A great book about real people on an amazing journey book novel story travel bicycling

Reviewer: Alice Klein of Sime-Gen website http://www.simegen.com/reviews/list/579360.html December 15, 2004

As a fellow traveler, albeit in the comfortable driver’s seat of my motor home and not the back of a bike, I admit I was intrigued when offered the chance of reviewing [The Road That Has No End] by Tim Travis. I was not disappointed.

The reader follows the travels of Tim and his wife, Cindie, as they sell most of their worldly possessions and start off on a proposed seven year bike journey from Prescott, Arizona to see the world. This particular book details the first leg of their long journey from home through Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and, eventually, Panama. One feels the entire gamut of emotions as their story unfolds. Some incidents are funny; some sad and some downright dangerous. What did they learn on this trip? Tim describes it best. “We learned the true nature of ‘poverty’ and how the meaning of ‘happiness’ is as individual as the people we met…”

This book is for anyone who likes to visit different places and cultures…both the active traveler and the “armchair” adventurer. I can hardly wait to read the next installment in their personal odyssey. Until then, Tim (and Cindie, too)…Happy Traveling!

Reviewer: Barb Kates, The Corner Book Store, Winterset, Iowa, December 14, 2004

The Road That Has No End, by Tim Travis

Tim and Cindy Travis decided to live their dream. They worked at their respective jobs in Prescott, Arizona, diligently saving money for the day when they could set out on the journey of a lifetime – on bicycles! They prepared by ridding themselves of all things that the average couple would consider necessary to own. They prepared a budget for the life they would lead on the road.

They biked south through Arizona, into Mexico, and kept riding south into Central America. Tim and Cindy’s riveting account of their travels depicts a life south of the border about which we know very little.

Their travels took them on roads not well-traveled, through tiny villages and larger cities. They crossed many borders, dealt with many border guards, and learned to guard their belongings closely to avoid theft. In Mexico they learned to speak Spanish so that they could converse with indigenous people in all the countries they traveled. They spoke with the native people, learned their customs, and observed their celebrations.

They biked up and down miles and miles of narrow roads. Your legs will hurt just reading about the agony they went through pedaling up hills in extreme heat, rain, and wind. You’ll be scared too when you read about the strange sounds outside their tent at night. You’ll admire their stamina, their determination, and their inquisitive minds.

The book has many photos of their trip, and is a quick read. Enjoy it! Maybe you’ll be moved by the spirit to do something like Tim and Cindy did!

Barb Kates
The Corner Book Store
Winterset, Iowa

Reviewer: Linda B. Jenkins, November 28, 2004

I've tucked 'The Road That has No End' away as a Christmas present for my husband but couldn't help but take a peak at some of it before wrapping it. I thought, reading many of the emails I would have 'read it already' but I was in for a surprise. I can't wait for my husband to share it more fully with me. Since I've been in many of the places covered in this book I look forward to revisiting them through Tim & Cindy's eyes and experiences. The writing is so well done it feels one can almost have the experience without the hardships. Thank you for giving me such a perfect Christmas present to give to a man who biked with his daughter from San Francisco to Los Angeles and then biked from the San Francisco Bay area to Ashland, Oregon with a bunch of Rotarians. What a ride.....what a read! Thanks again.

Linda B. Jenkins, RN
www.birthprep.com

Reviewer: Kathy Saunders, November 2, 2004

"The Road That Has No End" . . . and what a ride it is! From the time I began receiving Tim and Cindie's email journals, I couldn't wait for the book. I've been given the gift of travel without leaving home, and I didn't want the book to end. The bonus is that their narrative doesn't just give you the Fodor's version . . . you get the "real" tour. -- Kathy Saunders Prescott, AZ., USA

Reviewer: Matt Harper, November 1, 2004

Sadly, I must report that I am finished with "The Road that Never Ends." Sad because of how engrossed I was in the book. I didn't want it to end. It was such a fascinating read that I couldn’t put it down.

The book is a terrific mix of travelogue and philosophy. I suppose that in that philosophy I was reminded of Henry David Thoreau, his love of nature and the world outside our safe, well worn existence.

" ... But alone in the distant woods or fields, in unpretending sprout-lands or pastures tracked by rabbits, even in a bleak and, to most, cheerless day, like this, when a villager would be thinking of his inn, I come to myself, I once more feel myself grandly related. I thus dispose of the superfluous and see things as they are, grand and beautiful..."

Thoreau's Journal, January 7, 1857

This book takes that feeling of being "grandly related" to another level. Indeed, I was taken by the depth of feeling that flowed from the pages. Other books of this kind come across as somewhat dispassionate in their delivery. They seem to be more of a personal testimonial only. This is not true in “The Road That Never Ends.” The book draws the reader into the travels to the point that you feel as though you can feel and taste everything. Even though this book is more descriptive than others, the text is what makes the reader feel more a part of the experience. It is infused with an indefinable element that is hard to quantify. I definitely felt more a part of the book “The Road That Never Ends” than I have other adventure books I have read.

I certainly hope that this is only the beginning book in a series. If this is so, I can’t wait to read the next installment. It was truly a rare and engaging book to read. Thank you for making our lives a bit richer for your experiences. Matt Harper