Pedalling to Hawaii : A Human Powered Adventure Across the Western Hemisphere

Review by Philip Blazdell

I read a lot of books. I read on planes, on busses, during my lunch break at work. I read everything from historical fiction, to biographies, to philosophy but I have never read a book which is so life-affirming, so profoundly moving and so utterly thought provoking as Stevie Smith's stunning book 'Pedalling to Hawaii.'

Picture a frustrated office worker of twenty-five. One rainy, miserable Monday he resolves to grab life with both hands and embark on an adventure: the first entirely human-powered journey around the world. Although he had never been on an expedition of any kind and had no money, Stevie and his friend Jason dreamed up a voyage that would take them from England, across the Atlantic by pedal boat and then on to circumnavigate the world by human-power.

Pedalling to Hawaii has all the ingredients of great adventure travel literature: there's hopeless amateurism, Panglossian spirit, near-death experiences and bitter rows - on arrival in the US, a spat between the boys sees Jason ditching the bike and crossing the continent alone by inline skates.

It's really hard to identify why this book is so moving and so powerful. Smith writes his razor-sharp prose in such a way that he scores away the pretence and fallacies of travel writing to truly explore the human soul. Smith may not see himself as a hero, and in fact he often explores his own mental health with brutal honesty, but his integrity, honesty and sheer depth of humanity shine through and make this a truly life-affirming experience. Skating a thin-line between philosophy and travel-writing, Smith produces a book the likes of which I haven't seen since Nick Danzieger's first book.

This is not just a travel book. It is a story of a heroic undertaking and a search for the true meaning of existence. Can we really ever be happy living in a results-driven, selfish, money orientated society, Smith seems to ask himself as he pedals for days on end across the Atlantic, or is true happiness only really achieved by finding a place to belong and laying down solid roots there?

Ultimately, this is a story of friendship, fear, anger, love, determination, endurance, and some times hatred. It is also a profoundly moving discourse on the human condition and will leave you feeling both breathless and extremely moved. It should be on every traveller's reading list.

• Pedalling to Hawaii : A Human Powered Adventure Across the Western Hemisphere by Stevie Smith