Changing Cadence: Meditations on Life, Family and Country from a Leather Bicycle Seat Paperback – March 28, 2014

"Point A to Point B" books (whether cycling, hiking, or hop-scotching) are only as good as the person telling the tale. Some of these books have an intriguing premise or an enormous geographic challenge, but if the writer's tone is off - either too superficial or too faux-philosophically heavy - the trek is like sitting next to a bore on a cross-country flight.No such problem occurs in Michael Dillon's Changing Cadence. The author has a case of mid-life, corporate burnout. After his position is terminated, he decides to fulfill a dream of biking across country by bike. His tone is pitch perfect. He has a gentle humor that served him well on this physically demanding journey. And, although a city guy living in Silicon Valley, Dillon describes the people he encounters in rural parts of the south with great respect, even tenderness. He's aware of the damage the 2008 recession did to the country and is aware of the economic divide that allows him to undertake such a trip while others are kind of trapped in these small, dying towns.More joyfully, Dillon has a great eye for beauty in nature. Through him we get to experience afterglow on mountains in Arizona, riots of wildflowers alongside quiet roads. The valley descents must have felt glorious. He's also a birder, so he introduces the reader to lots of our winged friends.Dogs were a menace that kept him on edge. Still there was a beautiful scene when Dillon glanced back at a dog trying to catch up to him. It turned out to be a watermelon-shaped mongrel with only three legs. Dillon slowed down enough to allow the poor dog to think he was actually giving chase to a cyclist. That, I think, tells you plenty about the writer.I really, really enjoyed this book. Maybe I'm biased because I also rode the Ventura to Ojai bike trail (although, round trip it's still less than 1% of the author's ride). Mr. Dillon is back in corporate America. If he's still in the legal department maybe he could work with HR to allow all middle-aged employees a special sabbatical to pursue such a trip as this!

I really enjoyed this book, but there were a few things more I would like to have heard about. The stories from the encounters across the country were outstanding. I've read a couple of other books on this topic of a cross-country ride. This was the first one I had read where the rider went across the southern U.S. That was interesting to hear about, especially about all the dogs the author encountered. There were many heartening stories of people along the way that he met and sometimes spent some time with. Those were all very good stories.The humor was very subtle in most cases and really well done. It was not a raucous book, but the author does not go out his way to try to be funny. I tried to read Blazing Bicycle Saddles and the author was way to in love with his sense of humor and it really detracted from the story for me. This guy has some funny moments but does not try to manufacture comedy and I very much appreciated that.What was missing a little for me was more details around where and when he found meals. I am thinking of doing a ride like this some day and would like to hear others experiences and more detail on that would have been nice. There was some information on that, but I would have enjoyed more. All in all, a very good book and well written for me. If you are a "birder", then there is a bonus in this book for you, because this guy knows his birds, and there is a fair amount of info about birds he sees/hears on his travels.

You can question the choice the author makes about how to scratch his mid-life itch, but you can't question the engaging writing style, imagery and conveyance of life on the road that he imparts in this sweet as southern ice tea road trip tale. We all long for and think about quitting the job and heading down the road to .. somewhere, it doesn't really matter, but the author actually did it. Kudos to him for giving us a vicarious glimpse into the life of a real road warrior. The author's 3,500 mile cycling adventure across the US gives us some compelling introspective, harrowing stops and starts, small town gossip and life, and a sense of a country that is surprisingly different in places as day and night yet also bound together in some wonderful ways. Grab your sunglasses, corral a lounge chair by the pool and sip that cold sweet ice tea as you enjoy this read.

You know you really like a book when you finish reading it and are sad you’re done. Changing Cadence is one of those books. Reading it takes you on a vicarious bike ride across the United States, and Dillon’s writing style make the book’s pages turn like a well-balanced wheel. But you don’t have to be a bike enthusiast to enjoy this book. Dillon’s captivating descriptions of the people he meets along the way will make you wish our country was wider, so that you could meet more of them. His commentary was thoughtful, and his self-deprecating humor produced more than a few belly laughs. The book ends with an unanswered mystery … how in the world did/does Dillon fit into corporate America, as he is very clearly not your “normal” General Counsel. After finishing it earlier today, I bought eight more copies to give away to some friends. Doing so is the ultimate “five star” recommendation.