BOOKMONGER
Pedaling for a cause
Summer is the season of road
trips, and mishaps always seem
to be part of the package. A
wrong turn, a flat tire, a food poi-
soning episode. These are no fun
in the moment, but they make
for great stories back home.
Well, anthropology professor
Paula Holmes-Eber and aeronau-
tical and civil engineer Lorenz
Eber, of Bainbridge Island,
Washington, raised the bar sev-
eral notches when they decided
to take a road trip around the
world by bicycle.
The trip was taken together
with the pair’s adolescent daugh-
ters, Yvonne and Anya. It was
also taken despite the fact
that Paula had contended with
asthma since childhood. But as
they began to contemplate the
idea seriously, Paula’s chronic
disease became the motiva-
tion for the journey. And that
year-and-a-half-long road trip
is the subject of their new book,
“Breathtaking.”
The family realized that by
circling the globe using a car-
bon-free mode of transportation,
and having so many face-to-face
encounters along the way, they
could raise awareness about the
link between the world’s declin-
ing air quality and the fact that
asthma rates have doubled since
1980. Around the world, more
than 1,000 people per day die
from asthma. Other respiratory
illnesses linked to air pollution
kill over seven million people
annually.
With the help of friends, the
Ebers formed a nonprofit called
World Bike for Breath. They
developed partnerships with
three asthma organizations, gar-
nered six outdoor corporate
sponsors, learned how to ride
tandem bikes and remortgaged
their own house before all the
pieces were in place for a jour-
ney that would take them across
North America, Europe, Asia,
the South Pacific and Australia.
Along the way, they had won-
derful encounters with farmers,
monks, students, other cyclists
20 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
This week’s book
‘Breathtaking,’ by Paula Holmes-
Eber and Lorenz Eber
Falcon – 360 pp – $24.95
and — less positively — Rus-
sian drug smugglers. They dealt
with an earthquake in Taiwan, a
broken foot in New Zealand, a
potentially lethal insect bite in
Tonga, rain storms, blizzards,
heat waves and a tornado. This
all while Paula had to contend
with her asthma.
Yvonne and Anya kept up
their studies on tropical beaches,
in alpine meadows, in their tent
at night and on the side of the
road when their dad had to fix
the occasional flat tire.
But the world itself was an
open book. These travelers saw
the Parthenon, the Great Wall
of China and the Bolshoi Ballet.
They watered camels in Mongo-
lia, rode elephants in Thailand
and dealt with monster mosqui-
toes in Montana. These were
probably ancestors of the same
insects Capt. Meriwether Lewis
once found very troublesome
when the Corps of Discovery
camped in the same area more
than 200 years earlier.
The group of riders were
interviewed by media out-
lets around the world and also
reported on their adventures
through a blog. Now, this book
gives space for each family
member to share their thoughts
about the journey.
A smattering of color images
and some rudimentary maps
accompany the text, leav-
ing readers wanting more. But
the adventure-stuffed narrative
delivers so much to think about.
What these four accomplished is,
undeniably, breathtaking.
The Bookmonger is Barbara
Lloyd McMichael, who writes
this weekly column focusing on
books, authors and publishers of
the Pacific Northwest. Contact
her at barbaralmcm@gmail.com.
‘Breathtaking’ is by
Paula Holmes-Eber
and Lorenz Eber.