December 2016 | 75
Book Review
Keep The Sea To The Right
M
any book reviews start with “I could not put it down”, however, in the case of the above “I could not put it down” and finished reading it in just two days.
Staring at a map and daydreaming of adventure, Jennifer's eyes landed on the Baltic Sea. With nine countries lining the shore of this fascinating body of water, she quickly became captivated by the idea of a journey by bicycle all the way around it. A few weeks later, she landed in Copenhagen with her trusty steel bicycle, two loaded panniers, and a mission to ride a complete circumnavigation of the shore, not stopping until she arrived back in Copenhagen. Keep The Sea To The Right is the tale of Jennifer Tough’s 3,800-kilometre journey to circumnavigate the entire Baltic Sea coastline by bicycle, solo. In this book, she shares the triumphs and trials of her journey, from wild camping, enchanting history, Russian drivers, perfect beaches, challenging roads, heartache, and exhaustion, all while consuming quite a lot of coffee to complete her challenge. Folded in with her story is advice and experience from years of traveling the world by bicycle that will inspire you to go find an adventure too... I knew as soon as I got to the paragraph were she says “hello to the horses in a field”, she was a woman after my own heart. She describes each country she passes through with wit and personal opinions on all sorts of “unusual” encounters. All nine countries should thank her for the free tourist recommendations as she describes very vividly the scenery and the culture. It felt as though I was riding alongside her, but in reality I was sitting in my back garden. She was a very brave woman to have travelled so far by herself, camping most nights, leaving her family in Canada and her boyfriend in England, where she now resides. As a cyclist who has only recently gone on my first overseas trip, I have great admiration for this young woman who decided to take on such an epic challenge on her own. Maybe young is the main point, as I am retired and only recently hooked on cycling. She also mentions the fact that if you have an idea or a dream go for it, or you may well regret it later – I know what she means with all the “what ifs” through life. Forget that a young woman wrote this book as it will appeal to all who love travel and all who love cycling and, perhaps, act as catalyst to take up your own ambitions and strike out to places far afield.
by Jennifer Tough ISBN: 9781326660772 Published: lulu.com, 07 June 2016 Price £9.99 from lulu.com Review by: Sue Shields