What do you think?
Rate this book
Life Cycles
Julian Sayarer grew up riding a bicycle and worked as a bike courier in London. When the world record for a circumnavigation by bike is broken—the biker riding in conjunction with banks and big business—Julian sets out to take it back. This is his story of that record, riding 110 miles a day for six months on only £7.82 a day, through jungles, snow, and twenty different countries. He finds himself stranded without money in the deserts of Kazakhstan, bitten by a dog in North Carolina, and sleeping under motorway bridges in China. Taken by life on the road and a spirit of adventure, he loves every minute of it. A tale of excitement and world politics by bicycle, travelling at 12 mph, Julian finds that the Tartars of Central Asia aren’t so different to the trailer families of Louisiana. This book is a reminder that the world is out there, and it’s waiting for us.
- GenresNonfictionTravelCycling
374 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2014
10 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
February 5, 2015
Sayarer has been a bike nut all his life, from riding from a very young age to being a bike courier in London; a tough and relentless job. Having just seen the world record beaten for the cycling around the world, but with the cyclist sponsored by leading banks and corporations, he decides that this record belongs back with the true cyclists.
On a minimal budget of £8 a day, and with the intention of riding a minimum of 110 miles every single day to get back the record he has set himself a daunting target. Starting in France his route takes him across France and Europe, into Turkey and then Asia through the vast country of Kazakstan. Through China and Thailand. A brief sojourn through New Zealand and then America. After that he is back into Europe, and only has to cycle across Spain and back to Rouen his starting point.
Simple.
Except it isn't. It is hard, relentless and you have to be physically and mentally tough. Sayarer is that type of guy and he makes this epic journey with good spirit. The people that he meets are generous, welcoming and warm. I think he helps, as he is an engaging character, and the characters that he meets respect him for his challenge.
Well worth reading for those that love cycling and travel books. 3.5 Stars.
On a minimal budget of £8 a day, and with the intention of riding a minimum of 110 miles every single day to get back the record he has set himself a daunting target. Starting in France his route takes him across France and Europe, into Turkey and then Asia through the vast country of Kazakstan. Through China and Thailand. A brief sojourn through New Zealand and then America. After that he is back into Europe, and only has to cycle across Spain and back to Rouen his starting point.
Simple.
Except it isn't. It is hard, relentless and you have to be physically and mentally tough. Sayarer is that type of guy and he makes this epic journey with good spirit. The people that he meets are generous, welcoming and warm. I think he helps, as he is an engaging character, and the characters that he meets respect him for his challenge.
Well worth reading for those that love cycling and travel books. 3.5 Stars.
January 18, 2016
Julian Sayarer is probably better remembered for the utterly epic post-trip rant he published on his blog than for the feat of athleticism he’d achieved during the previous 169 days of riding.
His words, preserved online since their publication in 2009, were those of a man who — exposed and vulnerable and at 12 miles per hour — had just spent half a year experiencing a vast cross-section of global society, arrived back in London and perceived in a moment of clarity the sheer insanity of mainstream Western society.
Looking for a way to make sense of it, he’d lashed out publicly at the previous record holder, who’d taken the big-corporate sponsorship route to funding his own endeavour and thus represented all that Sayarer saw wrong with the developed world today.
The problem, of course, was that the insanity he’d perceived was one that only he had eyes to see, having earned a perspective almost impossible to gain in any other way than by doing what he’d done. This, together with the demonisation of the sponsored record-breaking rider in question, earned him infamy which doubtless lingers today, as well as the informal moniker of ‘Angry Young Man’.
Life Cycles begins by acknowledging that while it may have been a slightly rash decision to hit the ‘Publish’ button on the aforementioned article before sleeping on it, there were a great many reasons why things looked that way at the end of the road.
