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Title: Riding with the Blue Moth
ISBN: 1596701633
Author:
Bill Hancock
Publicate Date: 2006-10-15
Publish: 2006-10-15
List Price: $16.95
Average Customer Rating: 5.0
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $8.88
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $5.69
Amazon Merchant Price: $11.53
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Inspirational Book!!!
This is one of the most inspirational books I have ever read--in part b/c it was not written to be that. Bill Hancock's message is so simple...appreciate life. Appreciate the good times because they are good. Appreciate the bad times, because they alone can help you realize the good, and both are part of who you are. He should be commended for his tenacity to stay the course, both his journey in life and cross country biking!! I wish I could thank him in person for sharing his story.
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2: Getting through tragedy
I originally bought this book for friends who lost their 16 year old son in an accident. This last year I bought it for myself and read it. If you have recently suffered the loss of a loved one it is very difficult to get through the first chapter where the author details the loss of his son and the immediate reactions of the family and friends. After the first chapter the book moves into the difficult ups and downs of getting on with every day life with while being gripped by overwhelming grief. There are so many places in this book where the author is able to put incredible perspective on what most people would consider ordinary events. Whether you've suffered the loss of a loved one or not, you will read this book and look at people and things differently than you did before. I hope that I am a better friend to people who suffered a loss because of the understanding this book gives the reader. I found myself disappointed as I was nearing the end, because the book was so well written that I wanted to keep on going with Bill Hancock beyond his cross country bike ride. I "googled" the author and contacted him by e-mail to tell him why I had bought 2 copies of the book and how much it meant to me after reading it. He responded the next day with a very thoughtful e-mail. I highly recommend reading Riding With the Blue Moth by Bill Hancock.
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3: It's not about the bike; well, really it is!!
Ooops; that is the title of another book out there; but it's still true and I think this is a fairly good book to accompany the book by Lance Armstrong which details Lance's fight with cancer. Both of these fellows having to deal with tragic situations.
The author goes through my home town; so I was fairly bent on not giving him 5 stars just because he did that in his journey from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic; but I am a cyclist; and I came to think after reading it, this is rather darn good; although, just like some characters that Bill describes, I've gone through some hardship, to the point that it was not easy to concentrate and read this; but I did.
March Madness; the NCAA tournament also, is underway as I write this for the year 2007; you know, it is in a tiny bit of a way a basketball book, seeing how Hancock is involved and connected with the NCAA; and it's things like that, that make this a good book to read. Now, I say this, because I believe the basketball fan could well find this entertaining too; but of course, not a basketball book like say, for example; the book "Pistol" that is currently in the stores.
But I'll keep this short and to the point; I like Dean Karnazes book, The UltraMarathon Man; but I read that and think, I wish Dean gave out more info on his running, diet, etc.
Bill Hancock for some reason, gives a lot of detail, the basic facts of his road trip on a daily basis; I mean saying part of his diet was on any given day, "17 Fritos or 12 Cheezits, 2 gallons of water and a gallon of gatorade" is detail I've never seen anyone relate about before; some of the chapters even has a bit of a question and answer session via email where Bill is asked questions and he gives back answers about his trip. So, it definitely has a real diary quality about it and it is the attention to detail that makes me give it the high ranking; cycling detail but of course the book is much more.
A solid enough book, I like his descriptions of many geographic locales; such as Yarnell hill; I had to look up that mountain on the internet I was so curious; or the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma.
Glad to see the positive reviews for this book; but most of them are rather short to gather people's impressions. I decided to make mine a bit longer. A fine contribution to cycling literature.
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4: ALONG FOR THE RIDE
I felt like I was along for the ride with Bill Hancock in "Riding With the Blue Moth", experiencing the emotional highs and lows, chuckling at the amusing experiences he had along the way, and shedding more than a few tears. Nothing strikes fear into the heart of a parent more than the prospect of losing a child. The Hancocks experienced every parent's nightmare and the healing of the cross-country bicycle ride was great both for the reader and, I suspect, for the author as well. I highly recommend this book to anyone, but especially to anyone who has lost an offspring or is close to someone who has.
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5: Moved Emotionally Like No Other Book!
I've been reading this book at night for a week now. I shed tears nearly every night, and find myself at the bedside of one or both of my kids thanking God for the privilege I have of being their Dad. This book has almost become a devotional for me. The depth of the writing is stunning.... My prayers are with you Bill and Nicki. Thank you for letting us glimpse enough of your pain so that we can better treasure all that it means to Live.
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