The Bar Mitzvah and the Beast: One Family's Cross-Country Ride of Passage by Bike

When his son Yonah refuses to have a Bar Mitzvah, self-described "liberal Jew" Biers-Ariel (Spirit in Nature: Teaching Judaism and Ecology on the Trail) comes up with another way to celebrate coming of age: the whole family%E2%80%94Yonah, the author, wife Djina, and younger son Solomon%E2%80%94cycles 3,804 miles from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. "As that poem in the Reform Judaism prayer book says, it's the journey, not the destination, that counts," Biers-Ariel points out. And this expedition is multilayered: the quartet bears a climate change petition to deliver to Congress, Yonah and his father have lengthy debates about atheism and God, and the author and Solomon share a heavy, unreliable tandem bike dubbed The Beast. But riding across the country is, by its nature, repetitive; there are climbs and descents, lots of Gatorade, breakdowns both mechanical and familial, bad food, hot weather, and encounters with people "more complicated%E2%80%A6than their stereotypes lead you to believe." As a consequence, the material feels limited and the author's humor borders on shtick, with numerous jokes about beer and being a cheapskate. And while America's wonders and quirks are featured in abundance, the language is sometimes forced. When the family dips their front wheels into the Reflecting Pond at the Lincoln Memorial, it's a relief for all concerned. (Apr.)