We begin by learning of Julian’s background and upbringing, his deep love for cycling as an escape from the demands of social integration, and his self-identification as a questioner and misfit in a society that seemed blindly off course. We learn of the part the aforementioned record-breaker played in igniting Julian’s reactionary streak:
And how this spark, combined with the author’s being at a disillusioned loose end in his mid-twenties, set off what would be a self-fulfilling prophecy for his journey:
It seems, perhaps, that the beginnings of the infamous rant were in place before the wheels began to turn. So it will come as a relief to many that Julian’s departure from home also marks a departure from anti-capitalist sentiment – at least, for most of the time – as he reveals himself as a supremely talented wordsmith, weaving an exceptionally succint and poetic tale of the events you’d expect from a long bicycle journey which in other hands would fall flat. Don’t expect a formulaic tale of hardship after hardship overcome; do expect sparkling vignettes of life observed as it passes him by, interspersed with the reflections of a thoughtful idealist who thankfully manages to poke fun at his own indignancy, as in this scene in a brand new Hungarian hypermarket:
This incisive and critical eye, of course, is the one that made his original blog such a refreshing and worthwhile read in a blogosphere swamped with dry, diary-entry-style travelogs about people toddling around the world collecting consumable, commodified experiences. Some will inevitably rile against his tone, his focus and his views; others will be right there with him, wishing they’d both the gall and eloquence to express themselves likewise.
Throughout the story runs an undercurrent of disconnection, of frustration at the unbridgeable gulf between how the long-haul cyclist perceives the world at large and how the world at large perceives the long-haul cyclist. Are the author’s views a beacon of clarity and realism in a world gone utterly mad, or a collection of well-articulated but ultimately abstract rantings in a world that’s getting on with it, despite its various madnesses? Where does Life Cycles figure in its author’s quest to “change the world for the better”? How many traveller-adventurer-writers would put their hands up and say ‘actually, Julian, you’re damn well right’ if they had the bollocks to publicly do so?
I happen to be in a position to see many things through Julian’s eyes, because I’ve been to many of the same places (literally and figuratively). Others may not, and I’d rather not speculate how his tale will read to them. Regardless, Julian’s uncompromising perspective is bound to stir things up (again), and his talent for writing will ensure that he will do so by means of a unique and very worthwhile read.
His words, preserved online since their publication in 2009, were those of a man who — exposed and vulnerable and at 12 miles per hour — had just spent half a year experiencing a vast cross-section of global society, arrived back in London and perceived in a moment of clarity the sheer insanity of mainstream Western society.
Looking for a way to make sense of it, he’d lashed out publicly at the previous record holder, who’d taken the big-corporate sponsorship route to funding his own endeavour and thus represented all that Sayarer saw wrong with the developed world today.
The problem, of course, was that the insanity he’d perceived was one that only he had eyes to see, having earned a perspective almost impossible to gain in any other way than by doing what he’d done. This, together with the demonisation of the sponsored record-breaking rider in question, earned him infamy which doubtless lingers today, as well as the informal moniker of ‘Angry Young Man’.
Life Cycles begins by acknowledging that while it may have been a slightly rash decision to hit the ‘Publish’ button on the aforementioned article before sleeping on it, there were a great many reasons why things looked that way at the end of the road.
We begin by learning of Julian’s background and upbringing, his deep love for cycling as an escape from the demands of social integration, and his self-identification as a questioner and misfit in a society that seemed blindly off course. We learn of the part the aforementioned record-breaker played in igniting Julian’s reactionary streak:
…it was the final straw… to see the bicycle reduced to no more than a corporate marketing strategy.
And how this spark, combined with the author’s being at a disillusioned loose end in his mid-twenties, set off what would be a self-fulfilling prophecy for his journey:
I was in need of a crusade and, however ridiculous it might sound, a small, embarassing part of me thought that, in beating him, perhaps I could change the world for the better. I suppose, at the very least, it was a worthwhile quest in which to fail.
