Thunder and Sunshine: Around the World by Bike Part Two: Riding Home from Patagonia (2nd edition)

By Alastair Humphreys

Thunder and Sunshine is the sequel to the best-selling Moods of Future Joys.
At the age of 24, Alastair Humphreys left England in August 2001 to cycle round the world. By the time he arrived back home, four years later, he had ridden 46,000 miles across in just over 1500 days, through five continents and 60 countries on a tiny budget of just £7,000.
His journey, as well as a quest for adventure, helped to raise the profile of the charity Hope and Homes for Children. When scores of people have visited the Poles and £30,000 is needed to get up Everest, Alastair s expedition was refreshingly original. Alastair was alone on the road for four years, in countries few people visit, and enduring an 85° C temperature range. This was an expedition of self-belief and optimism rather than satellite hook-ups and lucrative sponsorship.
Thunder & Sunshine is the story of Alastair s journey from South Africa back to Yorkshire, via the whole of the Americas, South to North, then Siberia in winter, Japan, and back through China, Central Asia and Europe.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Eye Press
• Release date: Feb 27, 2015
• ISBN: 9781908646309

Reviews for Thunder and Sunshine

[pdcread · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In Humphreys' first book, Moods of Future Joys, he describes his journey by bike through Europe with the intention of going through Asia. 9/11 changed everything, so he cycled all the way down through Africa instead. This is the account of the second half of monumental ride around the world. First, though, he needs a boat, not a bike. Securing a passage on a sailing boat as a crew member, he departs from Cape Town, next stop Rio.

He travels down to the very south of the country and begins his journey once again from Ushuaia with the intention of cycling all the way to Alaska next. The contrast between this continent and Africa could not have been more different, and he climbed some of the largest hills on his trip so far. In South America, he never ceased to be amazed by the generosity of strangers, people who had virtually nothing would be prepared to share food and hospitality with him. The distances are huge, and the headwinds are relentless, but persistence pays off and he manages to make it to Columbia. Crossing the Darrien Gap is always going to be an issue, there is nothing there resembling a road, but he solves it by crewing on another boat to Panama.

Humphreys' found Mexico to be interesting country, but entering America was a huge contrast to South America. Some were friendly and one lot bought him a new bike, but others considered a cyclist to be an annoying inconvenience on the road as he cycled up the Pacific coast. Reaching his goal of getting to the Arctic Circle, it was time to turn and head west; Russia beckoned. On this leg of the journey he was joined by a friend and fellow adventurer, Rob Lilwall, as they cycled along the Road of Bones, Siberia’s infamous road. This was probably the coldest part of the journey varying from a chilly -40 deg C to a balmy -20 deg C and he seem to spend most of the time freezing his arse off! Next up was Japan, a country that is so very different to anything he had experienced before. With visas sorted, he crossed to China and set of exploring this huge country, and discovering that the language barrier there was much bigger than he expected.

He was on the homeward stretch now, and the rest of Asia beckoned. Provided he could navigate the torturous visa and border controls… Each country bought delights, new experiences and occasion brought it home to him just how fortunate he was. Reaching Turkey was the point where he for the first time went back into a country that he had cycled through four years previously. He was nearly home.

This was an enjoyable account of the second part of his journey as well as being a more honest appraisal of why he was doing it and what he had gained from the experience. He discovers as much about himself as the world and the people he met on this 46,000 journey round the world. I felt this was better written than the first book too, but what really comes across is his ability to get along with people from all walks of life and not to see anything as insurmountable. If you like travel books, or cycling books then this and the first volume are worth reading.

[breic-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Humphreys is honest about his own doubts along the way, and about the conflicts he had with his occasional riding partners. He is not a 100% bicycle purist and occasionally takes a yacht or a raft. He feels human and approachable. Yet the story is quite impressive and sometimes scary. I enjoyed Humphreys's writing. It is always competent, never purple. Occasionally funny. He is good at splicing in details about the people and the countries he goes through. Not too much—he doesn't bloat the story—but not too little, either—the book never feels like a list of destinations he biked by.