Pedal Power

An inspirational travel book describing stunning bicycle journeys around the world.In a bold attempt to combat inevitable dotage, Roy Sinclair set off to discover the world (more correctly, selected parts of it) by pedal power. In doing so, frequently accompanied by his Japanese partner, he experienced people of different cultures and languages in a way that might otherwise have been impossible. Inspired by a former New Zealand prime minister, he set off to ride the length of Japan (the first New Zealander to do so) in an effort to have a World Peace Bell gifted to his country. A meeting with a Wanaka winemaker, whose great grandfather held an early record for the Lands End to John o'Groats journey on a penny farthing, had Roy and his partner setting off to pedal the length of Britain. And on the whim of a pub yarn, he pedalled off to a famous monastery in the French Chartreuse mountains to discover the source of a centuries-old liver-punishing liqueur. Sometimes opinionated and more often unashamedly biased, his world discovered by pedal power is one we all will want to journey through. His compelling stories of overseas bicycle rides are woven amongst those of the country he loves most - New Zealand. Includes 20 maps of the routes travelled.