It seems, perhaps, that the beginnings of the infamous rant were in place before the wheels began to turn. So it will come as a relief to many that Julian’s departure from home also marks a departure from anti-capitalist sentiment – at least, for most of the time – as he reveals himself as a supremely talented wordsmith, weaving an exceptionally succint and poetic tale of the events you’d expect from a long bicycle journey which in other hands would fall flat. Don’t expect a formulaic tale of hardship after hardship overcome; do expect sparkling vignettes of life observed as it passes him by, interspersed with the reflections of a thoughtful idealist who thankfully manages to poke fun at his own indignancy, as in this scene in a brand new Hungarian hypermarket:
Giving up on bread, I make my way to a delicatessen selling pizza and hotdogs. I point at pizza. ‘Ketchup-chilli-muzterd-méjonez?’ she yells. Above her head are four large teats, squeezed by her gloved hand. Down splatter sauces. Shuffling on, I move to another window with chicken legs at a price that guarantees those birds have not led happy lives. I gobble down pizza, lukewarm chicken flesh. She gave me too much méjonez, but all calories are valuable, so I dip chicken bones into surplus méjonez, scoop up a good globule and lick the bone clean, a lollipop of hydrogenated fat. And it’s that, it’s méjonez licked from cheap chicken bones… that’s progress… that’s the future… right there at a French multinational in central Hungary.
This incisive and critical eye, of course, is the one that made his original blog such a refreshing and worthwhile read in a blogosphere swamped with dry, diary-entry-style travelogs about people toddling around the world collecting consumable, commodified experiences. Some will inevitably rile against his tone, his focus and his views; others will be right there with him, wishing they’d both the gall and eloquence to express themselves likewise.
Throughout the story runs an undercurrent of disconnection, of frustration at the unbridgeable gulf between how the long-haul cyclist perceives the world at large and how the world at large perceives the long-haul cyclist. Are the author’s views a beacon of clarity and realism in a world gone utterly mad, or a collection of well-articulated but ultimately abstract rantings in a world that’s getting on with it, despite its various madnesses? Where does Life Cycles figure in its author’s quest to “change the world for the better”? How many traveller-adventurer-writers would put their hands up and say ‘actually, Julian, you’re damn well right’ if they had the bollocks to publicly do so?
I happen to be in a position to see many things through Julian’s eyes, because I’ve been to many of the same places (literally and figuratively). Others may not, and I’d rather not speculate how his tale will read to them. Regardless, Julian’s uncompromising perspective is bound to stir things up (again), and his talent for writing will ensure that he will do so by means of a unique and very worthwhile read.
July 26, 2014
Never before have I read a travelogue with such urgency. The pace is fantastic, but it's the detail and the people that Julian manages to cram into those 374 pages across 6 months of riding that weave such beauty. They tumble through the prose as the miles tumble away on the blacktop. The poetry he writes with and the tight moral compass throughout the tale as relentless as the road he rides on towards. A truly remarkable achievement, both sporting and literary. I loved it, I laughed, I was touched and appalled by the humans across the planet, but mostly touched. A truly inspiring read. You are left in no doubt by the end, why he dedicates the book, for all the strangers.
July 5, 2020
I've read quite a few books relating bicycle tour and travel. Most of them are . . . unsatisfying, relating as they do the mechanics of physical travel by bicycle and precious little of the inner journey. Fortunately, Sayarer is different.
It starts with his (I'm assuming) honest appraisal of what motivated him to attempt the world record. Let's just say it was more about a belief in the wrongheadedness of the previous record holder's motivation:
Sayarer admits: “... he [the recent record holder he calls Kash d'Anthe] caught me at a bad time [...] I was desperately searching for some meaning back then, crying to believe some things in this world remained precious [...] a small embarrassing part of me thought that, in beating him, perhaps I could change the world for the better. I suppose, at the very least, it was a worthwhile quest in which to fail.”
Sayarer did not fail despite the dubious nature of his motivation. He not only achieved the numbers required to take the title but seems to have learned a great deal about himself and the world he sought to change.
