Reginald Spittle's Blog: See my book blog, page 29
November 19, 2019
Bicycling Crusader Follows the Silk Road
She climbed to a peak of academia as a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University and later as a scientist/graduate student at MIT. She dreamed of walking on Mars.
But for Kate Harris, work inside science laboratories could not satisfy her need to discover, so she and her best friend Mel set out to get lost in the world of exploration–for a year, bicycling the Silk Road of Marco Polo from Turkey to Tibet.
Thousands of miles, at altitudes higher than 17,000 feet, over every kind of terrain you can imagine, and through blazing heat and freezing snow. They eluded and tricked menacing military and police, adapted to cultures as different as they could be, and traversed geography as foreign to them as Mars. They found human compassion in many places, including Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, China, Tibet, and Nepal as locals took them into their homes to save them from another night in their tent.
In Lands of Lost Borders: A Journey on the Silk Road, Harris eloquently and humorously weaves history, science, and compelling anecdotes from her adventure that left my jaw hanging open.
As I have learned while walking the long-distance trails of Europe, the borders of cultures, countries and languages are lost when you step outside the comforts of everyday life and push yourself to, or even beyond, your limits. On the Silk Road, Kate Harris went well beyond the limits of most humans and her book made me want to load up my backpack and leave my borders behind.
(Click on the cover if you want to see the book on Amazon.)
Bicycling Crusader Gets Lost on the Silk Road
She climbed to a peak of academia as a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University and later as a scientist/graduate student at MIT. She dreamed of walking on Mars.
But for Kate Harris, work inside science laboratories could not satisfy her need to discover, so she and her best friend Mel set out to get lost in the world of exploration–for a year, bicycling the Silk Road of Marco Polo from Turkey to Tibet.
Thousands of miles, at altitudes higher than 17,000 feet, over every kind of terrain you can imagine, and through blazing heat and freezing snow. They eluded and tricked menacing military and police, adapted to cultures as different as they could be, and traversed geography as foreign to them as Mars. They found human compassion in many places, including Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, China, Tibet, and Nepal as locals took them into their homes to save them from another night in their tent.
In Lands of Lost Borders: A Journey on the Silk Road, Harris eloquently and humorously weaves history, science, and compelling anecdotes from her adventure that left my jaw hanging open.
As I have learned while walking the long-distance trails of Europe, the borders of cultures, countries and languages are lost when you step outside the comforts of everyday life and push yourself to, or even beyond, your limits. On the Silk Road, Kate Harris went well beyond the limits of most humans and her book made me want to load up my backpack and leave my borders behind.
(Click on the cover if you want to see the book on Amazon.)
October 18, 2019
A Pipe Dream Becomes This Walker’s Reality
Author/adventurer Ken Ilgunas writes about testing his limits and then living within his means in his compelling first book, Walden on Wheels, in which he documents a most unusual path through graduate school.
A little older (29), but equally determined to step outside the ordinary, Ilgunas takes on what he calls an “epic, never-done-before, and sort-of-illegal hike across the heartland.”
As I read Trespassing Across America, I was drawn into his world as he sets out to walk 1,700 miles on or near the path of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, from Alberta, Canada, to the Gulf of Mexico. He confronts harrowing storms, stampeding cattle, gun-toting ranchers, suspicious law enforcement officers, and a host of physical challenges.
In the end, he was left with (no spoilers here) experiences and impressions that touch him deeply. I was left encouraged about the potential of the human spirit.
(Click on the cover to see the book on Amazon.)
October 14, 2019
Walden: Thoreau’s Classic Book About Life
As I read Henry David Thoreau’s Walden: Life in the Woods, I had thought that could seem corny.
“You can’t see the forest for the trees.”
The 19th century philosopher/author told readers that the mundane details of everyday life can prevent us from seeing the big picture and, unless we take a step back, we can miss what is most important.
Thoreau stepped back by living alone in a tiny cabin on a pond in Massachusetts for two years. His thoughts about his experience fill the classic book.
His writing style may confuse you at times, but his nuggets of wisdom will make the effort worthwhile. You can read it cover to cover, or randomly open to a page, where you are likely to find thoughts about life and society worth pondering.
It may leave you searching for your own way to step back. (Click on the cover if you want to check it out on Amazon…the Kindle version is just 60 cents.)
September 30, 2019
An Epic Trek Ends; What’s Next?
