I decided to read Cycling, Wine, and Men based on the review of a friend of mine. This is a memoir of a woman in her forties who decided to take a cycling tour of southern France. The 700 mile bike ride gives her a chance to think about her life, her priorities, her lack of romance, and overcoming some obstacles.
Along the way Nancy decides to break from the pack and meet the locals and get a chance to see what life in France is really all about. Nancy's strength and courage is very admirable. Her life story is also very interesting, from the struggles she faced in her life to what lead her decision to bike across France.
This was a good book, and worth the read. It really shows how much a person can achieve if they really try and set their mind to it. That inner strength combined with some hard work can get a person almost anywhere they want to be. Also, I loved the tips she threw in between the chapters: cycling basics, touring basics and wine basics.
However, there were some minor downsides that detracted from the story a little bit. The first was that Nancy seemed a bit judgmental of her fellow riders, however, she later on admitted that this was a problem that she needed to work on. The second was the way she described the other American tourists in Paris. She kept reminding the reader how they were "supersized". I just didn't see the need for that to be in this book.
I gave this book 3.5 stars.
I saw your post on the Book blogs site just now - but thought I would leave my "visiting card" here, and this is definitely a book I'd like to read. Thanks for the review! I have writing blog set in France. Following you.
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