Slowspoke: A Unicyclist's Guide to America

About this book

Why a unicycle? Why a cross-country trip? Why leave a prominent New York magazine and return to the simple life in Kentucky? Reminiscent of classic literary travelogues Mark Schimmoellers Slowspoke: A Unicyclists Guide to America takes readers on an inward emotional journey as he inches across landscapes and communities from North Carolina to Arizona. Schimmoeller became inspired by his unicycle as an adolescent. It taught him that rushingwhether down the driveway or toward adulthoodwould cause a fall and so instead of accepting the speeding straight line that de-fines modern American life he adopted his single wheels wayward rhythms. Written with poise and humor Slowspoke is more than a cross-country trip on a unicycle; its a meditation on a playful recalcitrant slowness that is increasingly rare in a culture obsessed with acceleration. At times ach-ing and other times joyful Schimmoeller intersperses recollections of his journey with vignettes of his present-day off-the-grid homesteading with his wife in Kentucky and their efforts to save an old-growth forest. Schimmoellers personal journey will resonate with anyone who has slowed down to experience life at a unicycles speed or who longs to do so who has fallen in love or searched for it or who has treasured tall trees or mourned their loss.