Product Description

'You don't have to be twenty, male and an ace mechanic to set out on a great journey. I've cycled round the world twice now. I'm not young, I'm not sporty, I never train and I still can't tell a sprocket from a chainring or mend a puncture.' So speaks Anne Mustoe in the opening to this fascinating record of her second epic journey cycling around the globe from East to West. Using historical routes as her inspiration, Anne followed the ancient Roman roads to Lisbon, travelled across South America with the Conquistadors, pursued Captain Cook over the Pacific to Australia and Indonesia and followed the caravans along the fabled Silk Road from Xi'an to Rome.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #128448 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Anne Mustoe is neither a professional adventurer nor writer, but a sixty-something Suffolk headmistress. When she embarked on cycling the world's historical trade routes, she didn't consider herself a "cyclist" and remains unable to mend a puncture. "I'm not young, I'm not sporty, I never train", she states, making light of her incredible achievement, following the Silk Road across China, Pakistan, the Gobi Desert and Turkey; traversing South America and more. "My only duty in life was to get myself from one shelter to the next before nightfall..."

Mustoe's strict girls' school background is evident in her rigid planning and seriousness. She revels in solitude, dining by herself or watching TV after a long ride, and describing a "good night out" as attending a ballet alone--although she breaks her Girl Guide demeanour slightly when staying in China's cheap-and-cheerful gated lorry compounds or sharing a joint in a Byron Bay backpacker hostel.

Lone Traveller will be useful to anyone contemplating a foreign bicycle trip. Mustoe explores the pros and cons of cycling alone; dealing with police; tacking tough terrain; and the peculiar maps which neglect to depict whole mountain ranges. She includes her packing list and documents the varying reactions to a lone women cyclist--bewilderment in Brazil; house arrest in China; hero worship in sporty Australia. Although informative, it doesn't have the same spontaneity or spirit as Josie Dew's classic cycle diaries Travels In A Strange State and The Wind In My Wheels. Mustoe's rambling style is innocent and unembellished, both the book's joy and its downfall. While some will find Lone Traveller heart-warming and inspirational, others will tire of its matter-of-factness.--Sarah Champion

About the Author
Anne Mustoe read Classics at Cambridge and was the headmistress of a girls' school in Suffolk until 1987, when she left her job and embarked on her first solo journey around the world by bicycle. She is an established travel writer with a substantial following who lectures regularly on her adventures.

Customer Reviews

A thought-provoking read
I appreciated this book especially because I had read "A Bike Ride" - Anne Mustoe's earlier book on long-distance cycle rides. It is interesting to see how the solitude and physical discipline of the life of a lone traveller has changed her, and how much she has learned from her experiences. The chapter on solitude is, I thought, particularly interesting.

An inspiration
Anne Mustoe is an inspiration for anyone contemplating a long voyage on a bicycle. She chose to cycle alone on a bicycle through what must be some of the most difficult places.

The book is informative and enjoyable. There is enough detail on the logistics and practicalities of such an endeavour to answer the questions any reader may ask. She remains optimistic in circumstances that many others would find difficult and always finds something good to say about the simple or difficult conditions she faced - particularly the warmth and hospitality offered by many people she came across.

Travelling inspiration
This book is a must for anyone of any age or background, contemplating travelling for an extended period. Full of very practical advice and personal accounts that do nothing to take away the discovery element of travel and exploration but everything to make you want to leave sooner.
Anne Mustoe's book is especially honest and, as previous reviews have pointed out, the chapters do not follow the chronological order of her journey but focus more on using countries and examples to illustrate specific key experiences of the author. I will ask my family to read this before I embark on my own cycling journey as Anne Mustoe reassures, educates and inspires within one very enjoyable book.