I'm not a fan of short stories and so was initially put off by his style. This work is essentially a string of (occasionally very) short stories built out of the day-after-day segments of trip. Fortunately, over time, these short story segments build a complete, multifaceted whole, reflecting his own personal changes.
More than observations on the landscapes through which he passed, Sayarer includes what must have been the most striking of his encounters with the people in that landscape. The food, the attempts to communicate, his own exhaustion, and that pesky read wheel all serve to build a rich and complex tapestry of his trip.
There are a number of scenes in which Sayarer, describing the generosity of those he met along the way, nearly brought me to tears (surely a sign of my own desire to see humanity in the best light). At other times his humor shown through making me laugh. His occasionally harsh self-criticism was just painful enough to make me see him as a real human being.
In the end, the record was the least of it.
Highly recommended if you enjoy tales of travel by bicycle.
It starts with his (I'm assuming) honest appraisal of what motivated him to attempt the world record. Let's just say it was more about a belief in the wrongheadedness of the previous record holder's motivation:
Sayarer admits: “... he [the recent record holder he calls Kash d'Anthe] caught me at a bad time [...] I was desperately searching for some meaning back then, crying to believe some things in this world remained precious [...] a small embarrassing part of me thought that, in beating him, perhaps I could change the world for the better. I suppose, at the very least, it was a worthwhile quest in which to fail.”
Sayarer did not fail despite the dubious nature of his motivation. He not only achieved the numbers required to take the title but seems to have learned a great deal about himself and the world he sought to change.
I'm not a fan of short stories and so was initially put off by his style. This work is essentially a string of (occasionally very) short stories built out of the day-after-day segments of trip. Fortunately, over time, these short story segments build a complete, multifaceted whole, reflecting his own personal changes.
More than observations on the landscapes through which he passed, Sayarer includes what must have been the most striking of his encounters with the people in that landscape. The food, the attempts to communicate, his own exhaustion, and that pesky read wheel all serve to build a rich and complex tapestry of his trip.
There are a number of scenes in which Sayarer, describing the generosity of those he met along the way, nearly brought me to tears (surely a sign of my own desire to see humanity in the best light). At other times his humor shown through making me laugh. His occasionally harsh self-criticism was just painful enough to make me see him as a real human being.
In the end, the record was the least of it.
Highly recommended if you enjoy tales of travel by bicycle.
March 18, 2025
Personal opinion but I struggled with the pace and overly poetic storytelling of this book. Although I appreciated the challenges he faced on his trip, and his stories about the people he met, I felt like the descriptive writing meant that a lot of information was left out for readers. In particular, in the last chapter, he moved from North America, to Portugal, Spain and then France in just a matter of a couple of pages, with no final conclusion or reflection at the end of the book.
December 20, 2025
I was so fascinated reading each day I felt like I was following Julian on my bike. He persevered and persevered and continued through an awful lot of bad weather mechanical breakdowns and geographical challenges.
November 21, 2018
Adventure, cycling and the politics of travel. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend
November 28, 2020
Ein lesenswertes Buch. Manchmal würde man dem Autor jedoch etwas Gelassenheit wünschen und etwas weniger Wut im Magen
September 27, 2023
An unusual and somewhat jarring writing style but was jam-packed with interest and great observation.
April 10, 2015
When you set out to tour the world and write about it, you have a choice - do you follow the Bill Bryson school of poking gentle fun at odd foreigners while unearthing mountains of trivia about their country? Or do you take the Paul Theroux approach, hating everything and everyone you meet, until you find something you do like and hating yourself for doing so? Sixty pages into this and it was heading down the Theroux style without so much of the people hating. Not many jokes though, more earnest thoughts about politics and economics, interlaced with personal observations of the road and the effect it��s having mentally and physically on the traveller as he cycles the endless miles.
The journey starts by crossing the channel to mainland Europe and, almost suddenly, we’re in Romania. That was quick! And then we’re heading into China with the Ukraine and Kazakhstan behind us in the dust. My overall impression was that there was little else than dust on the road to Shanghai. In China, the dust comes from concrete construction and road building. The author struggles to take it all in, and the lack of human interaction due to the language barrier means that this part of the book is less engaging than it might have been.
