Books about Kurmaskie from Amazon.com

Most people bring their inner child on an epic adventure Joe "Metal Cowboy" Kurmaskie actually took his two kids along. For a 4,000-mile bicycle ride across America, Joe's seven-year-old son, Quinn, rides a tagalong bike attached to his dad's; and behind that is five-year-old Enzo in a bike trailer

Our hero the Metal Cowboy answers the question "What are you, crazy?" with a resounding and cheerful "Yes." Unassisted-with no support crew except his boys' comic relief and the periodic kindness of strangers-he pedals hundreds of pounds of gear and offspring over mountain passes, across the wide plains, through thunderstorms, and into the heart of what it means to be a dad.

Along the way they encounter everything that makes up America-small-town kindness and inner-city heart, wild horses and highway roadkill, a?bitter Vietnam vet and a hopeful young inventor, grizzly bears and bison roaming free, cyclists and monstrous RVs, a very peppy cheerleader and a visitation from the ghost of the author's father, horrible traffic and serene dirt roads, a monastery and a distillery, baseball, and yes, lots of pie.

By the time they reach Washington, DC, two months after leaving Portland, Oregon, they've bonded in a rare way. Kurmaskie
writes, "We share a secret, the three of us; one permanent summer in our hearts now, where we're never apart."

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Price: $11.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

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 bicycling adventure. Coasting through the nearly deserted streets of this small Western town, I found myself poised at a stoplight An ingrained obedience to traffic laws coupled with a sleepy hangover from the long train ride kept me anchored in place though there wasn't a car in sight.

As I waited, an old rancher ambled up to the intersection. The fur collar on his long coat was tattered, crusted with tobacco stains, and faded. As his cane tapped its way over my bike, I noticed for the first time that he was blind. One eye drooped shut like that of a tomcat that had seen too many late-night brawls, while the other, still open, was cloudy and distant. That eye reminded me of an African tribesman seen in the pages of National Geographic who suffered from river blindness.

The old rancher continued to work his cane over me, tapping as he went. And though the light changed from red to green several times, I remained frozen, allowing this slow survey of my person. The moment felt intimate and awkward, but I did not break it. When he was done, the old rancher stood back, grinned through a ruin of teeth, and said, "Ah, metal cowboy."

I was dumbfounded and surprised; first, that he had spoken at all, and more importantly, that this battered husk of man had hit upon a perfect description of me at the time, and my story. Though I looked more like a surfer, or a guy on a fool's journey, to him I felt like a metal cowboy, the bike my horse, and the asphalt my trail. "Keep the wind at your back, and find where the innocent sleep," he added. Then, without fanfare, my rancher crossed the street and dissolved into the early morning mist.

A chill passed through me. I have thought about that old man many times during my travels. He was right about the wind, and as for locating where the innocent sleep, I want to believe he meant to look for the best in people along the road, and that's what you will often find. My bicycle has also brought me to the innocence and the best in myself. Collective.
Price: $10.35 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Like a modern-day Don Quixote, Joe Kurmaskie—bike adventurer, writer, and twelve-year-old boy trapped in a man’s body—wanders the world on two wheels, often with hilarious results, in Riding Outside the Lines.
A jaunt through such far-flung locations as Ireland, Australia, Mexico, South America, and beyond, here is a collection of tales woven together with one central theme: the world is a much smaller place when you view it from the seat of a bicycle.

Whether he’s weekending in the buff after accidentally stumbling into a nudist colony wedding, knocking back red wine in tin cans with a gun-toting ex–bounty hunter, combing the countryside in a quest to find the all-girl bagpipe squad he met in his dreams, or playing a rousing game of ice golf on the frozen tundra, Joe Kurmaskie writes of his gonzo global trek in a spirit infused with insight, good humor, and optimism. Riding Outside the Lines encourages travel buffs and armchair explorers alike to get on your bike and see the beauty of our planet and the colorful souls who populate it..
Price: $4.75 [Notify me when price goes down.]

These are first-person stories of dads who haven't let real life (mortgage, marriage, career, kids) destroy their sense of adventure If you're anything like Joe Kurmaskie and his legion of Adventure Dads, you're not going down without a fight. It's time to adapt and evolve, to turn your yearning for the wild into something for the good of the whole family. Bringing kids on outdoor expeditions leads to closer relationships, trust, respect, and physically and emotionally confident kids. Getting everyone up off the couch and out the door is an investment in your children that will pay dividends throughout their lives.

Each inspiring story from two dozen different Adventure Dads is book ended by lively practical guides for anyone who needs guidance in a new activity, with tips, resources, how-to advice, pitfalls, age and ability considerations, safety tips, and more. You'll be prepared for daytrips, weekend outings, weeklong trips, or epic season-length expeditions.

Subjects covered include sailing, sledding, surfing, rock climbing, bicycle touring, canoeing, hiking, snowshoeing, kayaking, dog sledding, dune riding, snorkeling, rafting, backpacking, mountain biking, snowboarding, geocaching, fly fishing, and skiing.

Joe Kurmaskie is the author of Metal Cowboy (Breakaway, 1999), Riding Outside the Lines (Crown, 2001), and Momentum Is Your Friend (Breakaway, 2006).

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Price: $16.29 [Notify me when price goes down.]