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Paul Rega

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Trail of 32: The True Story of a Youthful Spirit That Knew Not of Defeat Kindle Edition

by Paul Rega (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.0 451 ratings

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TOP 100 ON AMAZON AT #86, #1 TRAVEL, #1 SPORTS & RECREATION, #2 MEMOIRS AND #2 TRAVEL ADVENTURE

THE ASTONISHING TRUE STORY of a group of thirty-two boys and leaders who accomplished an amazing feat in 1972, when they rode their bicycles from Wood Dale, Illinois to Jacksonville, Florida. It was a simpler time--a common sense two-pedal world with realistic adventures, and everyday heroes. An innocence was lost when twenty-six young boys in a small rural town set out to accomplish something bigger than themselves.

Their journey of nearly 1,400 miles would take them through eight states, crossing over the Great Smoky Mountains. It was a tremendous achievement--one that would be hailed as the longest organized bike hike in the history of Scouting.

PRAISE FOR TRAIL OF 32

"Really enjoyed the read...ride! Brought you back to a time of fewer worries and wonderful experiences." --Doolah

"....young boys with hearts and spirits the size of a giant!" --Maurine Roller

"I keep thinking this has got to come out as one of the greatest experiences for these boys. I would put this up with any amount of education, any amount of travel and any amount of history. I just can't say enough about an organization that puts itself through a thing like this." --Mal Bellairs, Former Radio Talk Show Host, WIVS-AM, Crystal Lake, Illinois

"Rega writes with wonderful prose about the life of Boy Scouts, about his experience and the impact the movement had on his life....a fantastic piece of nostalgia, a tribute to the best of an organization and the best of the human spirit." --Christoph Fischer Books

"Take a deep breath and prepare yourself for the journey of a lifetime!" --D.G. Torrens, Bestselling Author of Amelia's Story

"....be prepared...this book is tough to put down once you start reading it." --Danny Zoubek, BSA Leader

"While reading this I feel like I was given exclusive access to a time machine where I was able to lose myself in the past for a brief time." --Jellis

"....beautifully written and I kept wanting more. All the details throughout the book made me feel as if I was part of them. I could clearly see the images in my head, like a movie." --Jude Ouvrard, Bestselling Author of Ophelia

"What amazing young men and what a wonderful experience that they were able to accomplish their dream! It makes one positive about our future." --Sue Olson

"The descriptive writing expressed well the inner struggles that all young boys must go through to know themselves and others. It was an example of the possibilities of an innocent age, as a nation and an individual." --Bonaventure Lussier

"This book was wonderful....the author keeps the story moving, and I didn't want to put it down." --Bratty

"Paul Rega knows how to tell a story...." --Diane Olsen

scouting, scouting for boys, girls, girl scouts, baden powell, william dickson w. d. boyce, memoirs, travel biographies & personal memoirs, boys, midwest, south, east, adventurers and explorers, coming of age, bike, cycling, bike hike, scout, boy scouts, bsa, bicycle touring, true accounts, boys and men, true story, bicycle memoir, growing up 1950's, 1960's, 1970's, values, manners, boy adventure, travel essays & travelogues, florida, illinois, kentucky, indiana, south carolina, north carolina, abbeville, georgia, gatlinburg, tennesse, united states, action and adventure

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I keep thinking this has got to come out as one of the greatest experiences for these boys. I would put this up with any amount of education, any amount of travel and any amount of history. I just can't say enough about an organization that puts itself through a thing like this." -- Mal Bellairs, Former Radio Talk Show Host, WIVS-AM, Crystal Lake, Illinois"Take a deep breath ....prepare yourself for the journey of a lifetime!" -- D.G. Torrens, Bestselling Author of Amelia's Story"A heart warming and inspirational story of the Boy Scouts. I would give it 10 stars if possible. ....something for everyone in this book and you certainly don't have to be a boy scout or interested in scouts to love this book!" --Maurine Roller "Paul Rega wrote a page-turning story--especially for us 'Baby-Boomers'!"

From the Author

Trail of 32chronicles an amazing feat about thirty-two boysand leaders, who rode their bicycles nearly 1,400 miles from theirhometownof Wood Dale, Illinois to Jacksonville, Florida in 1972. At 14 years old, the author was ajunior leader on the trip.

