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by NickScull Sun Oct 29, 2006 7:44 pm
From: Chris Smith <chris>
Subject: UK to Beijing by Bicycle: Talk and Slideshow

Dear fellow cyclists,

After a split with a girlfriend and redundancy I opted for a kill-or-cure course of medication to repair damaged self-esteem. I left my home in Worcestershire on a bicycle, and thirteen months later – having worn out three sets of tyres, three chains, two pairs of boots, and fallen off six times – I arrived inBeijing.

I am sending this email to clubs around the country to gauge the interest for a talk and slideshow about this spectacular 16,500-mile journey to theFar East(viaEurope, theMiddle EastandIndia).

The full story of those 16,500 miles is told in my critically acclaimed book 'Why Don't You Fly?'(ISBN 1-905203-25-X).For more details about journey, author and book, please visit www.cycleuktochina.com. The website includes a sample chapter of ‘Why Don’t You Fly?’ as a taster and over 90 photographs taken during the journey.

The majority of the 56 slides I will be showing during presentations aren’t displayed on the website, so no need to worry that a prior visit to it will reduce the impact of the presentation, and it may even enhance it. Each talk will last for around an hour, after which there will be time for questions and an opportunity to check out the bike and purchase copies of ‘Why Don’t You Fly?’ – signed by the author on request.

I have devised a system of rates that I believe will prove both affordable for you and fair to me. Naturally, the further I have to travel to a venue, the greater the fee, but I have implemented a way by which your costs can be substantially reduced – or even eliminated. For an explanation of these charges, please refer to the attached document.

If you would like me to give a presentation to your club next year, please email me back. If the cost is agreeable to you and if you already have suitable dates I can pencil you in.


Happy pedalling!

Chris Smith


WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT ‘WHY DON’T YOU FLY?’

Smith’s smart, honest prose is crafted superbly and peppered with wonderful moments of drama, dialogue and real humanity.
‘Asia and Away’ Magazine

Fascinating reading.
‘Limited Edition’ Magazine

I just felt such a degree of empathy for the situations he faced, the frustrations and pleasures. A lot of other writers seem to me to be more superficial. They never seem to let you in on how they are feeling and the observations seem stilted because of it. It is a long time indeed since I have read and enjoyed a book so much.
Peter Green (reader)

It's books like these that make me want to sell my car, flat and life (not body), and motor round the world in a Winnebago. Sometimes it takes a book like this to realise what is sadly lacking in one's own life, and the parameters in which we live. Thanks so much, Chris, it’s hard to find inspiring people these days, celebrities bore me!
Denise Acton (reader)

I obviously enjoyed the book immensely and it will remain in the recesses of my memory as one of my ‘best ever’ travel reads. I have been immersing myself in travel literature for most of my adult life, not to mention undertaking quite a few journeys of my own, and every once in a while a ‘real gem’ of a book comes along: for me,‘Why Don’t You Fly?’ was one of them.
Martin Davies (reader)

Just to say that I really enjoyed your book. It's one of the very few cycle touring books that I have read that really brought the memories flooding back of what it's like to be on a long tour. I had almost forgotten how much the Indian drivers would wind me up towards the end of a long hot day.

Stuart Lundy (reader)

‘Why Don’t You Fly?’by Christopher J. A Smith (ISBN 1-905203-25-X) can be ordered on line from www.amazon.co.uk and from all good bookshops. For synopsis, sample chapter, 93 spectacular photographs and more media coverage and reader feedback, visit www.cycleuktochina.com

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