My Bike Tour in France Remembered

An Innocent Abroad in 1968

by Wayne Slingluff

My Bike Tour in France Remembered
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My Bike Tour in France Remembered

An Innocent Abroad in 1968

by Wayne Slingluff

Published Dec 15, 2014
660 Pages
Genre: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs



 

Book Details

A naïve young man bicycles into adventure, shock, and personal growth in an unfamiliar world.


In 1968, a college junior hates school, thinks he wants to be an artist, and is resigned to being drafted for the Vietnam War once he graduates. That summer, Wayne bicycles alone over 2000 kilometers in France, staying in hostels and campgrounds on a shoestring budget. He views ancient countryside, visits cities and towns for several days each and observes in amazement the depth of history, beauty of art, and ways of life. He converses frequently with other European “jeunesse,” all filled with questions and hopes of social reform in that revolutionary year. He worries about his own life, what he should do, and what he might want to accomplish. I tell his story to my grandson as I remember it, and consider how those lessons influenced my later outlooks and desires. A series of adventures with meditations on meaning, beauty, art and history occur across northern, western, and southern France. Adolescents, those who remember being young, and anyone who likes the travelogues of Mark Twain should enjoy these stories.

 

About the Author

Wayne Slingluff

Wayne Slingluff is a retired software engineer who lives with his wife of almost forty years on Long Island. Although he no longer paints, he continues to observe the world “as an artist.” He believes his long-ago trip to France was one of the most important steps in his development of a productive and happy life.

Also by Wayne Slingluff

The Domination Era
Babylon With Ghost
Nearly Nostalgia
Nearly Nostalgia (eBook Edition)