Amber, Furs and Cockleshells: Bike Rides with Pilgrims and Merchants

Vikings, Romans, Viennese Turks, Native Americans, pilgrims, outlaws, football fans, ballerinas, and saints: these myriad wonderful characters populate the pages of Anne Mustoe's fascinating book as she pedals along three very different, but equally evocative, roads—the Amber Route from the Baltic to the Adriatic, the Santa Fe Trail from the Missouri River to New Mexico, and the Pilgrims' Way of St. James from Le Puy to Santiago de Compostela. Battling against ferocious winds in Jutland; blizzards in the Rockies; traffic jams of cyclists along the Danube; and menus in Czech, Hungarian, and Basque, Mustoe survives with her usual fortitude and wry humor, even when she is knocked off her bike by a short-sighted nonagenarian in a Fiat Panda. Her warm and accessible style brings to life the history and magic of three fascinating roads—following in the footsteps of merchants and pilgrims.