Two Wheels and a Map

Book excerpt: Long before smart phones and GPS devices simplified bike touring, cyclists were crossing the roads of this country, equipped with little more than two wheels and a map. This is the tale of one such rider who tackled the East Coast in the early '90s. Leaving behind an unfulfilling job, he loaded up his bike and set off, meandering along rural back roads, meeting strangers, listening to their stories and enjoying their unexpected hospitality. Not everything went as planned, though. Unforeseen circumstances forced him in directions he hadn't anticipated; searing summer heat drained his energy; and he spent many a nervous night bedding down where he didn't belong. His trip touched the tip of failure-yet succeeded in ways he hadn't imagined. Through it all, the people who crossed his path, sometimes offering only a kind word, gave him the inspiration he needed to persevere. Two Wheels and a Map details Bob Neubauer's two-part solo bike journey from Bangor, Maine, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. His often-amusing observations on the people and predicaments he encountered along the way give the book a lighthearted tone as it chronicles his life on the open road. Bob Neubauer is also the author of Alone in Austria: A Solo Bike Trip Across Austria. It chronicles his two-wheeled journey from Salzburg to Vienna, Austria, visiting quaint villages, castle ruins and ancient monasteries.