The Limey Project

The Limey Project is an incredible adventure into the heart of America and into the self. Two young Brits plan to challenge themselves and cast off their youthful anxieties by cycling across the country twice; traveling from Seattle to Miami, via San Diego. With paper maps, free from phones, wearing baggy shorts and old tennis shoes, astride overloaded bikes and heading into winter, they naively but eagerly set off.
They journey through deserts, mountains and forests, pausing to be drawn into the darker nightlife of the cities. They are harassed by felons, guzzle a gazillion gas station coffees, and their food is stolen by the beasts of the wild. They encounter Hollywood millionaires, homeless dreamers, 103 dead roadside pets, ecosystems on the edge, and an alarmingly large number of people with guns. Access to this diverse, yet intimate, America is afforded only by the extraordinary power of the humble bicycle.
They encounter a nation trying to find its identity, at an extraordinary time in its history. As the journey goes on, significant global events unfold with a strange serendipity, and daily experiences take on a surreal nature. When their closest friend becomes an invisible, talking bear they start to worry they are losing their minds. But when the tyres hit the beach after 4,500 miles, they realise it was all real and that they - and the world - will never be the same again.

Adam Stones is an award-winning writer and communications consultant. His work focuses on supporting organisations addressing social and environmental issues, and on building the skills of changemakers. He grew up in Sherborne, Dorset and read Classics at Birmingham University. After completing the adventure described in The Limey Project, Stones became committed to supporting cycling - he assisted with UK national cycling campaigns, volunteered for cycling charities - including Sustrans and the London Cycling Campaign, and wrote for a number of magazines. He now lives in Amsterdam where part of his role is as a strategic advisor to BYCS, the international cycling culture change agency, responsible for the fast-growing global Bicycle Mayor network. He has been quoted discussing cycling culture in Forbes, The Guardian and Fast Company. In 2019, he delivered a popular TED talk entitled 'How cycling transforms people and places' and he spoke on the need to embed cycling into cities at the Urban Future Global Conference in Oslo. He is also the author of 'And Other Stories', a collection of short fiction and his book on how to improve the communications skills of entrepreneurs will be published by BIS in 2021.