Don Feidner

About the Book I'm Writing

Last Update: 19 September 2010

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Some of my friends have heard me talk about a book that I would write about my long bicycle trip around Germany. Yes, I’m writing a book about my adventures during the long trip in 2006. It will have 3 main parts, and I’ve completed about half of the book. Right now, I’m taking a break from my normal responsibilities at home and I’m working daily to finish it, so please be patient. I want it to be fun for you to read.

It may not contain what you would expect to read. It isn’t primarily about what you need to do to plan a bike trip, although that is included and there’s more than enough about equipment to help you get started. It doesn’t contain much of anything about the historical significance of the areas I visit. There are plenty of books about those topics that you can pick up at nearly every bookstore or find by clicking a link in the Internet. What I’m really writing about are the personalities - the people I met and what they said to me -- what they have experienced. Sometimes, those encounters were brief, and other times, much longer. I’ve included a few embarassing things that have happened to me during the preparatory trips. And, of course, I’m adding a philosophical touch by including some of the more interesting conversations. Many comical things happened during the trip, so I’ve included those as well.

One humorous section you will enjoy is about what people say to their dogs when a cyclist passes. Including the preparation for the trip, I’ve ridden over 26,000 kilometers and heard every imaginable comment - some nice, and some not so nice.

In October 2005, I met an elderly man while riding my bicycle in Grossenbrode, a town near the Island of Fehmarn on the Baltic Sea. He wrinkled his nose upward, cocked his head to one side and said, “Wo geht’s hin? - Where ya headed?” As we talked his eyes became glassy and he looked as though he had been suddenly transported to a far away place. It was obvious that he was already swimming in a sea of nostalgia. As he spoke he stared at my bicycle, which was loaded with 4 panniers and 2 additional bags, launched headlong into a fascinating 30-minute monologue about his trip on a bicycle from Russia to Germany after the end of World War 2. I’ve met at least a dozen such people and they all had a story to tell -- some quite humorous -- all interesting. I’ll try to include those stories in my book as well.

These are some people I met in Poland. I only stopped for a snack, but ended up enjoying the company of these four people for 3 hours. Leszek, Andrzej, Jola, and her husband, Marek became good friends and taught me quite a bit about Polish customs. This is what my book is about - meeting people like these. I have enough material now to write it with both serious and humorous incidents. Jolanta also revealed some very interesting Polish wisdom that applies to everyone worldwide. Of course, you can read about it when the book is published.

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