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dead reckoning: the photo book. yonder journal. 136pp illus. $45 (£37)

dead reckoning book cover

"the power of positive thinking is a crock - long live the willing acceptance of the inevitable"

man's spirit of adventure is that which ultimately led to contemporary knowledge of the four corners of the world. the latter is a phrase dependent on the mistaken understanding that the earth was flat; sail or walk too far in any direction and the intrepid would unquestionably fall into the abyss. however, it's possible that i may be guilty of scientific innacuracy by describing the theory of a flat earth as adhered to in error. believe it or not, there is still, in the second decade of the 21st century, an active flat earth society.

i jest not.

this society base their convictions on two principal observations: the horizon always rides to meet eye level, which (they maintain) is impossible on a spherical planet". as if that were insufficient proof for the great unwashed, "the surfaces of bodies of water has been shown to be level. if the earth was a globe, this would not be the case."

though it is easy to poke fun at those who have beliefs contrary to either our own, or that of the majority, in truth, i am insufficiently well travelled to state absolutely that these people are stark raving bonkers. but, should there be need of a target for the latter epithet, i can think of the very people to whom it applies. and then some.

dead reckoning

the earnest and academically inclined folks at yonder journal, by their own admission, identify as cultural anthropologists and sportsmen compelled into the wilderness, born to explore american frontiers and western principles. in the words of wayne's world, "we are not worthy". their explorations of elkhorn crest, warm springs road, svaneti, brodrick, sunchuli, piute and iron pass have stretched their home-brewed definition as the caretakers of american field studies to the point where our own velocipedinal perambulations seem positively mundane by comparison.

yet, such far-reaching meanderings mean diddley squat unless there is some form of record. to paraphrase the kids of today 'if it's not on instagram, it didn't happen.' fortunately, yonder journal's great leader, the inestimable daniel wakefield pasley is a dab hand with a camera and there has been scarcely a moment of their foolish ineptitude that has not been recorded on film or digital pixels. all well and good, you may say, but you'd hardly refer to a website as constituting a permanent record. suppose those pixels fade in the sunlight?

dead reckoning page spread

thankfully, the perspicacious individuals at california's specialized bicycles, sponsors of yonder journal's admirable efforts in the field, have aided and abetted the publication of the dead reckoning photo book, containing images the likes of which you have scarcely taken note before. if you're willing to accept the basic premise that a picture is worth a thousand words, there seems little point in my describing the contents of those 136 large format, shiny pages image by image. and in order that the names not be altered to protect the guilty, there is a rogues gallery towards the back of this impressive volume identifying those deserving of your praise or derision.

many of you may have followed the exploits of yonder journal, tyre track by tyre track as religiously as those who still think the earth is flat, but ownership of this book will bring warmth to your hearth and intrigue to your broom cupboard. i am fortunate that thewashingmachinepost bike shed currently contains a california sage white specialized sequioa, eager and willing to satiate my new found wanderlust. that said, the book's format is way too large to fit in a rear jersey pocket.

yonder journal dead reckoning photo book

friday 3 february 2017

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