10 Little Rules for a Double-Butted Adventure

Teri M. Brown has taken us on several historical adventures, and I have loved them all. Now, in her latest, 10 Little Rules for a Double-Butted Adventure, she takes us on the real-life road trip she took with her husband, Bruce, journeying across the United States on a tandem bike.

The title makes sense for a tandem bike ride, yes? Two butts on bike seats. But Brown provides an additional explanation for the title that I wouldn’t have known. I love books where I learn things!

A cross-country bike ride had long been on the bucket list of Bruce, Brown’s new husband. But a tandem bike ride was a different adventure entirely. Brown was a novice bike rider, still struggling with feelings of insecurity and self-doubt from her first marriage. Her husband, Bruce, had health issues and had to adjust his customary style of riding to his wife’s different style. And no amount of preparation and practice can truly prepare a person for this kind of undertaking. There’s no telling what will really happen until you’re living it.

With wit, gentle humor, and personal anecdotes from their travels, Brown shares the challenges she and Bruce faces and the things they learned. From hills, hills, and more hills, to weather, to physical and mental fatigue, they dealt with obstacles on each leg of the journey. She also offers insight into how the things she learned on the trip can apply to the reader’s daily life, too. Even if I’m not biking across the entire country, “Never quit on a bad day” is always a good rule to follow.

The book is divided into ten sections, with each section representing a rule from Brown’s experience, and she includes questions for self-reflection and space for journaling after each rule. I read a digital review copy, so I didn’t take advantage of the self-reflection part of the book on this read. I will, however, get myself a hard copy so I can reread it and do just that!

If you want a book that will encourage and inspire you, pick up 10 Little Rules for a Double-Butted Adventure. You might find some wisdom to start you off on your own adventure!