The TL:DR version of this book is Moats and her 18yo son cycled across Europe, to Asia, unsupported. And to be fair, that alone should give you plenty of reason to read this book. After all, how many long-distance cycling tales of a mother and son combo have you heard of, let alone read?
A wordsmith
Moat is a particularly gifted writer, who uses words like an artist mixes paint on a palette. She’s also remarkably open and honest throughout, about her battle with depression (trust me, this is not a depressing book to read!) about her father’s battles with depression, and about a childhood that I would describe as abusive.
Well-travelled
Many travel books make lofty claims about healing and peace, but this book actually delivers. Moat’s a very interesting person. She grew up in a Plymouth Brethren home, meaning an extremely strict religious dogma overruled everything, but that didn’t stop her travelling far and wide. She’d lived in Germany and Switzerland (and speaks fluent German) for a number of years, where she made life-long friends.
Warm Showers
Moat and her son made extensive usage of the Warm Showers network, and through that, were fortunate enough to be shown deeper insights into the cultures through which they travelled. If you’re going cycle touring, do consider that as an option, but remember, it’s meant to be a two-way street. The network isn’t simply there so you can get free lodgings and often free food, so as soon as you can, repay the favour by hosting cyclists yourself, too.
Lessons from the road
Cycle touring can be hard at times, as Moat discovered first-hand. However, she also wrote this: “In retrospect, we sift the joy from the misery, holding on to the gold, and discarding the rubble.”
Isn’t that just the most poetic description of Type 2 Fun you ever heard?
And her lessons were hard-learned, as you’ll discover throughout the book. At times I was frustrated by how unprepared she and her son seemed, yet they pulled it off, and cycled all the way.
Verdict
This is a beautifully-written book. At times, it risks becoming too introspective, but Moat rescues it just in time, again and again. You will see Europe like you’ve not see it before, though her eyes.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. So much so, that I read it twice. Get your copy here, or at any good bookshop.