“North To Alaska” by Trevor Lund
North to Alaska is an account of a cycle tour like no other “documenting his epic 16000 mile journey from the tip of Argentina to the top of Alaska” and completed in 1999.
Trev has been a member of the Lupine Adventure team for many years. His expertise as an outdoor leader and his personal nature has enriched the lives of countless young people he has coached and supervised on the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and in other activities. He’s a fantastic colleague and great company.
His book has been a 20 year labour of love and is a very engaging read. It relates the often relentless physical and logistical difficulty such that it’d make a very useful “how-to” guide and “eye-opener” to anyone contemplating similar long haul cycle journeys. Trev eloquently describes the stunning landscapes and joyous encounters with humans and nature but also the hardship and tedium of long miles cycled on poor roads, in punishing weather and against headwinds, tough gradients and amid uninspiring terrain. Much of the adventure springs from the uncertainty engendered by the absence of a mobile phone. Information often had to be gleaned from uncertain sources – issues of road conditions, illness, food resupply and equipment repair sorted on the hoof by improvisation, trust to luck and Trev’s faith in his own sometimes wobbly resolve.
Above all the book is honest and often brutally so. Trev’s achievements are astonishing but he also reveals his frustration and suspicion of fellow travellers and others he meets. Sometimes this is more justifiable, where companions lack “oomph” or locals seem inhospitable, but also his prejudices are occasionally misplaced and his expectations are overturned by kindness he wasn’t expecting. Trev is brave enough in his writing not always to paint himself the expansive hero. Trevor gets lonely at times. He thirsts for company and, perhaps also romance. In this he also shows his human vulnerability. There are also moments when Trev experiences visceral fear and he doesn’t hold back in describing his trepidation. It’s this honesty that makes the book so engaging, “real”.
If you enjoy real-life travel and adventure books, I urge you to read “North to Alaska”.
Trevor’s book is available to buy, here – https://amzn.to/2xWrFge
You can follow Trevor on Twitter at – @NrthToAlaska and, if you live near to Skipton, he might deliver your copy personally.