You Can't Ride a Bicycle to Alaska. It's an Island!: A Book
Review
by Garry Gamber
Mickey Thomas decided to join a group of bicycle riders who were
planning a trip from Montana to Alaska, a bicycling expedition.
Mickey had never been on a bicycle tour of any considerable
length and did not own the necessary camping and cycling
equipment. But Mickey had just completed two years of graduate
school work in North Carolina, and he felt that having
imagination and knowing how to ride a bicycle were all the
requirements he needed to join the bicycle expedition to Alaska.
Mickey kept a record of his thoughts and experiences while
traveling with the group to Alaska, and he relates them
extremely well in this book. Mickey and the group of ten riders
had numerous funny adventures and a few difficult and even
downright scary ones as well. The events of the expedition are
presented in chronological order along with photos, quotes,
history, facts, and Mickey's unique observations.
What I enjoyed most about the book was Mickey's sharp and ironic
sense of humor. I was constantly smiling and laughing as I read
his accounts of each day's journey. His writing style is warm,
to the point, and very observant. For example, we've all had
experience with mosquitoes before, but listen to how Mickey
describes an encounter. "It became a race to get into my tent
before the mosquitoes figured out what I was doing. It was
important to plan my tent-entering strategy carefully so I
didn't carry too many inside with me. Being zipped in with blood
thirsty mosquitoes could make for a very uncomfortable and
infuriating night." Humorous observations like this populate
nearly every page.
The book also contains numerous discussions of the geography and
history of the local territory. That's another thing that I
enjoyed about the book. By the time I had finished reading about
the group's expedition from Montana to Alaska through Canada I
knew a lot more about those places than I ever imagined that I
would.
Anybody who has ever been on a bicycle tour anywhere will
especially appreciate this book. I also recommend it to anyone
who enjoys traveling in North America and to anyone who enjoys a
good adventure story. The humor will keep you involved to the
very end.
"You Can't Ride a Bike to Alaska. It's an Island!" was written
by Mickey Thomas and is available through Amazon.com and
iUniverse.com. The ISBN is 0-595-37350-X.
About the author:
Garry Gamber is a public school teacher and entrepreneur. He
writes articles about politics, real estate, home businesses,
poetry, and books. He is the owner of <a
href="http://www.goodpoliticsradio.com/ak" target="new">Good
Politics Radio Alaska</a> and <a
href="http://www.thebooksadvisor.com" target="new">The Books
Advisor</a>.