Once Upon a Time on a Bicycle

Take the hard road, if it's the right road. It was not the first time Michael Renati had peddled toward a horizon thousands of miles away, but never before had there been no horizon. With his life reduced to what his bicycle can carry, he sets out alone with only one goal in mind: to become a stranger navigating strange lands under his own power. Headwinds and climbs, tailwinds and descents, exploration, introspection, vision, and resolve poignantly blend with exotic-locale photography to tell the true story of a man on an all-or-nothing self-propelled journey of necessity. For devotees and aspirants, Once Upon a Time on a Bicycle includes a "Notes from the Road" appendix detailing the author's expedition inventory, bicycle-build specifications, and equipment evaluations. From novelist Richard S. Wheeler, six-time Spur Award winner and recipient of the Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Achievement: "This is a compelling story of a long bicycle ride, from the American Southwest to Central America. It is an interweaving of two journeys: one geographic and the other, interior and ethical. As we explore these pages we see a great adventure, planned and executed with a realistic grasp of the dangers - and beauties - awaiting the traveler. The gifted author's story is absorbing, perceptive, and evocative. From the seat of a touring bicycle we see country and people close-up. We sense trouble as it arrives, magic when smiles greet the rider, and comfort in villages, cities, and landscapes. This is an elegant book brimming with photographs, wisely kept to black and white, offering a visual dessert. Once Upon a Time on a Bicycle is far more than an adventure. It is a love story."