North to Alaska

The True Story of an Epic 16,000-Mile Cycle Journey the Length of the Americas

De: Trevor Lund

Narrado por: Trevor Lund

Ever since I cycled down the west coast of Canada and the United States as a means of saving the bus fare on a round-the-world trip, I dreamed of cycling the whole length of that landmass, from the southern tip of South America all the way up to the Arctic Ocean. Returning home to a job I didn’t enjoy, that dream burned at my mind until, as a mature student in 1999, I was given the opportunity to take a year out and decided now was my time.

This was at a time of huge advances in communication technology, but I chose to journey without a mobile phone or any other means of communicating with the outside world—something we might struggle to comprehend these days. If I got into trouble, if I got injured, if I became lost, it was up to me to sort myself out. No close friends were willing to leave the comforts of home, so the fledgling internet did at least prove useful in finding a travel companion. But within nine days of the start of my journey, I found myself alone, close to the bottom of the world and with many thousands of miles of the unknown still ahead.

This book tells how the desire to fulfill a burning 10-year dream helped me overcome illness, injury, exhaustion, loneliness, and so much more; how I, a normal guy from a working-class family in Leeds—among many other adventures—found myself singing to bears to keep them at bay; ran out of water crossing the driest desert in the world; had a volcano rain ash down on me; and found myself hiding out from bandits most nights while pedaling through Mexico.

©2020 Trevor Lund (P)2022 Trevor Lund

A Great Physical and Psychological story

I’ve done a little cycle touring, and I’ve visited South America, so I thought this might be interesting - it was so much better than that - it was a compelling, and often exciting read - a story of a mental and physical, yet very personal journey from the Southern tip of South America to the North Coast of Alaska.

Trevor is a great storyteller, and narrator, and of course tells his own story of a fantastic journey. It was an unbelievable physical and psychological feat, but made compelling, by Trevor’s insights, inner thoughts, observations of the people he met, and descriptions of the experiences, scenery, and cultures he encountered.

Some of the story is exciting, some almost mundane, but Trevor keeps you listening, by spicing the ordinary with great anecdotes about the people he met and the places he rode through. The exciting bits are great, keeping you on the edge of your seat, and the fantastic feats of endurance are alluded to, but made interesting by Trevor’s inner thoughts and reflections on what he felt and reflected on - he is refreshingly self-effacing only mentioning fantastic feats of endurance, when fatigue or danger impacts the story.

Overall, it is a wonderful listen- sharing Trevors love of long distance bike travel, and the sheer joy of the open road. For everyone who loves travel, cycling, or just a great adventure - a must listen.

Superb narration and inspirational story!

My lust for adventure multiplied exponentially after listening to Trevor Lund's story. His feat of endurance and ability to overcome challenges such as cycling with a dislocated shoulder and a broken rib and staring down bears in the wilderness make his tale incredibly entertaining and an educational masterpiece. How can one man endure so much and develop the inner fortitude to continue pedaling in the face of adversity? And he wasn't slacking off at all during his journey- cycling the length of Mexico faster than Lance Armstrong's Tour de France training pace. Grit and persistence are some of the most important skills one can develop, and we watch Trevor develop them through his vivid prose and skillful storytelling.

A great performance by the author makes the story all the more personal as I felt like he was in the room next to me telling me his adventures over a cup of tea. The narrative contains priceless bits of wisdom on the value of freedom, the beauty of friendship, and the vastness of nature. I'm looking forward to Lund's next book and will be cheering him on during his next journey.

Listen to Trevor Lund's tale and be inspired to go for your dreams and never let fear defeat you again.

opinion

a captivating story of a young cyclist who endeavors for the ride of his life forever goes from the deepest elation to the deepest despair. throughout this story. The people he meets are interesting and well described, but his consistent, whining and complaining about his body problems and road is tiring, Trevor should have found someone to read the book because his constant emotion makes it difficult to listen and the volume of the various segments makes me consistently trying to adjust the loudness control I enjoyed his descriptions of the mountains and streams and overall natural beauty