The Wind In My Wheels: Travel Tales from the Saddle

Description

As a young girl, Josie Dew developed an overpowering urge to travel. She also fell out of a fast-moving vehicle and, rather inconveniently, developed a lifelong aversion to cars. Along came her first bicycle, and she has never looked back. Four continents, thirty- six countries and eighty thousand miles worth of astounding adventures, eccentric characters, varied cultures and ever-enduring optimism are the result of her travels. From Saharan locust invasions to tree-climbing goats, and a customs official who wouldn't let her leave India because 'You are making me a very fine wife', her encounters are described with honesty, wit and perception. Strange incidents and bizarre circumstances punctuate her journeys: in Nepal she met a team of Frenchmen running from Paris to China, and a cyclist on his way from one Olympic Games to the next. In Udaipur she was greeted by everyone with the refrain 'Hello Mr. Jamie Bond Octopussy filmed here', whilst her view of post-Ceausescu Romania, a nation suffering and starving, affected her both physically and mentally. THE WIND IN MY WHEELS is informative, illuminating, and ceaselessly amusing.

Josie has cycled 280,000 miles across 43 countries, some by accident. The survivor of 5 continents, several wonky knees and a handful of worn-out bottom brackets, she is still firmly fixed in the saddle. WIND IN MY WHEELS was shortlisted for the 1992 Travel Writer of the Year Award.

'Josie Dew needs little introduction...her writing is chattery and matter of fact' - CYCLING PLUS