Hell on two wheels An astonishing story of suffering, triumph, and the most extreme endurance race in the world

Perhaps the most burning question about Race across America (RAAM) is why most of us have never heard of it. The annual 3,000-mile, cross-country bicycle race has been going since 1982, and among ultradistance cycling devotees, merely completing it constitutes a tremendous achievement. Winning it catapults a cyclist into the sport's stratosphere. More than twice as lengthy as the Iditarod, it takes roughly the same time to complete (about 10 days), but of course, you don't get hauled around by a team of sled dogs. Long-distance cyclist Snyder followed the 2009 RAAM, and her book, which focuses on a handful of the participants, is an absolute must-read for cycling fans. The writing is vivid and tactile (e.g.. the desiccating air that sucks the moisture from your mouth and eyeballs ), and Snyder does an excellent job of conveying what it must feel like to be on that bike 20 or more hours every day, enduring the kind of self-inflicted punishment most people can barely imagine.--Pitt, Davi. Copyright 2010 Booklist