Enjoyed the travel account but the self righteous religion really turned me off. Especially after he concluded everyone who disagrees or has another religion is not only wrong but arrogant too. Oh pot, you are calling the kettle black.

So I was disappointed this epic journey didn't manage to open the doors of perception. Agree with Kinniska about quitting when the preaching starts.

NOTE: This is by far the most popular of the books I've passed on. My Dad & stepmother, their 2 friends, and now another set of adventurous readers is going at it. I had no idea so many people wanted to read this one I've discarded. ( )

I can't believe this guy would bike through Siberia in winter.

Well, I enjoyed the travel aspects of it, but after a while he just keeps harping about how important Christianity and his faith is to him, and eventually that turns into how arrogant it is for anyone else to think any other way.

In fact, I should probably update to add the page in which that particular thought occurs in paragraph form.

If he'd stuck to the travelogue it would have been a wonderful narrative. As it is, I'm afraid it comes across as the "I've spent all this time on the road, and I have come home wiser for it, and now I am in SOLE POSSESSION OF THE TRUTH..." and as a result...it becomes stultifying.

Sorry. That's my view. Read the first 2/3 of the book for an interesting travel narrative. Then drop it like a hot rock when he starts preaching while coyly pretending he's not... ( )