If you read my book, Camino Sunrise: Walking With My Shadows, then you know exactly what brought Sue and me to walk England’s South West Coast Path for the past three weeks. Our fifth long-distance backpacking trek is over as we rest in the Land’s End Hotel.
Soaked to the skin, wind-blown, exhausted from the nearly relentless climbs and descents that began in Minehead, we can hardly wait to do it again. But where?
September 28, 2019
The Accidental President
How did a virtually unknown Missouri man ascend to the White House in a matter of months?
How did a man who never wanted to be president hold up as he guided the United States to the end of World War II and into the Cold War?
What did he think when he learned about a secret that would end the war and change the world forever?
A.J. Baime uncovered answers to many mysteries about the early months of Harry S. Truman’s presidency in The Accidental President. This is one of the most gripping presidential biographies I have read. Baime brings readers into the White House for critical moments and into momentus talks with Churchill and Stalin.
This book made me feel like I was living the times with one of our most unique leaders.
September 25, 2019
Hiking to Lukomir and the Rakitnica Canyon
I love books about people who take adventure to a level far outside my usual travels. Check out this blog I follow.
After our short visit to Mostar, we planned to do some hiking around Lukomir. It is a village up in the mountains so the nearest city to hitchhike to was Konjic. We made our way to the edge of the city and after an hour, Malik picked us up. What a small world it turned out to be – he was a cyclist too. He is a member of a mountain biking (MTB) group in Sarajevo and was very excited to hear about our world cycling adventure. Malik also knew the high calorie diet that we needed so he kindly treated us to a generous meal.
Amazing view from the highway restaurant
One kilo of roast lamb and potatoes
After exchanging contacts and farewell, we got dropped off in Konjic. It was late afternoon when we got off the car so we had to think about where to sleep…
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September 22, 2019
The Best Things Often Ain’t Easy
[image error]Ian joined Sue and me for part of our trek in England.
Sometimes, the best experiences push you to your limits. I am reminded of that thought as I walk the South West Coast Path in England. One particular day included stunning coastal views along a 15-mile walk with more than 9,000 feet of elevation change.
In the moment, it seemed like too much. My legs rebeled in pain as I neared my tenth hour on the trail. “Why do I do this?” I asked myself as I wondered if the sights were worth it.
A couple of days later, our English friend Ian surprised Sue and me on the South West Coast Path with a reunion. It brought back memories of our first distance trek, Spain’s Camino de Santiago, where we met Ian. I learned during a month on the Camino that working through hardships sometimes leads to rich rewards.
Ian’s friendship and many treasured memories came from those times on the Camino.
We have seven days and many more miles left on our journey from Minehead to Land’s End. Our fifth long-distance trek reminds me that time will guide me to realizing the rewards from taking on such a difficult challenge.
September 15, 2019
Finding Paths to Happiness
How do people who battle anxiety and/or depression find peace and happiness?
I have found answers to this question through reading the wisdom of some brilliant writers whose works I have featured here. (Click on “more books” in the menu to see them.)
But I have found some of my life’s most enjoyable times on the long-distant trails in Europe. My story about my first such journey became an adventure memoir, Camino Sunrise: Walking With My Shadows.
I am finding this happiness again in England on the South West Coast Path. Sue and I are about a third of the way through our 260-mile trek from Minehead to Land’s End. Here are a few scenes from England.
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September 13, 2019
The Salt Path: A Book Comes to Life in England
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The path plunges and rises with the valleys, over and over.
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If a picture is worth a thousand words, then walking the South West Coast Path is indescribable.
I am reading Raynor Winn’s best-selling book, The Salt Path, while walking in her footsteps on England’s South West Coast Path.
Except I am hardly following her lead.
Winn walked after she and her husband Moth lost their home in a business deal gone sour. Plus, he had just gotten news that he was dying from a neurological disease. They camped, mostly, and she wrote that they lived off 48 pounds a week. In two segments, they trekked almost all of the 630 miles.
Sue and I are fortunate that we are healthy and will return to our Oregon home. We have a shower, warm bed, and pub meals at the end of each day. We are carrying everything we need on our backs, sans the tent, sleeping bags and stove. Finally, should our script play out, we will hike “just” 260 miles from Minehead to Land’s End.
But, like Raynor and her husband and all who venture here, we are astounded by the glory of England’s southwest coast. The steep path challenges, but our senses bask in this experience.
