About this ebook
Insightful, humane, sublimely amusing—Metal Cowboy finds nobility in the
common man, explains true bicycle-love, celebrates the beauty of the
country, and charmingly relates encounters with malcontents and
misfits. Most of all, Metal Cowboy is a quest. It is the record of a
young man seeking meaning in the world, trying to find what is good in
the people he meets, what is good in himself, and a route off the prescribed roadways of life.
“David Sedaris trapped in the body of Lance Armstrong.” —Beacon Journal
“The
Metal Cowboy is crazy, wise, funny, and living the dream all cyclists
have—riding off to see the world on a bike. Don’t miss this ride with
him.”
—Bill Strickland, author of The Quotable Cyclist
“Like the travel books of Bill Bryson, Kurmaskie’s collection of essays
focuses on the unexpected and the little known. Travelogues are a dime a
dozen, but the ones that find something fresh and unusual to talk about
are fairly rare. Here readers will see the countryside the way they’ve
never imagined it. A thoroughly delightful excursion.” —Booklist
“An
infectious celebration of life, a sort of two-wheeled version of
Chicken Soup for the Soul. . . . Endearing and even hilarious.”
—The Boston Globe
“Joe Kurmaskie rolls with a keen sense of comedy and a big heart.” —Christopher Moore, author of Lamb and A Dirty Job
“Nobody roams—or writes—with more manic energy or enthusiasm for ‘the hard life’ than Joe Kurmaskie.”
—Jay Atkinson, author of Paradise Road
“As Melville is to the sea, Mark Twain to the raft, and Kerouac to the car, Joe Kurmaskie is to the bike.”
—Andrew Lewis Conn, Author of P and The Last American Novel
Ratings and reviews
About the author
Joe Kurmaskie, dubbed the "Metal
Cowboy" by a blind
rancher he encountered one icy morning in Idaho, has been addicted to
the intoxicating freedom and power of the bicycle ever since he
"borrowed" his big sister's banana-seat bike at the age of five. As he
careened down the neighborhood hill, much to his parents' dismay, Joe
set in motion what has become a lifelong love affair with the road and
the wheel. In Metal Cowboy, Joe offers up an infectious and big-hearted
collection of true adventures and misadventures, chronicling his time
touring America on his bicycle.
