On a rainy, miserable Monday morning in Paris a twenty-something bureaucrat decides there must be more to life than the United Nations project on which he is working. Stevie Smith tries to figure out what he could do of great significance and hit upon the notion of a trip around the world using only human powerno motors, no sails, no balloonsmaybe the last great first. With no experience, no particular expedition skills, and no money, the adventure begins.

A pedal-powered boat, a bike, in-line skates, and a lot of hilarious non-heroics take Stevie and his buddy, Jason, where no one has gone before. A bike ride through Europe by a guy who's never ridden much beyond the corner grocery; a pedal-boat trip across the Atlantic in 111 days by two guys whose combined sailing experience was a bout or two in a dinghy on the English coast; a bike and in-line skates get them across America; more pedaling to Hawaii

No travel writing has more accurately captured the old adage, it's the journey and not the destination. Therein lies the simple beauty of this entertaining travel talea search for simplicity, integrity, and freedom. 12 black & white photographs.