Metal Cowboy: Tales from the Road Less Pedaled

by Joe Kurmaskie

Book Overview

An excerpt Our story so far: Oh, To Be Young and Go Very, Very Fast It was 5:30 a. m. in Pocatello, Idaho, a thin sheet of icy rain masked sunrise, and I wasn't quite sure I was up for my latest... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0609809113
• ISBN13: 9780609809112
• Release Date: April 2002
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (CA)
• Length: 328 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

This book is an undiscovered treasure

What a surprise to read a book about cycling that's really about life. The last book I read that got to me this much was Blue Highways. Metal Cowboy comes at you in perfectly timed spurts. It's funny for a few stories then works into you with some heartfelt moments. I really did feel like I was taking an unpredictable but wonderful thrill ride with this guy.

Metal Cowboy: Tales from the Road Less Pedaled

I love this book! From it's eye-catching cover to it's unique format. It's autobiographical yet reads like a series of fictional short stories. Sometimes touching, other times amusing, and always interesting. It's a great read!

I couldn't stop laughing

The best way to reach me is to make me laugh. Metal Cowboy delivered time and again. It makes the tearjerkng parts in these stories better because the tension is released. You feel like you are riding into these places and meeting the people in vivid detail. Good on ya, Mate as they say downunder... the outback story about the friendly game of darts was my favorite piece... get this book for that one alone.

Like correspondence from a good friend

I can't say I've ever met the metal cowboy but I feel like I know him. These stories, which cracked me up most of the time, opened up a window into the workings of a talented writer and even more, a very decent human being. You get to know all sorts of off beat, lost and found type folks who people these essays, but it's the metal cowboy who is just as interesting. That's saying something because the heros and villains met along the way are not window dressing. Colorful halfwits and misunderstood genius throughout who shine on their own, but even more so because the metal cowboy is sincerely interested in them, where they're going and how they touched him and vice versa. A laugh on the surface with more than meets the eye. highly recommend.

These 40 stories take the reader on a delightful ride.

Joe Kurmaskie's first book, "Metal Cowboy," is fashioned from loos, flowing prose, the kind that invites adjectives like "witty" and "insightful." But heart-warming, feel-good travel narratives are easy to find. It is more unusual to read one that fosters a deeper understanding of the overall experience and transcends mere outrageousness. These 40 "Tales From the Road Less Pedaled" do not follow chronological order. Instead they jump around - from childhood sailing trips to crossing the Rocky mountainsto spending a season on the isalnd of Aruba - and focus more on developing a conversational yet intimate manner with the reader. Most of the stories feature a quirky man or woman, somehoe alienated by society, who is living life on their own terms, determined to follow their heart. Either they live ina small town and share an experience with Kurmaskie, or they spend a few hours or days cycling with him. Elvis impersonators, a double lower leg amputee, a flamboyant Italian barber, overprotective geese, and a bomb-builder turned zealous rockhound are merely a sampling of the characters Kumaskie meets on the road. However, Kurmaskie doesn't rely on extremes to keep his book engaging. He deftly tackles difficult subjects, too, and displays a remarkable aptitude for compassion and contemplation. For example, in "Doing the Hokey-Pokey," Ranada O'Ryan, a high-school drop-out turned factory worker takes Kurmaskie to her senior prom and he graciously plays the part of adoring boyfriend. He connects with parents who have lost their children to accidents or disease, assists a man suffering from AIDS, and struggles to make peace with both loggers and environmentalists. Overall, he understands many readers crave a vicarious experience, one that satidfies their sense of adventure and enhances their understanding of people. His stories are full of optimism, zaniness and insight, a winning combination that will take readers on a delightful ride.