The next big lump of the journey continues over in North America where I suspected I’d be reading some left wing polemic about the decline of the West and the embedded ignorance of fat, happy and ignorant Americans. What a tonic then to find the reverse. The author is smitten by the ride from Seattle down to San Francisco and writes with such enthusiasm that I was tempted to book a flight and go and do it myself. It was totally refreshing to read of a Brit who loves the Land of the The Free, where all its many faults and fears are countered by the generosity and intelligence of many of the people he meets. He heads to Mexico too and guess what, he isn’t shot, raped or beheaded as many warned he might be. Mexico is just another country despite what the media would have you believe.
Like a lot of these travelogues, the book hits hyperspeed as we near the end of the journey. One minute you’re in North America, a few pages later back in Spain, France, turn the page, The End. Was that it? Seemingly yes. Very little reflection on what, if anything, was gained or achieved by the guy who made the journey. But overall I was glad that he managed it and that he wrote this account of it too.
The journey starts by crossing the channel to mainland Europe and, almost suddenly, we’re in Romania. That was quick! And then we’re heading into China with the Ukraine and Kazakhstan behind us in the dust. My overall impression was that there was little else than dust on the road to Shanghai. In China, the dust comes from concrete construction and road building. The author struggles to take it all in, and the lack of human interaction due to the language barrier means that this part of the book is less engaging than it might have been.
The next big lump of the journey continues over in North America where I suspected I’d be reading some left wing polemic about the decline of the West and the embedded ignorance of fat, happy and ignorant Americans. What a tonic then to find the reverse. The author is smitten by the ride from Seattle down to San Francisco and writes with such enthusiasm that I was tempted to book a flight and go and do it myself. It was totally refreshing to read of a Brit who loves the Land of the The Free, where all its many faults and fears are countered by the generosity and intelligence of many of the people he meets. He heads to Mexico too and guess what, he isn’t shot, raped or beheaded as many warned he might be. Mexico is just another country despite what the media would have you believe.
Like a lot of these travelogues, the book hits hyperspeed as we near the end of the journey. One minute you’re in North America, a few pages later back in Spain, France, turn the page, The End. Was that it? Seemingly yes. Very little reflection on what, if anything, was gained or achieved by the guy who made the journey. But overall I was glad that he managed it and that he wrote this account of it too.
July 6, 2016
I bought this book after really enjoying Alaistair Humphreys' 'Thunder and Sunshine', a similar account of a man just grabbing his bike and riding around the world for the sake of it. In that book, Alaistair comes across as unassuming and open-minded, and though not a particularly brilliant writer, his endless appetite for what lies around the next corner brings him into contact with many fascinating people, insights, and adventures.
Julian Sayarer is different. Firstly, he is a great writer, with an eye for the incisive metaphor and expressive, lyrical prose. Secondly, he has a much more political streak in him, happy to use his experiences to invoke the injustices of prejudice, nationalism, and capitalism.
Unfortunately, Sayarer's ride was an attempt to beat a world record, and while this brings the book a sense of challenge and urgency, it also brings a tragic sense of missed opportunities. Major cities are passed through with only a mention of how quickly he did so, many chance encounters and interesting tangents are cut short or avoided due to his rigid determination, and a lot of the book is taken up with the numbers and logistics of his mileages - with even Sayerer himself recognising the stupidity of making such a gigantic journey yet focusing so much upon the destination.
There are many great stories in this book, and Sayerer's writing goes a long way towards evoking all the beauty he must have seen, but by the halfway point I was hoping that he would forget the world record, coast on the pedals a bit, spend more time with the people he met, and maybe veer off his predestined route (perhaps to Africa, or South America, which he doesn't go to at all).
