PEDALLING TO KAILASH

A debut memoir chronicles the adventures of a small band of cyclists nicknamed the Xtreme Dorks who set off for Tibet.

The prospect of riding some of the highest roads on Earth had long excited Hazenberg, who, as a child growing up in the 1970s in Thunder Bay, Ontario, was fascinated by maps of the great continents. In the book’s opening, the author describes how literature further opened his young mind to adventure, later leading him to take on a Ph.D., which he lost the motivation to finish. After successfully applying to be a contestant on the quiz show Jeopardy! he used his prize money to spend three years exploring the world. In 1998, he convinced his two sisters, Audie and Saakje, and their partners to cycle from Islamabad, Pakistan, to Tibet, their goal being Mount Kailash, an important Buddhist pilgrimage site. The journey was grueling, punctuated with thrills, spills, and eyebrow-raising encounters, from stone-throwing kids to benevolent gun runners. The author embroiders the odyssey with rich historical and factual details and, at the close of the memoir, reflects on the significant political shifts that have taken place since he completed his trip. Hazenberg’s affinity for literature is prominent throughout this sharply penned book. The author effortlessly transports readers using his concisely evocative, descriptive style: “A golden carpet of grain stalks shimmered in the sunlight. Apples and apricot grew in neat orchards, and pencil-thin Lombardy poplars provided windbreaks and fast-growing firewood on the edge of fields.” Hazenberg adds further layers of interest by including carefully researched historical tidbits: “We passed under Churchill’s Picket, a hilltop military post where a 22-year-old Winston Churchill saw action in 1897.” Such facts slide fluidly into the narrative and serve to further illuminate the passing landscape. Avoiding the pitfall of focusing too intently on the demands of the itinerary, the author is acutely aware of local customs and cultural differences: “The women were shocked by Saakje’s shaved head; we had by now learned that only women taken in adultery or being shamed as prostitutes had hair that short.” Far from presenting mundanely reworked field notes, as is sometimes common in this genre, this is a refreshingly intelligent, multifaceted memoir that will entertain and inspire cyclists of all abilities.

An erudite, informative, and highly readable cycling account.