“The unexamined life is not worth living,” Socrates supposedly said. We all can look back to reflect on what we have done or thought about what we might have done instead. Bill Humphreys is someone who has not followed what one might consider a normal progression in life. In his charming book, “What If?”, he offers up a collection of short stories from “an audacious life.” The author writes: “After reading this book, you can draw comfort (or envy!) from realizing whether you made the right choices after all.”
The book begins with quite an arresting opening. “In 1973, I was a member of Team USA at the Cycling World Championships in Barcelona, Spain. My teammates had raced in past World Championships and Olympic Games, but I was the new guy who had been a 220-pound truck driver just three years earlier.” At this point in his life, Bill Humphreys had already had quit a bit of adventure. After graduating from prep school, he got a summer job as a kitchen pot washer on a container ship. The boat would call in on some of the less attractive ports in South America. These were places where you would not walk alone. The job had long hard hours, relieved by carousing on land with the crew when the ship docked.
Then it was off to Virginia where he flunked out of college after two years. This was the first of six colleges he would eventually attend before getting his diploma three decades later. He had factory jobs, attended night school and drove 18-wheelers all over the country. At 26 he fled to the West Coast with a red Austin Healey to live the crazy California beach life. Faced with the risk of losing his precious driver’s license, he sold the car and bought a bicycle and there his life changed.
The bicycle was transportation to work but then it was for weekend rides up the coast. Then he attended a time trial and was hooked on bike racing but gave it up when the results did not come. But still he loved riding and in 1972 rode from San Diego to his hometown of East Hartford in Connecticut. “It was just the beginning of my fifty-year odyssey with the bike as my instrument of personal growth and education.”
Within a year he was competing at the Tour of Ireland and the Worlds in Spain. This makes him a pioneer of modern cycling in the United States. Teammates included notables Jim Ochowicz and Mike Neel (both of whom would be involved with the successful American 7-Eleven Cycling Team). John Howard was there too. A veteran of the Olympics, Howard won the first two editions of the Red Zinger road race in Colorado. He would also win the 1981 Ironman race, ride in the inaugural Race Across America (RAAM) in 1982, and set a land-speed record in 1985 before moving on to success in coaching. Heady company for Bill!
The book has stories about his racing days, reminiscences culled from letters he sent home. It was a gypsy life, constantly moving from race to race. Even today, fifty years later, there is not much money in road racing in the United States and it must have been a lot tighter back then. The author, already 30, moved on from racing to other cycling-related occupations. Over the years these would range from coaching to race promotion to sales jobs in the cycling industry.
“The audacious life” was not without challenges. The excitement of constant movement also meant a lack of security and with a marriage and fatherhood later in life it required a return to long-distance truck driving to pay the bills. There are stories about this time in his life which reflect a vital but unsung job. Being away from home also puts pressure on domestic life and he is honest about the effects of this.
The bicycle returns to his life when he is in his 70s and one can feel the pleasure he takes in his rides . There is freedom on the road, time when you don’t need to think about financial issues or health problems. Ambition still can burn bright even with the passage of the years. One of the best sections of the book is Mr. Humphreys’ account of taking up gravel riding and going to Belgium to ride in the World Gravel Championships in 2024. At age 80.
“What If?” is a sympathetic look at a life lived. Of racing in Canada, Ireland, Spain, South Africa, Belgium. Of driving a big rig at 23, and at 54. Of the demands of relationships. Of the simple joys of riding a bike or swimming in a lake. Of the years slipping away. But, as the author writes: “And my story is still unfolding.” An examined life indeed.
“What If?–A Collection of True Stories from an Audacious Life” by Bill Humphreys
124 pp., softbound, 2025
ISBN 237-0-022-56872-6
Price: US$21.50
The book may be ordered directly from the author HERE.
Also check out the author’s website for interesting stories and images HERE.
The post PEZ Bookshelf: What If? appeared first on PezCycling News.
