Reading Willie Weir's bike adventure memoir is almost as good as going on a bike trip.  Maybe better, since you don't end up with sore leg muscles.  See, back in my single days, I loved to cycle. non-jock that I am, I even went on two bike trips.  On the first one, with the Washington based company, Bicycle Adventures , our leader was a most amazing guy named Willie Weir.

He seemed eternally happy.  And not in that false back-slappy kind of way -- but truly content.  He was funny, and well read, thoughtful.  The perfect tour guide.

That bike trip, by the way, was pretty perfect, too.  We biked a manageable 30-40 miles a day (though one day 18 of those miles were uphill -- oy!) while a truck carried all of our gear.  Then, when we arrived at some charming little Inn for the night. (You didn't think I'd be camping AND biking, did you?) Our bags would miraculously appear in our rooms, and an announcement would be made as to when we should report to a local restaurant for dinner and drinks. Since we did all that biking, we could eat with impunity.  All in all a great set up: I like to call it detox (exercise) and retox (drink and desert.) I highly recommend it!

Now, however, I can't take bike trips, what with the 12" wheels on my daughter's Princess Bike, the complete lack of interest on the part of my husband, and  and the additional 15 years on my body. (Ageless, sadly, is a state of mind, not of quadriceps.) Instead, I just follow Willie's bike travels around the world through his writing.  From India to the Andes, from the war torn Middle East, to the beauty and serenity of the Swiss Alps,  Willie has biked everywhere, and has written about his adventures for years on Adventure Cyclist Magazine.

Now, Willie has come out with a new book "Travels with Willie," part travelogue, part memoir, part primer on international culture, and all Willie. I think it's a great way to bide my time until the kids are big enough(and I can convince the hubby) to go on a family bike trip. Plus, you burn calories just for reading about exercise...right?

Joking aside, I miss the singular experience of seeing a new place propelled by my own legs.  With Willie's new book, I can vicariously have it -- without the muscle soreness.  Check out the book-- I promise, you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll...well, you'll like it.