CHEYENNE — Author Heidi Beierle is headed to Cheyenne on June 30 to talk about her debut memoir, “Heidi Across America — One Woman’s Journey on a Bicycle Through the Heartland,” as well as sign books and answer questions.
Though Beierle now lives in Bellingham, Washington, she grew up in Cheyenne and was a student at Davis Elementary, McCormick Junior High and Central High School. She got started writing while participating in local Young Authors Fairs in school.
Growing up in Wyoming, nobody is a stranger to the harsh and drastic weather. Beierle said, “The wind, dryness and desolate landscape made an imprint on me. This punishing environment taught me self-reliance, the beautiful dimensions of solitude, how to push through pain, and that survival is best friends with adaptation and death.”
Having this “survival instinct” is what helped Beierle on her 80-day journey from Oregon to Washington, D.C., in 2010.
Beierle has always had a love of writing and biking, recalling a time that her father pedaled 100 miles in one day when she was younger. “I’ve always felt an intense connection to place,” Beierle told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.
Dating back to third grade, she remembered taking classes where she would journal and write poetry and how nourishing it was to do so. “That encouragement is what really drove me,” Beirle added.
“I knew I wanted to bridge the creativity inside me with recreation ... I always liked art and writing, but when I ran an art show in my 20s and felt that kind of burnout, I realized that my creativity could also damage me. ... When I got back into recreation, I felt like riding my bike would nourish and liberate me.”
As for the book itself, Beierle said, “It’s about homecoming. Although Wyoming is the heart of the story, it’s also about the love for one’s nation and loving the people in it ... when we connect with people at the heart, we feel less alone.”
Beierle explained that she met a woman who rode across the country, which planted the seed for her to do the same.
The journey sent her to many states: Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Missouri, Kansas, New Jersey, Maryland and more. She mapped out her trip by following adventure cycling maps.
“I was pedaling around 75 to 90 miles a day ... I was headed to a conference (in Washington, D.C.) and knew I had to get there within those 80 days, so I mapped it out and gave myself some leeway,” Beierle explained.
“It wasn’t until my late 20s or early 30s that I felt like I had something (or enough experience) that I could make into a story,” she said about starting her book journey.
Before reaching out to publishers, Beierle worked on her manuscript for about two years with mentors and help from people in local writing communities. Before she knew it, a giant manuscript was compiled in February 2020. “My mentor then told me I had to cut down, which took about seven months ... then I had to cut again before I started pitching to publishers.”
When she did get an acceptance from Health Communications Inc. (HCI) after months of rejections, she wasn’t sure if it was the right fit at first, but she knew that the editor was good and decided to work with them.
Working on transportation equity and equitable access to outdoor recreation pre-pandemic and in early 2020 made Beierle realize how important the environment was to her, which is why “slow travel” is such a big part of her book.
To Beierle, “slow travel” mixes three things: mindfulness (being present), learning the journey is the destination and being open to living somewhere else for a while.
“It makes you more present,” she added.
Beierle took many experiences away from writing her book and going off on her own. “I’ve learned how much of the story is about me, which may sound weird ... I have a hard time worrying about taking care of myself versus everyone else ... learning to love myself and embrace the past (was difficult).
“(What I hope people gain from my book) is that (travel and human connection) can cure loneliness. I learned that America is big and beautiful, and I’ve met people with (immense amounts of) kindness and love. I’ve found points of commonality with most people I’ve met on my journey.”
Beierle confessed she may already be working on a sequel memoir. “It’s more of an eco-spiritual memoir (about slow travel and more of my adventures). I’ve been interviewing a lot of others about outdoor recreation ... we’ll see where it goes.
“Advice I have for people wanting to travel or travel solo like I did is to follow your curiosity, and if you feel alone, know you’re not ... spend more time exploring your country, rather than wishing you were outside of it, and experience the sounds and views ... and don’t wait to do it.”
Beierle has already been to a few stops on her book tour and has many more to go after Cheyenne. She said the experience of being an author is both “weird” and “feels like a dream,” adding, “It’s weird to me that people are here to see me and that I’m an author ... it feels like I’m in a dream sometimes, but it’s great.”
