With $250 in his pocket, a bicycle, and a pack weighing thirty-seven pounds, author Edward Abair set off for this adventure of a lifetime in 1972. Twenty-seven years old, this teacher and former Army medic bicycled 5,800 miles alone from Long Beach, California, to Miami, Florida, to Boston, Massachusetts. In Discovering the US on a Bicycle, Abair shares a recap of his travels on that trip. He tells how he burned in 110-degree Southwest deserts, crossed the rugged West, ascended the Continental Divide, fed Mississippi mosquitoes, poured sweat in the humid swamplands of the South, and witnessed the devastation of a hurricane in Pennsylvania. On the way, he slept in river washes, abandoned motels, fire stations, jails, a river park with water moccasins, barns, and under porch roofs. Forty years later, Abair kept a promise to travel the northern United States on the Lewis and Clark Trail in reverse from Astoria, Oregon, to St. Louis, Missouri. This time, he used modern equipment and had a wife supporting him in an automobile. At age 68, he tackled the rollercoaster roads of the Missouri River watershed, with painful knees and a sore rear end. With age and experience, he shares observations of finding the people and adventures from small town America to the St. Louis Gateway Arch.

In this lively cultural history, Margaret Guroff reveals how the bicycle has transformed American society, from making us mobile to empowering people in all avenues of life. Book jacket.

After Paul Stutzman finished hiking the Appalachian Trail, he found himself longing for another challenge, another adventure. Trading his hiking boots for a bicycle, Paul set off to discover more of America. Starting at Neah Bay, Washington, and ending at Key West, Florida, Paul traversed the 5,000-mile distance between the two farthest points in the contiguous United States. Along the way he encountered nearly every kind of terrain and weather the country had to offer--as well as hundreds of fascinating people whose stories readers will love. Through cold and heat, loneliness and exhaustion, abundance and kindness, Paul pedaled on. His reward--and the readers'--is a glimpse of a noble yet humble America that still exists and inspires. Anyone who longs for adventure, who loves travel and stories of travel, and who loves this place called America will enjoy this book.

Provides guidance for parents to help children master the techniques of cycling and includes information on safety skills and bike repair.