The Divide: A 2700 Mile Search For Answers

Good read. I enjoyed hearing the story of His travels. I look forward to making the trip one day, minus the rain!

I’m sorry. It’s better than any book that I have ever written and I’m certain that there is a good story in there about a wonderful adventure. I just never got along with the author’s style. I found that he skipped around to much and needed to flesh out the stories more. If I had shared his ride with him every one of these chapters would have sparked fond remembrances. But this book just didn’t do enough to make me feel like I WAS there with him.

What a great story! I was a bit hesitant to purchase this book because I didn't need to read about someone trying to "find themself" there's so much more to the story. Nathan's writing style makes you feel everything he is experiencing from the physical challenges of the ride to the emotional break throughs. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves a good adventure.

I recently started cycling and rented Ride The Divide on amazon prime. A week later, amazon had this book as a recommendation (well played amazon). I admit, I liked the cover art of the book and read what it was about and took a chance. I purchased the book and I’m glad I did. I really enjoyed this book and the writing style of Mr Doneen. Even though he did this ride solo, his writing makes you feel like you’re right there with him. He has a facebook page that includes photos from his trip and I recommend taking a look through the photos but only after reading the book so there are no spoilers. I started reading his second book “An Adventure Across Peru. A Mototaxi Race” and so far, its very good. Highly recommend The Divide.

Their were some good nuggets in this book, but I generally found reading this book to be a laborious effort. It might just be that we are in very different phases of life. I have children that are his age. For me, this book was not a page-turner. I found the most compelling stuff towards the end of the book and was quite surprised he did not use one of those elements throughout the book. I do not want to provide any spoilers here, but he had a major life event a couple of years before the ride and that could have been more of the basis of the book than just a young college grad trying to figure out life. Again, could just be my phase of life, but I would suggest this is a good book for the 15-30 crowd, but for anyone beyond that age that has life figured out to a reasonable extent, I would not expect you to get very excited about it.As for the biking aspect of it, I have never done what he did. It was a great accomplishment. I am a road cyclist. The challenges he faced as a mountain biker made me feel like I never want to do that. Part of that is my age, as well. I've read a few books on cross country cycling. That is my goal. I thought this book would provide a nice change of scenery. The biking stories had a few good moments, but there were so many challenges. He made so many decisions that I would not have, that at times it was frustrating. Again - age difference it seemed. I really cannot recommend this book to anyone over 30 or so.

The author writes well presenting an interwoven tale of riding the Divide. He neither presents too much detail nor writes with arrogant self-absorption - the tone that some cycling tourists use. He seems to be a writer first and a story-teller second. As a road tourer, mountain biker and gravel grinder, I was immersed in his descriptions, experiences and thoughts. There was little mechanical discussion, no description of what is needed, etc. This is truly a story with a philosophical bent. Consider it a Zen and Art of Motorcycle Maintenance lite. Further, this helped me through a difficult mental recovery. I picked it up as I am planning to ride the trail in segments. It was better than I had expected. I recommend the book for those who dream to do this, who need an escape, who enjoys fine writing.

Nathan's trip is interrupted by memories of past encounters and anticipation of future conversations. Digging the skeletons out of his closet and dealing them head-on. His is the most personal account I've read on the subject of cycling across the US. An incredible read.

My nephew is an avid cyclist and enjoyed receiving this book. I bought it as a Christmas gift and based on the reviews thought he would enjoy it. I haven't heard if he did but he was pleased to get it.

I've always enjoyed the more adventurous end of travel writing and this book has more than lived up to my expectations. The descriptions of the highs and lows and the landscapes he was travelling through were fantastic; I could really close my eyes and imagine the splendid isolation of the trail. I don't usually like too many moments of back story, but in this case they were well judged to give context to the author's motivation, there were just the right size to set the scene without detracting from the journey.It was the perfect lockdown read and has served as inspiration for me to get the maps out and start thinking of my own adventures.

What a brilliant book! I've read every tour divide book in the run up to tackling it myself, this is the first one I've read since i got back. I relived so much of my trip and trials and tribulations. An awesome read, get out there and have a go yourself, if this doesn't inspire you, nothing will. The hardest part of getting to the start, after that you just turn the pedals. Follow Nathan's most important point too, don't feel you have to stick to the red line, it's your adventure!!

Great read, trip interspersed with background stories which kept it interesting. Looking forward to doing the ride next year although wont be chasing any grizzlies down the trail!!

A well written and emotional account of what is clearly an amazing achievement. Well done and thanks for sharing your experience.

great thanks