What began as a passionate young man's embrace of humanity, adventure, and the world beyond quickly turns into a tale of self-imposed hardship, arbitrary struggles, and physical endurance. At one point Sayerer writes that his journey is 'all about the people', and while I'm sure he meant it, it often seems like maybe his own stubborn sense of purpose compelled him to forget.
Julian Sayarer is different. Firstly, he is a great writer, with an eye for the incisive metaphor and expressive, lyrical prose. Secondly, he has a much more political streak in him, happy to use his experiences to invoke the injustices of prejudice, nationalism, and capitalism.
Unfortunately, Sayarer's ride was an attempt to beat a world record, and while this brings the book a sense of challenge and urgency, it also brings a tragic sense of missed opportunities. Major cities are passed through with only a mention of how quickly he did so, many chance encounters and interesting tangents are cut short or avoided due to his rigid determination, and a lot of the book is taken up with the numbers and logistics of his mileages - with even Sayerer himself recognising the stupidity of making such a gigantic journey yet focusing so much upon the destination.
There are many great stories in this book, and Sayerer's writing goes a long way towards evoking all the beauty he must have seen, but by the halfway point I was hoping that he would forget the world record, coast on the pedals a bit, spend more time with the people he met, and maybe veer off his predestined route (perhaps to Africa, or South America, which he doesn't go to at all).
What began as a passionate young man's embrace of humanity, adventure, and the world beyond quickly turns into a tale of self-imposed hardship, arbitrary struggles, and physical endurance. At one point Sayerer writes that his journey is 'all about the people', and while I'm sure he meant it, it often seems like maybe his own stubborn sense of purpose compelled him to forget.
February 14, 2016
Julian Sayarer's epic cycle around the world is not to be underestimated - he rode 180 days unsupported, solo and on less than 10 euro a day. As a read, this was interesting and a good adventure. He seems to enjoy writing about the US the most, as it takes the lion's share of page turns.
His haste to consume 18,000 miles on two wheels means that this is not a leisurely and exploratory read - we only get glimpses and snapshots of cultures, experiences and landscapes as he blasts through them in his hurry to circumnavigate the globe. It's unfortunate I didn't get to learn more about the places he zipped past, as I would have liked to have known more about them and their place in the world. His human anecdotes were heartwarming and it was a pleasure to read about such kind souls.
Sayarer's style won't be to everyone's taste, but I personally like poetic storytelling and he is clearly a talented writer. However, saying that, this book is in desperate need of better editing. His writing flip flops between present and past tense (often from sentence to sentence), there are endless ellipses and the odd typo throughout; this irritated me and detracted from the overall enjoyment of the read.
I would have really, really liked a map included, so I could see his route and journey as I worked my way through the book. There is a selection of photos which give a good flavour of Sayarer's journey but a map would have been exactly the companion.
His haste to consume 18,000 miles on two wheels means that this is not a leisurely and exploratory read - we only get glimpses and snapshots of cultures, experiences and landscapes as he blasts through them in his hurry to circumnavigate the globe. It's unfortunate I didn't get to learn more about the places he zipped past, as I would have liked to have known more about them and their place in the world. His human anecdotes were heartwarming and it was a pleasure to read about such kind souls.
Sayarer's style won't be to everyone's taste, but I personally like poetic storytelling and he is clearly a talented writer. However, saying that, this book is in desperate need of better editing. His writing flip flops between present and past tense (often from sentence to sentence), there are endless ellipses and the odd typo throughout; this irritated me and detracted from the overall enjoyment of the read.
I would have really, really liked a map included, so I could see his route and journey as I worked my way through the book. There is a selection of photos which give a good flavour of Sayarer's journey but a map would have been exactly the companion.
