Pedaling to Hawaii: A Human-Powered Odyssey »

Stevie Smith is the founder of Expedition 360—the first human-powered, around-the-world expedition. Prior to the expedition, Stevie spent four years as a consultant in environmental research, specializing in European and global policy issues with posts in London, Paris, and Brussels. Stevie continues to explore and to pursue Expedition 360. Discovery Networks Europe has produced three documentaries about his around-the-world expedition. He lives in Salcombe, South Devon, England.

An amazing and deeply insightful account of how two guys decided to embark upon the unthinkable: an attempt to circumnavigate the globe using just human-powered means.

On a rainy, miserable morning in Paris, a twenty-something bureaucrat decides there must be more to life than dull office work. Stevie Smith tries to figure out what he could do of great significance and hit upon the notion of a trip around the world using only human power—no motors, no sails, no balloons—maybe the last great first. With no experience, no particular expedition skills, and no money, the adventure begins. A pedal-powered boat, a bike, in-line skates, and a lot of non-heroics take Stevie and his buddy, Jason, where no one has gone before.

No travel writing has more accurately captured the old adage, "it's the journey that matters, not the destination." Therein lies the simple beauty of this entertaining travel tale—a search for simplicity, integrity, and freedom. 10 black & white photographs, 1 map, reader's group guide.

Publishers Weekly

In 1994, two English adventurers in their late 20s embarked on Expedition 360, an underfunded attempt, initially sans sponsorship, to circumnavigate the world using only human power. Instead of relying on sails, balloons and motors, Smith and his traveling companion, Jason Lewis, used bicycles, skates, kayaks and their 26-foot pedal boat, "a ruthlessly Spartan composite of varnished plywood, plastic, and steel as cosy as a cheap coffin." Crossing the English Channel that summer, they biked through France, Spain and Portugal, then set forth on a "seemingly endless expanse: 4,250 nautical miles of ocean to pedal across at walking speed." Pedaling through the Atlantic in two-hour day shifts and four-hour night shifts, the duo arrived in Miami 111 days later, and then cycled and skated across America, eventually pedaling the Pacific. Smith is an accomplished writer, contrasting evocative descriptions of dolphins, seascapes and beckoning vistas with stories of days of fatigue, boredom and his own wild fantasies. He interweaves environmental observations and his inner spiritual quest with powerful passages on the more harrowing moments. Neither man had previously spent a night at sea, and mentions of their oversights and inexperience add to the suspense in this entertaining yarn. Nine maps, 10 b&w photos. (May 1) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.