place to be. The journey begins tomorrow at 8 a.m with a flight from the UK to Boston. I fly Aer Lingus and have bought and will wear a green shirt and a Clancy Brothers Arran sweater in hope of an upgrade. I will be away from home for many months and I have a long long way to ride. Am I nervous? Yes. Scared? A little.'

I may never be able to afford the time (two months!) off to do that challenge, but this book has inspired me to look for shorter trips—days, or a week—that I could do right here in California. With his remarkable insight and searing self awareness, Mr Gandofli reminded me, time and time again, of my grampie Kirkby. Once the patriarch of our family, always my hero, a man who died having forgotten more than I am likely ever to be able to learn. But he was rewarded by spectacular mountain views, the open and lonely plains and all the west has to offer in mesas and canyons and brilliant stars at night. This book is a good book for someone who is approaching retirement and wants to avoid going to seed in retirement.They infuse their finds in hot water and insist I bath the burns. They are small commanding women. They cook, clean and do the laundry. Disobedience would be foolish.' In May 2020, finally bored of mostly staying home, and doing court hearings by Zoom, I broke out the bike (a Trek Bontrager hybrid), and started riding again. At 73 years old, Simon Gandolfi sets off from Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico to embark on a five and a half month journey culminating at 'the end of the world', Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego. For Simon this is a journey of discovery. Leaving behind the safety and sanctuary of friends and family, he is truly alone but along the way he meets and talks with rich and poor, old and young, officials and professionals, agricultural and industrial workers. This expertly written travelogue reveals not only the stories of those he meets, and his own, but also that of Latin America, its attitudes to itself, to the USA and the UK in the aftermath of the Iraq war and the realities of the poverty and endemic corruption throughout much of this continent. I used to ride 20-30 miles a day when I was younger. Then I went to law school, became a lawyer, and sat all day. Ultimately, this really is an inspiring feel-good book about one older man’s amazing bicycling challenge, crossing the U.S. alone.