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Changing Gears

A Distant Teen, a Desperate Mother, and 4,329 Miles Across the Transamerica Bicycle Trail

By Leah Day

What happens when a mother and her 16-year-old son drop everything to bike across the country? On the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail, they struggle up hills in the pouring rain, they feel soreness in muscles they didn’t know they had, and they learn more about each other than they ever knew before. When licensed clinical therapist and self-proclaimed “reluctant adventurer” Leah Day felt herself drifting from her son, Oakley, she decided to make a drastic play to reconnect. In this memoir chronicling the journey of a lifetime, Leah and Oakley find that if they can push themselves to accomplish physically exhausting and emotionally taxing milestones on a bike, they are capable of anything!

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Meet the Author
Review quotes
"Riding across America is about so much more than covering a few thousand miles by bike. Leah Day writes about her adventures, both internal and on the road, with insight and empathy, bringing readers along for a view of magic moments, big and small."
—Alex Strickland, editor of Adventure Cycling Magazine

"As an educator and bike tour guide, I've found the bicycle to be an ideal way for young people to learn to interact with the world around them. The bike facilitates adventure, encourages exploration, and provides limitless opportunities for the curious mind. Experiencing the open road and the people, places, and communities along the way empowers young people to make connections and opens worlds of possibilities. More than a form of exercise or mode of transportation, a bike is the perfect tool for discovery for young and old alike!"
— Jesse McDonough, director of the Breakwater Bike Program
Product Details
Categories
Number of pages
256
Publication date
May 10, 2022
ISBN
9781641706681