A Ride Across America : A 4,000-Mile Adventure Through the Small Towns and Big Issues of the USA

On the eve of the 2024 election, a fascinating – andfrequently funny – tale of one man cycling the breadth of America.

‘Finally, I emerged onto a sealed asphaltwalkway, with twigs in my hair and blood streaming down my legs. Feeling likeDavid Livingstone without a machete, I had tamed the impenetrable woodlands ofEastern Mississippi. Hurrah! But then my sense of adventure sobered suddenly,when a woman in yoga pants and flipflops wandered past, walking a BichonFrise.’Frustrated by the shallow headlines focusing only on Trump,guns and divisions, award-winning travel writer Simon Parker decided that tobetter understand the USA he would have to travel across it, slowly. Did the America of his teenage dreams really exist? And wasit really as fractured as the headlines suggest? On his journey to find out,Simon cycled 4,373 miles through eleven states and numerous extreme weatherevents, via mountains and prairie lands, forests and freeways. Along the way hevisited homes, schools, churches and rodeos, meeting hundreds of(extra)ordinary Americans behind the clickbait news posts to discover a nationwhose portrayal has become vastly oversimplified.

Praise for Simon Parker’s previous book, Riding Out:’A truly inspiring journey that celebrates the healing powerof adventure. A must-read.’ – Levison Wood’Simon’s cycle ride around his own country is a finedemonstration that adventure and transformation begins on your own doorstep.’ -Alastair Humphreys