One More Day Everywhere: Crossing 50 Borders on the Road to Global Understanding

by Glen Heggstad

In 2001, martial arts–trained biker Glen Heggstad began a journey from California to the tip of South America on his motorcycle and made it as far as Colombia, where he was kidnapped by local rebels and held captive. Undeterred by more than a month of traumatic incarceration, the “Striking Viking” finished his trip after being released. Three years later he set out into the world on his bike again, this time searching for truth on his own terms in a world that had become strangled by a climate of fear. Starting his trip in Japan, he traveled through Siberia, Mongolia, Europe, the Middle East, South East Asia, and Africa, stopping in more than 30 countries to deliver his message of the real United States, as he knew it. Unique stories and gritty adventure fill this quest for new sights and insights amongst extreme temperatures, knee-deep mud, bureaucratic roadblocks, health problems, and loneliness.

Genres: Travel, Motorcycling, Nonfiction, Memoir

280 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2009

Reviews

[Mitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a long book about a Californian's year and a half motorcycle trip through 50 countries across the globe.

I didn't like a couple of things; his writing skills were one. Most of the time his writing is fine but every so often, things fall apart grammatically. It's confusing and annoying.

There were also his sexual encounters, real and otherwise. There aren't a lot of these related and perhaps he should get high marks for his candor, but still, I just wasn't thrilled to read the fairly graphic accounts of his lusts.

The book had a lot more to say about the mechanics of motorcycle riding and the technicalities of trying to get one across international borders. This alone would discourage most people from attempting even a fraction of what the author did. When you add to this the his almost obsessive drive to go incredible distances through mud, freezing cold, rainstorms, rutted 'roads', swollen rivers, etc...it just sounds miserable and unrewarding, frankly.

Then again, he had many great encounters with a wide variety of people and cultures. There was a lot that was educational about these in the book, and for that I am appreciative.

I was also struck by the different experiences of two people travelling through the same place. I found that I didn't agree with his assessments of places I've been, though that didn't mean he was wrong and I was right.

Lastly, I think he was overfond of asking 'big' questions ("So what do we do? Throw up our arms and turn our backs. Or do we roll up our sleeves and get to work? Doesn't everyone who is able to have a responsibility to hold out a helping hand?) There was a LOT of this, and it seems that he was content to just go look at it himself before coming back and not holding out that hand.

[Eric Carlson · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a motorcyclist and am armchair traveler and dreamer, I really wanted to like this book more than I did. It started off slowly, but got interesting about 1/4 of the way through and remained that way until it seemed like it got hurried for the final 1/4 with less and less detail as it went.

I understand that it's hard to put that much travel and so many stories and encounters into one novel and I loved many of the stories that were contained in the pages, but the book just seemed hurried for the last few chapters, much the same way that the trip seemed hurried for the last few months.

I did very much enjoy going to the Striking Viking website and seeing the slide shows of the travels and I was able to get through the whole book without putting it back on the shelf, but it was not a clear favorite like I envisioned it would be.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

The other day I noticed an old Honda CB175 blown over in the fierce Boston winds we've been having. Courtney and I stopped an lifted it back up. This is because biking is a brotherhood, etc., and it was of course my duty to help another biker (or bike) in need. As Glen Heggstad says in perhaps the finest sentence in his book: "Motorcyclists greet motorcyclists on motorcycles."

So it pains me to give two stars to a motorcyclist's book, but the rest of his sentences were far more convoluted. Glen has an adjective addiction, and none of the many landscapes he passed through on his journey could be described without employing a heck of a lot of them.

The other issue with the book is that it reads very much like a blog. Apparently Heggstad, who was once kidnapped and tortured by Columbian rebels (discussed in his book Two Wheels Through Terror), has vowed to find the good in the world, and write only about that. Since he passes through a lot of third world and war torn countries, this leaves him with very little to say. Whole weeks are condensed to paragraphs, whole countries to a few pages. The limitations of a book spanning a several year trip would make this understandable, but rather than teasing out and bringing to life the moments that could paint the liveliest picture, he gives a lot of general impressions and adjective-laden descriptions.

it sounds like it was an epic adventure, but unfortunately that didn't quite come through on the page.

[Ben Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

I almost put this book down after the first 75 pages. I'm really glad I didn't!

I read Two Wheels Through Terror and loved it, so I figured this would be more of the same. It's not. It's just as good, but you have to wait for it. At first it seemed like the book was going to be about Glen vice about the journey - there was a lot of stuff about him, his martial arts, his girlfriends, etc, etc. That nearly turned it off for me. I put it down for a few weeks and came back to it.

