Home alone in the summer during a 1958 recession, with no job, and wanting to do something exciting to show for the quarter break, a nineteen-year-old, in this true account, decides to explore the lush and inviting Northwest. Launching right away into a questionable pursuit, he decides to follow the lure to Canada, Washington and Oregon, usung his most economical choice of transportation–his brother’s bicycle—an old three-speed pedal bike, despite it having only front wheel brakes, no lights, and only first gear working.
Since none of his invited friends are permitted to accompany him on such a dubious and dangerous jaunt, and ignoring several concerned warnings of many uncertainties along the way, he nevertheless straps some quickly–put–together supplies for a month’s solo venture—not forgetting his mother’s antique 1907 Brownie Box Camera. With $75 for food and film, he starts heading out on his own on a bright and early August morning.
Though faced with many trying, surprising, and some terrifying challenges during the following month, his only tools for the entire experience are a naive sense of indestructible confidence, determination, and a trust that when the time comes, he would be given whatever help was needed.
It was an adventure few had taken back then, and one that probably even fewer are likely to experience today, given the circumstances. Readers may find themselves riveted to the pages right to the very end. One reader said of the book, “You need to contact Steven Spielberg, for consideration of having this story made into a movie”!
Author’s overlook
of The Book
Reasons for going on the bike trip:
With a recession during the college summer break of 1958, no jobs seemed available. Sterling didn’t want his summer to be a waste, so he determined to use the rest of it in pursuit of adventure.
Why he went alone:
He couldn’t find anyone whose parents felt confident enough to let their son go on such a venture.
Why he went by pedal bike:
Biking seemed to be the least expensive way to travel. It was different, an adventure, and a challenge.
Why he went where he did:
Having heard and read about the Northwest and Canada, he had a desire to see it for himself.
Regarding fears of going alone:
He wasn’t afraid, but most people tried to discourage him from attempting the trip. They reminded him of highway hazards and other dangers. These warnings must have influenced a frightful dream he had of being in distress in a wild forest area with bears. However, his Aunt Delores Brown and Marsha Egan, a local mother in the area, both expressed confidence in him and supported his decision to go. His brother Stanley seemed to take it for granted, so he took that for another vote of confidence as well.
Outside help received:
His brother gave him $25.00, which supplemented the $50.00 he already had. He used his brother’s old English Royal three-speed bike, which had been lying on the grass in the back yard of his grandparents’ home for several months. It had only first gear working to start off with, and the crankshaft was out of line and needed to be welded. This was done right away at a local mechanic shop. Several maps on which he marked his tentative course proved indispensable. Also, several people during the trip, volunteered various forms of assistance.
Items he took:
Along with the bike, he took an extra set of clothes, two canteens, a camera, a pot for cooking, whole grain cereals, a swimming suit, an army field jacket, a sleeping bag, a tent shelter with accessories, toiletries, addresses, a notebook and a few other miscellaneous items.
The number of weeks he expected to be gone:
He planned to be pedaling for about five weeks. However, to keep within the timeframe, the trip was cut about a thousand miles shorter than was earlier anticipated in his youthful idealism.
Who he planned on visiting:
He planned on visiting his Grandpa Brown’s sister Ila Lamb in Portland, Ore., and friends in Reedsport and Klamath Falls, Ore. He also planned on staying with never-before-known to him, members of his church in the cities where he was on weekends, in order to rest and attend Sunday services.
How much money he planned on spending each day:
With the budget he was limited to, he figured he could spend no more than an average of about $2.00 or less each day.
What he would do in a time of desperation:
He determined he would do all he could, and then pray for extra help–knowing that he would certainly need help in some way or another somewhere along the journey. As an afterthought–he concluded that the best equipment he had was perseverance, a fearless if not naive indomitable spirit, and trust in the protection of a Higher Power.
What’s inside
First Day Sample
First Week
10-16 August 1958, Miles (495)
First Day, Monday,
10 August 1958, Miles (80)
Salt Lake City, Utah to Tremonton, Utah
This was the summer of 1958, and I was home on a college summer break. There was a recession at the time, and without success had I tried to secure a job. The previous year, my brother and I had gone by ourselves on a rather lengthy and exciting Colorado River run, but this summer was now more than half over, and I had little to show for it. My grandparents whom I lived with were on a vacation in Palmyra, New York, and I was pretty much on my own as a nineteen-year-old, and getting fairly bored.
