Product Description

Chris Smith left his Worcestershire home, but instead of cycling the routine twelve miles to work, he kept on pedalling. 13 months later he arrived in Beijing. This is the account of an epic quest to rediscover a misplaced sense of identity in which exhilaration and exhaustion trade positions against a backdrop of prodigious physical endeavour.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21253 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 290 pages

'Asia and Away' Magazine
'Smith's smart, honest prose is crafted superbly and peppered with wonderful moments of drama, dialogue and real humanity'.

'Limited Edition' Magazine
'Fascinating reading.'

From the Inside Flap
In May 2000 Chris Smith left his comfortable Worcestershire home, but instead of cycling the routine twelve miles to work, he kept on pedalling.

Thirteen months later (having fallen off six times and worn out three sets of tyres, three chains and two pairs of boots) he arrived in Beijing.

During a gruelling 16,500-mile examination of physical and mental stamina he traversed scorching deserts, scaled lofty peaks, crossed mighty rivers and risked extinction in the chaotic traffic of the cities. He ate and drank in roadside cafés in the company of inquisitive lorry drivers and shared dormitories with farm hands and mosquitoes in remote Chinese villages. He survived bugs, blizzards, cockroaches, heat, hurricanes, sandstorms, cyclones, stone-throwing locals and lunatic drivers. Sceptical western existentialism encountered religious fatalism in the cafés and teahouses of the Middle East and India during a physical and spiritual journey that constantly raised questions about attitudes and values widely taken for granted in the West.

‘Why Don’t You Fly?’ is the account of an epic quest to rediscover a misplaced sense of identity in which exhilaration and exhaustion trade positions against a backdrop of prodigious physical endeavour.

Customer Reviews

Why Havn't You Read This Book? - a travel page-turner!
Out of the dearth of travel literature around at the moment, there are only a handful of books that grab my attention enough to make it difficult for me to put down once I've started. Christopher J.A. Smith's, 'Why Don't You Fly?' (Back Door to Beijing - by Bicycle) is one of the few that keeps me turning the pages.

This cycling odyssey from his home in Worcestershire to Beijing is a good read. His style of writing flows throughout. There are wonderful descriptions of landscapes and people he meets and he writes with just enough self decpreciation and touches of cynicism that keep his feet (and the readers') on the ground through his use of dry humour and insightful thoughts. His intellingent and perceptive writing explpores not only the logistics and stamina of a long, arduous journey and the inevitable discomforts that go with it, but also the way it changes his outlook on life, not just on the journey itself but how it effects the everyday, humdrum routine back at home.

There are the usual stories that come with a book of this genre; bits breaking and falling off the bike, punctures and hair-tearing-out problems with bureaucracy, familiar in most travel writers' tales. But with Why Don't You Fly', the humour is subtle and gentle, such as the time when he tries to overcome language barriers by explaining, to the amusement of a local, that he is riding around the world on a tomato!

The combinaton of insightful, intelligent comment, descriptions of places and people and gentle humour is very good. The book is for anyone contimplating such a journey themselves, a sort of 'go for it anyway - take that window of opportunity when it presents itself' kind of mentality which is inspiring. He tops and tails the book with a prologue and epilogue, written in the third person, a style that wonderfully contrasts with the rest of the book; a reality check, illustrating the monotony and trivia of everyday routines. Such is the stuff of all our lives! After reading this, if you are not able, or lucky enough, to plan a journey of your own, then this armchair version is just as good.

A thoughtful book you'll not want to put down
This is a truly sensational book, and what makes it stand out is that it keeps on getting better weeks after finishing the book. This is a tale of a man whose life circumstances transpire to let him choose to make one of those life quest journeys. The narrative is fast paced and insightful and the pages effortlessly fly by. Where Lance Armstrong's book 'It's not about the bike' is inspirational as one mans triumph over adversity, Chris Smith's 'Why don't you fly' lets us grapple with the question we all struggle with from time to time of 'why?' or 'what's it all about?'

An Incredible Journey
I have been on an incredible journey! It only took two days. I was on a bike to China. Sometimes I laughed out loud, at others I lapped up the history and atmosphere of unexplored lands. I then realised that actually I was still on my sofa reading an amazing book within the comfort of my own home. Or should I say comfort zone? The journey meant a lot to me, and even the opening quotation told me exactly where I am. In fact it told me that I have done precious little with my life thus far. I always meant to travel, but as pointed out in the book, a woman on her own is never a good idea.

The writing is excellent: emotive and spiritual and reminiscent of Paulo Coelho or Don Juan in its style. I was immediately drawn in and hooked and I found myself nodding profusely (to myself) at things like 'we are in control of our own destiny', our 'own puppet masters', and 'we need to take responsibility,' us and us alone. It's books like these that make me want to sell my car, flat and life, and motor round the world in a Winnebago. Sometimes it takes an inspirational book like this to realise what is sadly lacking in one's own life, and the parameters in which we live.

To exist or to live? The choice is ours.