What a fun memoir! I do think it it seemed like an interesting adventure, and definitely not one I could undertake myself, so I appreciated living through him!

This is a book based on a blog, and it made me want to read the blog more than the book. The thing is, if I'd been reading the blog daily I think I would've been hooked. Reading it after the event? It doesn't have quite the same compulsive draw. But that's leaping ahead, so back to the start.

Jerry Holl introduces himself as someone who's led a pretty active and exciting life. Maybe if you're an X-Games regular you'll think it a bit tame, but next to the average person he's not exactly shied away from a challenge. What follows is best described as a leap of faith. He decides to ride from Alaska to Mexico. Now, I can't help but feel this would seem slightly more logical if he lived in Alaska - it's got that "step out the front door and ride" logic to it. He's from Minneapolis though. That means he consciously decided to start his journey in Anchorage and had to fly there with his bike before he even started. And that's the kicker, when you're flying to the start of your journey you've really thought bout it.

Except, he hadn't. I mean, he'd thought about the start and end, but not the in between. Or the how. This is a man who, by his own description, is at best a casual cyclist. A 57 year old man with little experience of his intended journey, no assistance beyond moral support, and basically no clue what he's doing. Now this could be a story of travesty and disaster, but it's more like a story of near misses and good fortune (with the odd bump in the road, both figurative and literal, along the way). That's actually where it loses some of the excitement. There's only so much tension you can create about a bear encounter when you've obviously got through it just fine and written another couple of hundred pages about what happens next. And the bear story basically gets told twice too.

That's a little bit nitpicking, but it's also the crux of why I didn't quite embrace this book as much as I hoped. Reality often isn't that exciting. Even when you're on a grand adventure. And it takes me back to the blog envy. When you read these accounts in real time you get more sucked in. You honestly don't know what the next day will hold. You don't know if the broken chain will cause things to grind to a halt, or if the rains will wash things out, or who will be met. Holl does a pretty decent job at trying to recreate that tension, but at times it feels a little stilted. A day can be stretched a little too far in an attempt to make it exciting. Some encounters are too verbose in trying to capture a significance; it ends up draining the emotion.

And that's the thing, if you're reading this you've probably got some wanderlust and adventure in you yourself so you don't need these things explained. You understand that familiar face popping up down the road. You understand how wonderful random small talk with strangers can be. Those little exchanges of tips and pointers which come to mean so much. You don't need them spelt out quite so plainly. It's another of those things that a blog can get away with - the audience is more mixed and everyone is more used to items written for a broader audience. Books often feel more focused.

None of this is to say the book was bad. Just, I came away feeling I missed out on it all at the time. Holl actually delivers a lovely view of North America and I found myself wanting to undertake a similar roadtrip. Admittedly I'm more wary of those hills and would rather have an engine to help me out, but Holl's writing makes a superb argument for the slower paced and more open bicycle. Once you're being propelled along the world flies too fast to appreciate some details. The silence of self-propulsion lets you hear the world around. The random craziness in certain parts of the country makes you a moving conversation starter like no motorised vehicle ever could.

And that's what keeps you going. For every uphill chapter that moves a little too slowly and takes a little too much effort you get a downhill ride too - one that flows gracefully and with some pace.

Probably more a book for those who are ready for their next crazy adventure. Whether you want it in your armchair or on the open road, this is a book to remind you that there is a break from your daily routine. It might also remind you to do a little research before heading out.

While I found the author somewhat obnoxious from time to time, I could not put this book down. I am fascinated by epic, biking, travel memoirs and this was no exception. It is not the first time that I have read a book like this & found the author's voice a bit annoying, but I think that may be attributable to the fact that you have to be just a little crazy and self-confident to take on a ride like Holl does. I got used to his style and agreed with some of his inspirational thoughts on life. I loved reading about him biking through Sonoma County and the San Francisco area, where I am from. He does a great job of balancing the on-the-road, eat/find camp/sleep, and engage with people rhythms of a ride of this nature. He has some great descriptions of the landscape in a way that I have found other long-ride memoirs miss out on. I would highly recommend it to someone wanting to take a long ride at some point or just needing some encouragement to think and dream big!

I loved this book,I read a lot of books about cycling,travel,walking,this book is in my top 10,he tells about the place and the Bears he sees and the places he stays,this book is a must read,very well wriiten

Overall, this book felt like a male version of Wild! Well, except Mr. Holl didn't have a near rape experience. But otherwise it has all the same plot points: unprepared and untrained person decides to find themselves on some crazy over the top physical adventure. In Mr. Holl's case he decided to cycle from Alaska to Mexico. How was his saddle not seriously sore after the 78 miles he road the first day? And how can he be so inept with a bicycle but be thoroughly educated regarding camping protocol? In addition to my questions regarding the actual ins and outs of Mr. Holl's adventure, they presentation of the material was somewhat flat. Throughout the book, even when interacting with others, the voice remained the same: they all sounded like Mr. Holl. But, while the book could have used some editorial assistance, it was an overall good read and presented a lot of helpful information for someone contemplating their own great cycling adventure.

Like the author, I'm a sucker for adventure memoirs. Normally that is thruhikers, but this adventure of riding from Alaska to Mexico by bike was a good one. Like all adventures, the people he met are a good part of the story. I enjoyed the book. The narrative feels a bit contrived at certain points where the author uses a conversation to explain his thinking and feelings. But overall a good read.

Within The First Thirty Minutes Of My Trip I Was Pulled Over By Alaska’s Finest

Yes, it’s true. The author was just 30 minutes into his trip before the nice policeman was already telling Jerry to got off the freeway, and onto the bike path where he belonged. The author explains that he didn’t really check out his route too much—After all, what could possibly go wrong?

In DOWNHILLS DON'T COME FREE Jerry Holl takes the reader on a scary ride. Zero bike experience? No problem—Start your cycling training with a ride from Alaska to Mexico! “At fifty-seven, I resigned from my corporate job, and in a broader sense from my past, to take on the challenge of a bike ride from Anchorage, Alaska, to the Mexican border despite zero distance experience whatsoever on a bicycle.”

Jerry explains that his wife was very encouraging, even enthusiastic. Hmm, he though, “Too enthusiastic?”

I found the author’s equipment selection interesting. He loaded up a LOT of gear, and his bike + gear topped 100 pounds. (I confess I doubted the author’s number, but Jerry swears the number is correct.) Not sure what gear to get? Just buy a whole bunch and try it out on your first day in Alaska.

One might also question the author’s nutritional choices: “Once I was up and moving, I was subsisting on candy and granola bars. The simplicity of tear and eat appealed to me.”

Well, you get the idea. This is an amazing story, full of (mostly) good experiences cycling along some of North America’s most beautiful scenery. Lots of interesting characters (including some wild ones), and a lifetime of stories.

Of course, the journey was physically grueling, but there are a few funny scenes. Not properly securing his tent, the author had to chase his tent down once: “I came back out of the laundry area, the winds were howling— and there was my tent in the distance, bouncing and bounding high into the air like a beach ball in a hurricane as it rolled across the grassy field.”

Despite some equipment breakages, the author escaped without serious injury until the very end of his trip. Following another rider’s mistake, Jerry enters some nice, soft concrete: “I only had a millisecond to think, Oh shit, that’s going to hurt her—and WHAM! I was down too. . .Our front tires had dropped straight into the wet cement and slammed against the opposite wall, which dropped us both like a ton of bricks.”

Well, the injuries were serious, but not life-threatening. Note to reader: Do NOT try to ride through wet concrete, no matter how cushiony it looks.

All in all, I found DOWNHILLS DON'T COME FREE to be a fascinating, albeit a bit of a scary read. There’s lot of good lessons here on how to make a trip like this (and maybe a few lessons on how to NOT make a trip like this?) I am amazed that a non-cyclist could pull off this feat.

Finally, I cannot imagine hitting 45 MPH on one downhill, as Jerry mentions. Readers: Do not attempt this!

Advance Review Copy courtesy of the publisher.