Date: Fri 27-Aug-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

Sarah-Hale-mountain-bike-book

Full Text:

Author Takes On Seat-Of-The Pants Writing Projects

(with photo)

BY STEVE BIGHAM

Sarah Hale's love of bicycling grew even stronger a few years back after she

and some friends biked their way through Europe. The wide open expanses of the

European highways allowed her to cruise the continent.

A few years later, the former Newtown resident was writing about the bicycle

highways of her home state of Maine. But these particular highways aren't

found on a map. They're the ones you find in the back woods, where rocks,

trees and cliffs are found around every corner. They're the kind of highways

only a mountain bike would dare contend with.

Published last year, Sarah Hale's Mountain Bike! Maine can now be found at

such places as the sportsman's mecca known as LL Bean in Freeport, ME,

Amazon.Com, and other fine stores.

So how does a fabric store manager, who had never even ridden a mountain bike,

end up writing a book about them -- a book many critics are calling a one of a

kind?

"I responded to an advertisement in an adventure cycling magazine. They were

looking for authors," said Sarah, a 1988 Newtown High School graduate. "Three

days later, I got a call from an editor who was looking to do a series of

books on mountain biking."

Before long, she was combing the back woods of Maine, exploring trail networks

in Acadia National Park, old logging roads and other narrow paths. And she did

it all on the seat of a mountain bike.

"It's all off-road. I learned rather quickly that mountain biking is an

entirely different sport from road biking," Sarah said. "It's intense, it's

high impact, it's hard core. It's `I hope I have my teeth when I'm done with

this.'"

After more than a year of research (not to mention a lot of sore muscles), the

Newtown author had completed her work. The book's detailed trail descriptions

were regarded as the first of their kind in Maine, a place where thousands of

vacationers go each year for a little recreation. Just a half day's drive from

most New England points, Maine still offers remote, rugged and wild areas --

places where you'll find few signs of life (except for the occasional bear or

moose).

When her book was complete, Sarah returned to her job as manager of the Chintz

& Prints fabric store in Brunswick, the sister store of Dave Gardner's Newtown

store. Sarah worked at C&P in Newtown for several years while in high school

and then during her college summers.

"Dave was so supportive of me. I don't think there's another job in the world

that would have allowed me to take off so much time to write the book," she

said.

And it wasn't just one book. Sarah recently completed her second book as part

of the mountain bike series. This book -- about the mountain bike paths of the

Atlantic region of Canada -- is due out anytime.

This book, also part of the America by Mountain Bike series, took her to the

far reaches of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and

Newfoundland where she discovered a vast array of mountain bike trails. For

this book, she collaborated with a friend from college. The two spent the

summers of 1997 and 1998 doing research. Sarah was somewhat familiar with the

area, having graduated from McGill Montreal in 1992. A member of the rowing

team, she often traveled throughout the eastern part of Canada.

"People are intrigued by the fact that I sold fabric and wrote about mountain

biking," he said. "For me, this was a safe way to enter the world of

publishing. Being part of a series, I knew it was a book that was wanted."

Sarah earns a percentage of each sale in the form of royalties.

So what about a next book for the girl who was born in Birmingham, England and

grew up in Newtown?

"I'm going to take some time off. I was offered an opportunity to do a guide

for the national parks and monuments of the West Coast," she said. "I turned

it down, though. I'd like to take some time to reflect."

Mountain Bike! Maine is on display at the Chintz & Prints store in Newtown.