Coming-of-age novel set in 1990s rural IRELAND
Talking Location With … Larry Walsh – AMERICA (and the cycling itch)
17th September 2026
Talking Location With… Larry Walsh, author of Forty to Finish – America
I didn’t set out to become an author. I set out to ride a bicycle across America.
My first journey was the Southern Tier Bike Route, a 3,100-mile ride across seven Southern states. I rode with a group, and like most long-distance cycling adventures, there were plenty of miles, hills, heat, headwinds, humidity and other challenges. But I discovered something else: I loved seeing America from the seat of a bicycle.
When we reached the Atlantic Ocean near St. Augustine, Florida, the end of the Southern Tier, I should have been satisfied. I had crossed the country on two wheels. The ride was over.
Instead, I realized I still had the cycling itch.
So I decided to cross the country again.
This time, however, I wouldn’t be riding with a group. I would be racing.
That second journey became Forty to Finish, the story of a 4,200-mile bicycle race across ten states and through countless small towns and communities. I had a very different goal this time: ride hard, keep moving and get to the finish.
But something unexpected happened along the way.
Traveling by bicycle changes the way you see a place. You can’t simply fly over it or speed past it on an interstate. You ride through the middle of it. You notice the people, the buildings and the stories behind them. They became as important to me as the miles.
History became part of that experience. During both cross-country rides, I traveled through lands that have long been home to Native American peoples, including the Apache, Nez Perce and Shoshone. Riding through those landscapes, it was impossible not to think about the people who lived there long before highways, railroads or modern towns.
In the West, I also found myself following portions of the same general route traveled by Lewis and Clark during their 1803 expedition. Knowing I was moving through some of the same landscapes they had explored more than two centuries earlier gave those miles a different meaning.
That history became part of the story I wanted to tell. The road wasn’t simply a route from one point to another. It connected me to the people, events and cultures that had shaped the country long before I arrived on my bicycle.
One place that captures what I love about traveling through America is Marfa, Texas, an old, funky Southwest Texas town that seems to exist between the past and present. Historic buildings, wide-open spaces and a Prada store standing alone in West Texas were my first clues that Marfa was different.
Then there is Virginia City, Montana, an old gold-rush town that seems to have stopped the clock. Walking—or riding—through Virginia City feels like stepping into another era. Much of its history remains right where it was.
The finish of the 4,200 mile ride – Yorktown, Virginia, where American history seems to surround you. Yorktown was the site of the decisive 1781 battle that helped bring the Revolutionary War to an end. Nearby is Jamestown, site of the first permanent English settlement in America. Riding through this part of Virginia, it is impossible not to think about how many chapters of American history unfolded along these roads and waterways.
My first book, Suit to Saddle, chronicles that original 3,100-mile journey through seven Southern states. Forty to Finish followed with a different route, a different challenge and a much faster pace. Both journeys taught me that location isn’t simply a backdrop.
That’s what I love about traveling by bicycle. You don’t just see America. You experience it at a speed that allows you to notice it.
You meet people, see the landscape change and discover towns you didn’t know existed. Sometimes you find a place that makes you stop and wonder about its story.
I began my first bicycle journey simply wanting to cross America. By the time I finished the second, I had become fascinated by the America in between—the small towns, history, people and stories that make each place different.
And now there’s another way to make that journey. Forty to Finish is also available as an audiobook, so you can listen to the story while you’re on the road yourself. Whether you’re driving across the country, taking a long afternoon ride or dreaming about the next adventure, the journey can travel with you.
Larry Walsh
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