When Otto Ecroyd embarked on a voyage to sail a broken boat from
Norway to France - and failed - he decided to do what any other
hapless adventurer would do: cycle from Alaska to Mexico. But, as
Otto says, he 'had never ridden further than across town.' So, with
no experience, the wrong type of bike and with panniers overflowing
with lentils, Otto pedals across vast American landscapes, cowers
from juggernaut RVs, and all the while wonders when he will next
meet a grizzly bear. En route, Otto's wit and self-deprecating
charm ensure he wins many friends, from an array of regional
characters, to a cosmopolitan mix of fellow long-distance cyclists,
each with their own motivation for riding the hard miles. With
some, he cycles leisurely in tandem; with others, in lungbusting
sprints; and with others still, in bedraggled pelotons. But then,
this is no grand depart from the daily grind to the upper echelons
of sport, for Otto is not in it for the competition - just the
adventure of a lifetime. Northbound and Down isn't Ranulph Fiennes
crossing Antarctica, or 'The Man Who Cycled the World'. It's more
entertaining than that. Three months in North America, 100km a day
on a bike. The places, the people, the misadventures of the
journey. Like a Bill Bryson book if Bill stayed out of the pub once
in a while. The local wildlife in the northern frontier. The moose,
the bears, the refugees from 'The Lower 48' states. The characters
in cowboy country. People who defy any stereotype of heartland
America, and those who definitely don't. Down the Pacific Coast,
redwood forests, hippie surf towns, mansions and homeless camps.
Californian plastic perfection and the weirdness of the American
dream. The preparation for cycling 5,000 miles was questionable at
best. The furthest Otto had ridden before landing in Anchorage was
from London to Brighton. He rode through a golf course and along a
motorway, did laps of Gatwick airport and rolled into Brighton two
hours late, ready for bed. He learned how to fix a puncture from
YouTube and discovered that not all Porsche drivers are dickheads.
Otto's touring skills start from a low base. The steep learning
curve and daily struggles with reality on the road bring humour to
the book. The challenge and the shared experience with people along
the way leads to a lasting sense of the rewards of adventure.
Otto's motivations for embarking on this adventure were relatable
ones. He was bored at work, too old to get wasted in every hostel
in Latin America and too poor for a proper mid-life crisis. This is
the story of a normal guy breaking out of the daily grind. Cheryl
Strayed's 'Wild', but inspired by a struggle against a life on
autopilot rather than a life collapsing. A whole middle class,
middle career and middle fulfilled generation is in a similar
position. They are searching for inspiration. Northbound and Down
gives them a taste of this, without having to miss a mortgage
payment. Northbound and Down is the everyman's take on breaking the
everyday.
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