As the book continues it becomes an epic adventure; although it felt like a long book, it wasn't tedious to read. He does a good job telling the story of the people he met along the way - at times the fact that he's on a bike seems almost incidental - but he does bring the story back around to the bike and why he's doing the trip. Like most good travel books, it ends too abruptly for me, but it doesn't necessarily detract from the reading experience.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves (or wants to love) travel - not necessarily just for motorcyclists. This book was much more about travel than about motorcycling - although it had plenty of that too.

[Brock Booher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy a good travel log, and this one kept me entertained. It left me pondering the state of our world and wondering how I could help improve it. However I did question the sanity of the writer from time to time, and wondered what the intended point of his wanderings were. Sometimes I felt like he was wandering just to wander, not to make the world a better place. Having said that, I admire his boldness and desire to give us a window to the rest of the world.

[Bill Kasal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found Glen Heggstad's book, One More Day Everywhere, to be a wonder-filled adventure. And not just the adventure of traveling the world on a motorcycle, but the adventure—and wonder—of first hand meetings with humans all around our common planet. Glen's writing style had me right there with him and it definitely appealed to my own wanderlust!

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Glen's account of his world wander by Motorcycle.

Sharing his experiences and perceptions the account is compelling.

As he writes "it's apparent that paradise exists in our own heads," a reflection I heartily agree with.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a read this book it was hard not to want to sell every thing I owned buy a bike and head out in to sun and wind. I really like glen's view I seeing the world and meeting people and telling them he was there to meet them and learn was always fresh to me.

[Tracey Stock · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book read best, one country at a time so you can digest and reflect on an amazing, real life adventure.

[OpenWater67 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a stepping stone in the journey through motorcycle odyssey biographies. Besides the allure of the bike aspect of the story, there's often something deeper going on, and this book delivers well.

Travelling on a motorbike not only exposes you to new places and people, but also sounds, smells, hot/cold/rain and some risk. It's essentially a way of being vulnerable but not giving a damn. It's also about solitude and self reliance. The funny thing is that not every motorcycle odyssey book delivers well on these, but this one does. Jupiter's Travels (Ted Simon) really started this genre and did it extremely well, by the way.

Heggstad's journey is well described from both outside and inside the helmet. He also uses the story as backdrop to talk about coming to terms with aging and his relations with others, without getting tropey or cliche.

While being a biker makes helps with the relevance of this book, there are plenty of ideas in there that would appeal to anyone with a sense of wanderlust and introspection.

I'll read this one again for sure.

[Terri Schneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars for taking us along on this epic journey. Kudos for taking that on. Writing could have been tightened a bit with an additional edit or two. Though I appreciated his easy candor and frank demeanor throughout—5 stars for authenticity—I was dismayed that each mention of a woman referenced her looks, her sexual appeal, or lack there-of. As an open, accepting and pliable citizen-of-the-world, I did not see that attitude prevail across sexes. A shame.

[Liz Logan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book immensely and would have given it five stars if not for the author’s continued sexism and actions towards women. The author clearly doesn’t recognize his sexism, but that doesn’t excuse it either.

That said, the author has a lot of beautiful and good things to say about humanity. His experiences are worth reading and mulling over.

[Ellison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A guy aspires to meet folks around the globe on a personal level. He rides his motorcycle through Russia, Europe, the Holy Land, Asia, and Africa. Insightful, social commentary. Pics.

[Jeanie Wolfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting journey and on a motorcycle! Highly recommend.

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glen Heggstad first come to the attention of the motorcycling community at large with his book Two Wheels Through Terror. Quite honestly, I have not read that book…the reviews made it sound more like an “everyman meets the terror machine” book than a motorcycling adventure. However, when Heggstad published One More Day Everywhere, it sounded more up my alley. So, I purchased it to read over the Christmas holiday season during my travels. I wasn’t wrong, and it was quite an interesting read.

Following his experience as a kidnapping victim of South American terrorists, Heggstad was determined to demonstrate through his own experiences that most people are good hearted and welcoming to strangers, no matter where in the world they are. So, he embarked on a 55,000 mile trip from Siberia to Africa, via the Middle East, with little but what he could take on his dual sport bike, with the goal of meeting people along the way…and meet them he did. His descriptions of people and places, personalities and cultures, are informative, often entertaining, and enlightening. Sometimes he was able to entice fearful or suspicious locals into camaraderie by showing them a slideshow of his travels on his laptop computer.

Recommended for motorcyclists and adventure travelers…it’s a good book to take along on your own travels for those slow nights on planes or trains, or before dropping off to sleep in the evening.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think we all need a little more of Heggstad's attitude as our world becomes more global. I found this book inspiring because it wasn't only a kick ass ride around the world, Heggstad's previous experience with terrorists, which could have set him up to be overly wary and hateful really drove him to want to meet new people and experience new things. He deliberately only focused on the positive parts of his adventure, and I applaud him for that decision. If we want to see negative press about the world, all we need to do is turn on the news.