October 14, 2015
A fascinating book that kept me interested until the end. Yes Sayer cycled ‘round the world’ but missed out Australia (which sort of feels wrong), instead he did extra miles in the USA and Europe. Because of his disapproval of sponsorship he did the trip unsupported which led to very great hardship. It’s amazing his physical health held up until the end. This book was more about feelings and emotions than it was about the nuts and bolts of the trip. I did find myself wondering how he kept his mobile phone charged when he was sleeping by the roadside most nights or just how he got enough to eat when clocking up 150 miles a day and cycling through the night. His observations on different countries and people were equally interesting. It’s sad that in the end his record was not officially recognised and I find myself wondering what he is doing now as it seemed his return to ‘normal life’ left him no more at peace with himself than when he started his journey. A recommended book with many sections of inspirational writing.
January 27, 2015
Very well written, and not what I expected at all. To be honest, I was looking for adventure mixed with technical detail and cycling innuendo.
What I found what was a very beautiful recount through the author's eyes from the journey of a lifetime. Very little technical talk, for which the author actually apologises more than once!
Self-imposed suffering, amazing people and scenery and a lot of inspiration (at least if you have the urge to ride a bike further than the local shops).
Why no 5 stars? 4.5 are not an option, I would love to have read on a little further at the end and get an insight into the post-epic-record-breaking life of Julian.
What I found what was a very beautiful recount through the author's eyes from the journey of a lifetime. Very little technical talk, for which the author actually apologises more than once!
Self-imposed suffering, amazing people and scenery and a lot of inspiration (at least if you have the urge to ride a bike further than the local shops).
Why no 5 stars? 4.5 are not an option, I would love to have read on a little further at the end and get an insight into the post-epic-record-breaking life of Julian.
January 6, 2015
I loved this book.
I am a bit of a cyclist and a bit of a traveler so that helped me appreciate the situations.
But what was really special was Julian's observations of and compassion for, the people he met, and of their humanity, desirable and undesirable. He shares his strong vision of who makes the world a better place and who doesn't in compelling descriptions and stories.
Reading it I couldn't help but share his determination to get to the end, share his pains and joys, I felt desperate for him to get there too.
I am a bit of a cyclist and a bit of a traveler so that helped me appreciate the situations.
But what was really special was Julian's observations of and compassion for, the people he met, and of their humanity, desirable and undesirable. He shares his strong vision of who makes the world a better place and who doesn't in compelling descriptions and stories.
Reading it I couldn't help but share his determination to get to the end, share his pains and joys, I felt desperate for him to get there too.
February 15, 2015
So I finally finished this book, I actually met Julian last summer when I was on summer school in England. He had this presentation about cycling and how it went for him and the book was pretty much about what he talked about but with more information which I found very interesting. It made me wanna do something so adventures: just go cycling around the world. I'm giving it 4/5 mainly because I've actually met him and he made the whole thing interesting. If I had randomly read this book without meeting him, I don't think I would've enjoyed it as much as I did.
July 21, 2016
Bored at day 7
Was this meant to a A level English Literature exam submission? Not the greatest round world cycling book. Valiant journey no doubt, I only got to day 7 and fell asleep.
Was this meant to a A level English Literature exam submission? Not the greatest round world cycling book. Valiant journey no doubt, I only got to day 7 and fell asleep.
January 10, 2015
Really enjoyed this book: Although some may find Julian a little annoying, his descriptive style and candid opinions I found quite brilliant! Definitely a book to read while on your travels
February 13, 2015
Great read, really want to go to Kazakhstan now!!
December 15, 2015
A cracker read/ride.
December 20, 2020
The writing is a little bit clunky and awkward at times and some of the observations Sayarer makes are a little bit suspect.
Incredible story though and I felt pretty empty when it finally ended.
Incredible story though and I felt pretty empty when it finally ended.
April 26, 2017
Fascinating account of an ordinary person doing what seems impossible. Learnt a lot about the different countries he visited.
This book was not one I would normally read, in fact it was only picked up because I am interested in why people cycle, having only in the past few years learnt myself. Glad I did - a wonderful experience of a book.
This book was not one I would normally read, in fact it was only picked up because I am interested in why people cycle, having only in the past few years learnt myself. Glad I did - a wonderful experience of a book.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews