Chasing Lines: My WORLD RECORD pursuit cycling unsupported across Europe 6292km, 9 countries, two wheels, one man

by James McLaren

When James McLaren saw a shiny blue bike at age thirteen, it was love at first sight. Two years after buying it, he cycled two hundred miles from Canterbury to Portsmouth along the southeast coast of England. He enjoyed riding somewhere he’d never been before, and even though there was a lot of rain, it was great fun. As the years went by, there would be other bikes, lots of roads traveled, and numerous injuries, but one thing stayed the McLaren loved to ride. Fast forward to 2016, and McLaren sought to do the cycling from Ufa, Russia, to Cabo Da Roca, Portugal, without a sponsor in a bid to set a Guinness World Record. In Chasing Lines, he recalls his journey, weaving in stories about other cycling adventures and how the sport has taught him valuable lessons about the importance of moving forward—no matter what. Join an amateur cyclist as he quits his job and chases a dream across nine countries, from the Ural Mountains of Russia to the coast of Portugal.

216 pages, Paperback

Published December 31, 2018

Reviews

[Tegan Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book should come with a warning: do not read if you are easily inspired and prone to making spontaneous life choices, because by the time you’re just a few pages in there’s a too-high chance you’ll decide you also have to do something completely crazy and ambitious and then probably have to face the consequences of actually doing it.

Even if you aren’t easily inspired, it’ll be difficult not to be moved and excited by James’ epic, honest account of his record-setting adventure. A natural story-teller, sincere and hilarious, he includes the highs, the lows, the interesting details in the small moments (like how he kept his logbook for the official Guiness record), the photographic evidence and the story itself gives you a sense of the strength and determination needed to pull off something like he did without too much falling or dying.

I’m definitely hanging on to my copy of Chasing Lines not only as some great entertainment to dip into when I want to adventure vicariously, but also as a record-setting textbook to help me with the several bicycle-riding ideas that this has sparked in me!

Ten out of ten - highly recommend.