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Full tilt dervla6/20/2023 It was the fodder for her first and best-known book, Full Tilt, published in 1965, and named one of the ten best cycling books in history by The Guardian, and one of the twenty best travel books of the 20th century by The Times. Her first big trip was to ride a casual several thousand miles from Dunkirk to India (technically she began in Ireland, where she lived, but the real bike traveling didn't begin until she arrived in France). Riding a three-speed Armstrong Cadet she called "Roz," packed efficiently with a light sleeping bag and clothes and a notebook. Mostly by bicycle, or, at least, at first, and that's how she gained her following. Incredible, because she didn't begin traveling in earnest until she was in her early 30s. Throughout her career, Murphy wrote 26 books about her travels. It was a moment of such fearlessness, confidence, and total disdain for bullshit, that it tells you a lot of what you need to know about Murphy, one of the most celebrated, beloved, and voluminous travel writers of the 20th century. Tired of being confused for a man and for the husband of her 20-something daughter she was traveling with throughout Cameroon, a 55-year-old Dervla Murphy began taking a frank and unusual tack-she unbuttoned her shirt the moment she sensed a gendered misunderstanding.
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