Full Tilt

Ireland to India with a Bicycle

Paperback, 235 pages

English language

Published Aug. 7, 2010 by Eland Publishing Ltd.

ISBN:
978-1-906011-41-3
Copied ISBN!
OCLC Number:
637503933

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5 stars (1 review)

Braving hunger, heat exhaustion, unbearable terrain and cultures largely untouched by civilization, Dervla Murphy chronicles her determined trip through nine countries, through snow and ice in the mountains and miles of barren land in the scorching desert.

Full Tilt is a highly individual account by a celebrated travel writer based on the daily diary Murphy kept while riding through Yugoslavia, Persia, Afghanistan, over the Himalayas to Pakistan and into India.

Murphy's charm and gracious sensitivity as a writer and a traveler reveals not only civilizations of exotic people and places but the wonder of a woman alone on an extraordinary adventure.

1 edition

it's amazing where you can take a bicycle if you set your mind to it

5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Full Tilt, although I do think the multiple usages of the n-word and some of other casual racism could've been edited out in this printing; having said that I get the feeling the Murphy wouldn't have tolerated such changes. It reminded me in some ways of the Himalayan mountaineering books I read as a teenager; Bonington, Scott, Messner, et al. It also reminded me that I used to dream of travelling to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal and Tibet and wandering through, and up, the mountains.

Just like the Rough Stuff Fellowship, it's amazing where you can take a bicycle if you set your mind to it. It also makes a mockery of all the kit we take for a weekend bike packing locally, let alone cycling across continents.

If you like reading travelogues, especially those from a bygone era, then this is a must read.

Subjects

  • Voyages and travels
  • Bicycle touring
  • Travel
  • Women travelers