MIDDLE MILES

A retired entrepreneur recounts his multiweek bicycle tour of the West Coast in this memoir.

In the summer of 2023, while his wife was on a trip to Norway, Mortensen decided to embark on an impromptu journey of his own: bike the West Coast from the Canadian to Mexican borders. “For me, this ride represents how I choose to spend my fifty-third summer,” he reflects, adding that the trip is “more than just an adventure; it is a fight against time, a rebellion against the physical process of aging.” Mortensen is no stranger to globe-trotting adventurism—his previous books, including The Buddha and the Bee (2020) and Embracing Bewilderment (2024), have taken readers on his backroad excursions throughout North and South America, Europe, and Asia. This memoir focuses on his 27-day bike ride from Peace Arch Park in Canada to the American-Mexican border just outside of Tijuana. Each chapter covers a single day of the trip, and combines travelogue, autobiographical vignettes, historical commentary on destinations encountered, and philosophical reflections on life. Blending pensive observations with humor, the book offers thoughtful commentary on American history and modern society with healthy dashes of lightheartedness along the way. Mortensen, for instance, discusses his discomfort with a historical marker in Cape San Sebastian, Oregon, that erases Indigenous history by claiming that “Spanish explorers were the first to explore the North American Pacific Coast,” and juxtaposes the West Coast’s rugged beauty with the fast food and strip malls that fill American cities. Sprinkled between poignant reflections are self-deprecating anecdotes, such as unwelcome bouts of stomach illness and his “Three Rules for Staying Young” (which include avoiding mirrors and convincing yourself that “all your friends are older than you”).

While the author reveled in Americana, from hole-in-the-wall diners to the majestic splendor of coastal mountains, the journey itself was rather unremarkable given the potential for disaster (Mortensen didn’t even have to endure a single flat tire). The book stands out for the author’s sheer joie de vivre that seeps through nearly every chapter. The memoir features a host of characters he encountered, from old friends to a homeless man Mortensen rescued from jumping off a bridge. Sprinkled throughout are not only in-depth, passion-fueled observations on biking, including a discussion of his Garmin cycling computer, but also flashbacks of his college days and early life as a “workaholic” who built a multimillion-dollar company prior to selling it to travel the world. Perhaps most moving is the book’s conclusion, as the author arrived at the Mexican border without fanfare (“Funny how these sorts of blips on your personal accomplishment radar mean so little in the grand scheme of things”). Though not overtly spiritual, the volume picks up where The Buddha and the Bee left off in its convincing emphasis that life is best lived through experiences rather than possessions. The engrossing, thought-provoking narrative is accompanied by full-color photographs by the author, stock images, and road maps. While adamant that this is not to be taken as a technical guide for others interested in a similar bike ride, the memoir makes the case that the life of an “unapologetic wanderer” comes not only with adventure, but with fulfillment, serenity, and gratitude as well.

A poignant, engaging, often humorous account about a Pacific Coast journey to the Mexican border.