Steve Silk is a journalist with a not-so-secret passion for exploring by bicycle. Being a journalist, that suggests he should be good with words. However, lots of people are passionate about exploring by bicycle, so what makes Silk any different?
The Road
Like Silk’s previous book, The Great North Road*, Go West has a theme, in that he attempted to follow the route of an old coach road, which ran from from London, to Milford Haven, in Wales. Silk’s route mostly was guided by today’s A40, as that was, in turn, influenced by the old coach road. He was inspired by the writings of Charles G Harper. Harper cycled the old coach road well over a century ago, and wrote an illustrated book about it.
*I own a copy of The Great North Road, but it’s still in my growing pile of books I’ve yet to do a review for.
Travel, at a human pace
Cycle touring remains simply the very best way to discover places. The humble bicycle allows you to travel considerable distances, but you do so at a human pace. This gives you time to appreciate the landscape through which you’re moving in a way that’s entirely impossible to do in a car.
Sure, you can get a similar experience by walking, but it’s impossible to cover the same distances on foot. Why does this matter at all? Simple: it’s the secret sauce behind Silk’s writing.
Finding places, and finding people
Silk is a very gifted writer, and through his words, you will come to see much of the UK like never before. This book, like all good cycle touring books, is not about the cycling. Cycling is what makes the adventure possible in the format it’s presented, but the adventure is the journey itself.
Silk has a talent for finding wonder in the mundane, and for getting stories from the people he encounters along the way. Those stories he collects add both depth, and warmth to the adventure.
He also has a deep interest in history. Not the boring history lessons that sent you to sleep back in school, though. Instead, he shows you, through his words, what happens when you pull back the curtains of today, to reveal yesterday, last week, and last century, in the same place.
A proper adventure
As I often said before, there’s no wrong way, or right way to do cycle touring. Some people like to camp, and some don’t. Neither is the One True Path, and both options are equally valid. Silk prefers to stay in B&Bs, inns, or hotels along the way, and as you will find, he manages to ensure that enhances the story he tells.
Go West is simply a wonderful book to read. Silk’s adventure slots firmly into the category that I call a gentle adventure, and in my opinion, those are the best adventures. He very ably demonstrates that, no matter how long you lived in the UK, there is still so much wonder for you to explore. And he demonstrates very clearly, that the best way to go explore is by bicycle.
I loved reading this book, and I have absolutely no doubt that you’d feel the same. Get your copy here, or from any good bookstore.