Best of
Bicycles
1973
The Great Bicycle Expedition: Freewheeling Through Europe with a Cockamamie Family, a Potted Plant, and Bicycleseatus
William C. Anderson - 1973
With The Great Bicycle Expedition, they're at it again with a rollicking new tale of their most recent caper - bicycling across Europe.Naturally, the family embarks sans any serious bicycling experience, with mishaps and hardships coming all too frequently as these four cyclepaths try to master their brand-new ten-speed racers. After a wobbly beginning in Denmark, where Dortha finds herself more often on the pavement on the bicycle seat, the group plots a course through Sweden. Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, where they nearly meet disaster when Dortha's bicycle and pocketbook suddenly vanish, and France.No European trip would be complete without a touch of romance, and each of the Andersons' two college-aged offspring, Scott and Holly, is in turn smitten with the love bug. Even Andy and Dortha succumb readily to the magic of moonlight boat rides and fine wines. And the fun starts when les parents find themselves booked into two different "respectable" hotels in the same city, where fate seems determined to separate them.Sandwiched in with the fun and adventure are many practical tips about the rapidly expanding sport of bicycling - and about low-cost travel in Europe. Guiding us intimately through the back-roads of Europe, Anderson treats us to a valuable travelogue that includes anecdotes, lessons, and observations about everything from Low Country cuisine to the house where Rembrandt lived.Warm, witty, and delightfully funny, The Great Bicycle Expedition will be welcomed by the millions who are discovering or rediscovering the joys of cycling as well as lovers of fine family adventure.