(Photo credit: from One Man and His Bike by Mike Carter, published by Ebury Press. Used by permission of The Random House Group Ltd. Image above shows a man standing with a bike in front of two signs – one sign points to Office daily grind and the other points to Adventure)
What would happen if you were cycling to the office and just kept on peddling?
Mike Carter needed a change. Fed up with his job and with Britain seemingly rife with crime and sliding into economic downturn, one day he decided to cycle straight past the office to find out for himself what was going on.
He would follow the Thames to the sea and then ride around the entire coastline, a journey of 5,000 miles. If he completed it, he would end up exactly where he started. At least, physically.
Camping or relying on the hospitality of strangers, Mike met an array of brilliant characters and experienced innumerable random acts of kindness.
He encountered drunken priests and drag queens, gnome sanctuaries and hippy communities, fellow travellers and people building for a different type of future. He also found a spirit of unbelievable kindness, generosity and hope that convinced him that Britain was anything but broken.
During the five month journey, cycling the byways of the nation, he became… happy.
You can find further details of One man and his bike on the main catalogue, available in ‘Catalogues’ on the Library’s website.