Having been intrigued with tales of the great Northwest and Canada, I yearned to see its lakes and forests. Wanting to have someone to go with me, I asked a few of my friends if they were interested; but upon asking their parents for permission, all were declined. Nevertheless, having no one close by to obtain permission from, I came up with the idea just the same of spending the rest of the summer fulfilling this rather spontaneous dream for adventure. An abandoned old bike would be my means of transportation.
So, being quite excited, I got up at about six o’clock on the morning of August the tenth. With no formal preparations on what was practical for such an adventure, or what to take, I gathered what I thought would be basically needed, tied them to the bike, and in short time was on my way to Canada.
I had quite a lot of belongings weighing the bike down. I figured that whatever problems I was going to have would surely pop up before too long. Well, sure enough, plenty of problems started showing up. In the first place, since the bike worked in first gear only, I found my legs getting very tired, especially on the flat roads. I had also developed a kink in my neck as the day wore on, since the bike seat wasn’t adjusted to the right height for me, and I wasn’t equipped with a tool or the know-how to fix the problem.
By the time I arrived at Brigham City, I had planned on going to Logan and biking through Yellowstone National Park, so I headed up Logan Canyon. After pumping for some time, I stopped and rested at a beautiful spot by a river in the canyon. While pondering there, I calculated that I would lose several days by having to push the bike up the steep grades ahead of me, so I decided to change my course. I turned around and headed out towards the desert flats of southeastern Idaho. I was also under the constraint of a limited budget, and thus not wanting to spend any more money than necessary. This accounts for why I ate rather slight meals.
As a very hot day wore on, I also developed a great pain in my side and came to realize that I had been drinking too much water. I found myself stopping along the side of the road about every other mile to find comfort from my aches, as well as to get a little sleep. I did this–dragging myself between rests, for the last seven miles before reaching Tremonton. One time when I was lying exhausted and in pain by the side of the road, a fellow stopped his truck to see if I had been run over by a car. We talked for a while, and when I told him of the ache in my side, he suggested that I chew gum or suck on a small rock each time I got thirsty, instead of drinking so much water. He said that it would keep moisture in my mouth while pumping in hot and dry areas. Sure enough, chewing gum proved to be a very helpful suggestion.
It was getting to be nighttime now, and Tremonton was finally in sight. I felt so weak and tired from pumping all the way in low gear that I decided to buy a decent meal. I located what seemed to be a nice restaurant, and entered, in hopes of nourishing myself back to good health. Funny though it may sound, and hungry though I was, I actually slept through a fair part of the meal, and even left my sun-sheltering hat. I was about a block away from the restaurant when I realized I had forgotten my hat, but I was so tired, that I chose not to go back to retrieve it. Instead, I focused on finding a sleeping spot, and in fact, secured one by a small evergreen tree of some sort in the city’s park. I thought to myself that if the next few days of the trip were as rough on me as this first day, or if I didn’t feel better in the morning, I just couldn’t go on!
Days
Pages
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About the author
Sterling H. Redd Sr.
Sterling has had an identified interest in writing since one of his grandmothers recognized his writing skill during his teens. Having been orphaned at 12 years of age, he began living with his mother’s parents. He later studied Sociology and English at Brigham Young University. Sterling served as a missionary in New Zealand. Then came a year of active military service during the Berlin Crisis. Later, upon receiving a BS degree at Brigham Young University, he taught high school English in the Salt Lake area. After receiving an MSW degree at the University of Utah, he served for over thirty years as a clinical social worker and writer/editor for the Utah State Department of Health.
He was called as a member of the Bonneville Stake mission presidency. He served in subsequent years in several stake missions among diverse cultures. Among his service experience, he has been a Gospel Doctrine teacher, a High Priest Group instructor, and a High Priest Group leader. Since his retirement, he has completed a mission call at an LDS Employment Resource Center assisting a widely diverse patronage in personal resume writing. He then served a local service mission in the LDS Family Services Addiction Recovery Program. He is currently enjoying serving in nearby temples.
He has had a life-long drive in recording beautiful and meaningful quotes, poems and scriptures which have helped mold his writing interests and have subsequently found their way into a few books in his retirement years. He has a love of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but in his concern over the national decline in scripture reading, and the fact that the general reading skill is below the junior high school level, he has had increased focus on and has spent decades in making scripture reading much more clear and easy for youth as well as mature readers, while maintaining the integrity of the original texts.
Sterling’s rather palpable love of people, nature, adventure, music and literature is reflected in his writing. He is the father of five grown children, and is currently residing in Salt Lake City with his wife and their aged cat.
Sterling H. Redd Sr.