This is a true coming of age story about growing up in the late 1950's through the early 70's. There were no cell phones, GPS or even bike helmets at that time. However, the Scouts were armed with their new Sears Free Spirit 10-speed bikes, and a unique set of values they learned as children. The historic trip has been hailed as the longest organized bike hike in the history of Scouting. The boy's adventure was covered by many TV and radio stations as well as several newspapers throughout the country. The book contains 24 original pictures from the trip, many taken by the author in 1972.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00EXC1BWW
Publisher ‏ : ‎ RegaBooks (April 15, 2014)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 15, 2014
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 7561 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 388 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #2,013,863 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #702 in Cycling (Kindle Store)
- #1,188 in Cycling Travel Guides
- #1,301 in Hiking & Walking Travel

Customer Reviews:
4.0 451 ratings

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Paul Rega

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"Paul Rega was drawing me in with an emotional hook and engrossed me completely in this read. That is the sign of a good author, to present his tale, connect with the reader and evoke something from them." --Top 500 Amazon Reviewer

Paul Rega is an Amazon Top 100 bestselling author. He began his writing career in 1980 while attending Western Illinois University as a staff reporter for the Western Courier. Upon graduating with a degree in biology and journalism, he spent the next thirty years in business having started an executive search firm in 1984. His passion for writing stayed with him throughout his business life, and he started writing his first book in 1993. He published, How To Find A Job: When There Are No Jobs in December 2011. The book was an instant success, and hit #1 on Amazon's bestseller list for career and job hunting books in March 2012, and is ranked “One of the best Career Development eBooks of all time,” by BookAuthority. He published 12 Steps To Freedom in August 2013, Trail of 32, a true coming of age story in September 2013, and A Two Pedal World: The Beginning and A Two Pedal World: The Journey series in May 2014. Paul currently lives in a small town along the Gulf Coast of Florida, where he is writing a young adult mystery series.

Books By Paul Rega

A Billy Logan Mystery Series (Coming Soon)

The Buried Camera (01)

The Dead Fish (02)

The Hitchhiker (03)

The Stinky Oyster (04)

A Two Pedal World-The Beginning

A Two Pedal World-The Journey

Trail of 32

12 Steps To Freedom

How To Find A Job: When There Are No Jobs

Twitter: twitter.com/paulregabooks

Facebook: facebook.com/paulregabooks

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/paulrega

Pinterest: pinterest.com/paulrega/boards/

Goodreads: goodreads.com/paulrega

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4 out of 5

451 global ratings

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Much can be learned by being a Scout

Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2016

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I enjoyed retelling parts of this book to my husband ( this account is under my husband's name ). This book is about a time when you wouldn't worry that someone's interest in your child(ren) was for the right reasons. I am full of admiration for the volunteers who step up and stay strong for the good of future generations. Scouting can teach a youth so much. One of my regrets is that we did not give Boy Scouts a longer try but having to be a stressed, two wage-earner family with limited free time got in the way.
The first half of the book come from the standpoint of a person, now a grown man with children of his own, who recognises the sacrifices of those who made the decision to lead him as a boy. The last half describes the 'desserts'. What I mean is that a scout leader labors in hope that their efforts have a positive effect on their charges. In this case the troop rose to the self imposed challenges of a bike journey from their hometown ( in the Chicago area ) to Florida. None of the work leading up to the trip was easy and the boys learned everything about planning and preparation to conditioning themselves for the grueling trip.
If you are thinking about getting your son into Boy Scouts then this book will encourage you.

2 people found this helpful

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Andrea Duggan

memorable memoir

Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2014

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The book was interesting but far different from what I expected. The story is told to us by a man as he remembers his childhood and the impact his experiences then are on the man he became now. The actual story of the trail of 32 doesn't come until maybe the late part of the middle of the book. Prior to that he reminisces his childhood. I am well into my 50's and I could easily relate to the things as they were in the late1960's. It was a kind of an interesting way to walk down my own memories of childhood at that time.
The story can get a little redundant and the editing is very poor. Many times there are entire passages or pages repeated.
But, overall, I as glad I read he book and it spurred many topics of conversation with my current friends as to how life as " back n the day".

2 people found this helpful

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Kerry L. Reis

An Incredible True Biking Tale in the Second Half

Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2015

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In the summer of 1972, a group of scouts and their leaders conceived and undertook the longest planned bicycle trip of over 1400 miles from Wood Dale, Illinois through eight states to Jacksonville, Florida. The author was one of the scouts on this journey and his book is his personal recollection of the adventure this scout troop undertook. The tale of the journey in itself was very interesting and engaging as it explored the hopes and goals behind the excursion, as well as the challenges and unexpected surprises encountered along the trip. Unfortunately, except for a look-back remembrance intro in the second and third chapters, the actual story of the germination, preparation and trip does not start until the middle of chapter eighteen, well past a third of the book. Within this first third-plus section, the author focuses on his young autobiography and family history that is somewhat unfocused in leading the reader to the main object of the book, the bicycle tour undertaken by the scout troop. It would have been better if some of the more interesting tidbits in this autobiographical section that provide a sense of background to the commitment and character of the author and his fellow scouts in this undertaking had been related as thoughtful flashbacks during the trek. I did find a fair number of grammatical and typographical errors, but felt the number to be in an acceptable range as I did become engaged in an incredible and challenging accomplishment in scouting history.

Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2023

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Good story of perseverance through the storms of life. Good accomplishment by such young boys! Thank you for sharing your story.

One person found this helpful

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Ann Osborn

An exceptional book about an incredible journey!!

Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2020

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What an amazing book to read! Trail of 32 was an excellent book that to me was about family, friendships, life lessons, courage, discipline and determination. The chapters leading up to the ride could easily be its own book. The bike ride was fun to read and you just never knew what the next day or next stretch of road had in store for the boys! It was written in a way that the reader felt like they were part of the journey. The many acts of kindness they received from so many people along the way was very heartwarming. I would definitely recommend this book!

Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2016

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As an eagle scout and cycling enthusiast I thought this book would be right up my alley. I made it through the first 14 chapters–about a third of the way through the book–and the story of the actual bike trip still hadn't started. I didn't grow up in the same time period so I didn't have the benefit of nostalgia to help me power through this. The book contained specifics (location descriptions, character introductions, period-specific events, etc) that required attentiveness, but I never felt this attention was rewarded because the stories themselves lacked sufficient detail to be fully engaging.

Example, "My neighbor Scott, was the fastest and I was second fastest. I could catch him on occasion, but only if I caught him off guard or cornered him in an area where he couldn't get through the bushes".

Many parts of the book read more like a trip report than a narrative. With the exception of the story of the author's death-defying canoeing trip with his father toward the beginning of the book, I never found myself captivated. Ultimately, It reminded me of reading a family member's verbose journal: mildly interesting, but not a real page-turner.

2 people found this helpful

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beemerphile1

Good book, well written for the most part but ...

Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2015

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Good book, well written for the most part but could use some editing. I enjoyed reading it. While there are some errors, it is not so many as to be overly distracting.

The book starts out slow and in fact the first 15 or so chapters could be eliminated without affecting the book negatively. The book is written as a nostalgic look back by the author to an event of his youth. The first part of the book is purely nostalgic recollections without being pertinent to the main story. In fact the beginning moves so slow that I almost stopped reading and deleted the book.

Eventually it does get to the planning of a great bicycle adventure and then to the adventure itself. Once the story line got to that point it was a good read.

4 people found this helpful

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Julie H

Good Read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 7, 2015

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I really enjoyed this book, i had already read the first book and some of the information was repeated in the second but this was not a bad thing as it was a good aid to refreshing my memory.It was a good build up to the actual journey, it was almost like a travelogue as well as the story of their momentous challenge. Well worth reading.

One person found this helpful

1D82 Many

Interesting true story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 4, 2014

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This story details an epic journey through eight states in America by a group of young boy scouts and their scout leaders.

I enjoyed the way the book detailed more than just the actual journey itself and that the fundraising, organization and education was part of the whole coming of age journey. I'm sure many of the boys would have found the whole experience an education in itself.

There are some incredibly difficult and some exciting moments for the group as a whole as well as individual triumphs and hardships along the arduous route. The enormity of the challenge as a whole only sank in about halfway through the book.

This is a long story, written in fabulous detail and all in all this book is a great read.

2 people found this helpful

Jane

Trail of 32

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 30, 2013

Verified Purchase

This was an autobiography by Paul Rega. I did enjoy his stories about his early life, but the book felt way too long - particularly as they didn't start on the promised bike ride until more than halfway through the book, which I found a bit frustrating. However if you have the stamina this is an interesting read detailing an incredible achievement, which I can't imagine happening in these days of greater traffic worries and more concern with health and safety.

One person found this helpful

leo

Trail of 32

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 24, 2014

Verified Purchase

I really enjoyed reading something other than non-fiction for once, this is a great book.

2 people found this helpful

tom elder

True story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 17, 2013

Verified Purchase

Paul Rega. True story
Trail of 32
This is a story of growing up and being part of the scout movement, 32 boys head out on a 1400 miles cycle trek to Florida. This journey takes them through eight states.
The journey was probably the largest ever undertaken at the time, and must have been one of the greatest achievements of its time.
The journey was in its self an education and in 1972 it was a fantastic thing to have done.
This book is a terrific read and very emotional in bits, it is very well written and I am sure you will enjoy reading it.
4 stars. 17 October 2013 .

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