Bike Ride Books 9780955660207 paperback 224pp £8.99
An eighteen-day ride from Dorset to Northumbria undertaken in
2006, entertainingly recounted with a sense of humour that will
appeal to some, but is sufficiently deft that those who don't enjoy
bike-and-rider dialogues should not be put off
At one point during his ride, Carden notes that most of the other long-distance
cyclists he meets, or sleeps beside him in Youth Hostels, are middle-aged
men apparently in search of something that is not marked on maps. It is
an interesting reflection, and not one, sadly, that he develops.
The strengths of this book do, however, offer some clues as to the impulse
that propels so many of advancing years to criss cross the country on
two wheels. By his own admission, Carden is not much of a cyclist. Thirty
or forty miles a day stretches him to his limit¸ and he is quick
to spot 'real' cyclists as he passes them on the road.
Nor would he win prizes as an observer of contemporary England. No date
is given for the ride (2006 is my guess), but his interests are such,
that it matters very little. Carden's best quality is his eye for the
historically significant in his encounters and his ability to weave tales
into the tapestry of our national story. His historical digressions are
also as accessible as they are enjoyable. From the sacking on the monasteries,
to the industrial revolution, he finds, and ties together evidence of
the forces that shaped our country. It was enough be have me yearning
to go out on a voyage of discovery of my own.
Here he is in Middleham in North Yorkshire.
"What the village hid was it history. Behind the small market square
stood the ruins of one of the great castles of medieval England. In its
day it was magnificent. The artist's impressions on the postcards in the
ticket office showed a castle resembling the Tower of London. Tall, stately
and strong. High outer walls surrounding a large central keep, laid out
with halls and staterooms for its owners the Neville family, and specifically
in the 15th century, the Earl of Warwick."
All of which you could, of course, find in a guide book, but Carden
deploys a laudably light touch as he picks up and pulls together these
historical threads. Indeed, the book may act as a spur to explore rather
more English history for many readers.
Perhaps it is for a sense of pulling together strands that these greying
knights of the road are questing. With the onset of middle age, most of
us recognise our mortality and are possibly searching for some kind of
narrative that connects our mass of experience? Carden could not claim
to provide that in a single, easily uploaded travelogue. The routemap
that he sketches does, however, provide enough ideas to give others a
starting point for their own explorations.
