This is a cycling travelogue. Heidi wrote about her cycling journey through the different states of America.

Cycling through America is not something I have read or watched on TV before. Hence it was intriguing and prompted me to get my hands on this book. Throughout the book, she spoke about the places she visited, the peopled she’s met and how at times the correspondence she would get from home.

I found there are some parts that were dull. So it did take me a rather long time to get through this book. She went through in detail about her childhood and previous experiences. I would have preferred more about the cycling journey and that experience instead of the past. It felt more of a memoir than a travelogue.

I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Heidi Beierle writes about her triumphant journey across the country. Her courage and determination outweighs her personal struggles with health and adversity. Heidi Across America celebrates sustainable travel while promoting civic engagement to help others experience bicycling. Slow traveling is a great way to get to know the nature around you and Heidi demonstrates her ability to discover herself and her place in nature. She uses many experiential relationships as examples to stretch her limits. Her encounters with 'true' Americans help people learn about the American bicycle travel culture.

Her personal dilemmas are often referred to as stepping stones. But really they are destinations as a result of her journey. She explores herself and understands her hells to overcome them as she continues her bicycle travels. Using feminine experiences and shedding light on women's suffering, her bicycle is her therapy friend. Daring and bold, the story informs and encourages. People can ride anywhere the road will take them.

Thank you Net Galley and Health Communications Inc. for this Advanced Reader's Copy.

As someone who's traveled solo domestically (U.S.) and internationally, Heidi Across America was right up my alley. Solo travel immerses one in their environment in a way that doesn't seem possible when traveling with others, and Heidi takes solo travel one step further by traveling by bike.

Heidi Across America reads like a travel journal, detailing the events of each day including the various people and issues encountered. And while one is traveling, there are thoughts of those left behind and one's various communications with them. Heidi Across America captures it all. Recommended to readers who enjoy travelogues and stories about bicycling.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of Heidi Across America.

Rounding up to 3.5 Stars.

Traveling across America on a bike is something I will never do. But I enjoy bike riding on a much smaller scale, so I picked this book up to get the experience vicariously.

To be honest, I almost put this book down early on.. Part 1 was tough to get through. It was then beginning of her journey and she was giving you the back story of her life. She shared TMI from her childhood that wasn't big picture relevant. The biking content was not the focus and that was disappointing because that is what I wanted to read.

I stuck it out and part 2 & 3 gave more of the content I was looking for. You hear the good parts, the bad parts, and all the parts in between. She gives stories of the people she meets along the way and the pacing at that point in the book picked up and kept me reading. There was still some TMI issues, but the TMI gave authenticity. It was in the context of her journey.

This would have been a much higher rated book for me if Part 1 had been edited out and fit in with the rest of the book. The cover promised "Americans seeing America can open us to the diversity, awe, and wonder available right here in our nation". We got stories, but I wish this concept was delved further into. This is the content I felt was lacking in the end.

That being said. I enjoyed the opportunity to travel along with Heidi.

Heidi Across America : One Woman's Journey on a Bicycle Through the Heartland. This is a wonderful memoir about one women's determination to pedal her bicycle solo from her home on the west coast across rural America to Washington, D.C. as part of her studies. I love travel logs and this one doesn't disappoint. Many of her trials, tribulation are detailed, so you really get a feel for her experiences. You could almost feel the intense heat she endured towards the end of her journey. It is filled with the good people and new friends she met along the way. Her personal life is also documented so you get to know her as a person along with her desires and emotions. I enjoyed following her trail on Google maps and looking at the photographs of the places she went to. Overall a really enjoyable read.