In 2015, Iain Hollis embarked on a 4,000 mile solo cycling adventure around Europe. Medically retired with a broken ankle, after spending 23 years in the police, the 46-year-old former Royal Marine Commando spent 95 days on the road. Towing a trailer loaded with kit, his travels took him from France, over the Austrian Alps and right down to the Black Sea in Bulgaria. Camping each night in any available cover and cooking on a portable stove, he witnessed all kinds of things. The return route through Ukraine, Poland and Estonia culminated with a ferry crossing to Sweden before he flew home after an epic journey spanning 26 countries.
The ride was a kind of self-help therapy to a troubled individual. Rejected by his mum after his parents’ divorce and cruelly abused by his stepmother, Iain was placed in a children’s home at the age of 7. From a long-term foster home, he joined the Marines at 16 and recalls his experiences in the desert, jungle and Arctic. He even shared a landing craft with Prince Philip and got a part as a movie extra, playing a German in Indiana Jones.
At 21, he joined the police, got married and had kids, but his traumatic childhood caused a near breakdown and his career took a bumpy ride with a suspension from duty and a daunting court trial. Subsequently getting his new life seemingly on track, Iain took up marathon running and won the 2000 London fancy dress. He went on to compete on three more occasions but this new hobby was cut short following his ankle break in 2003. Unable to run, his journeys to work by boat soon earned him fame as the ‘canoeing cop’. With a gradual deterioration in the ankle and after failed surgery, he came close to self-amputation.
Box of Frogs: Memoirs of a Canoeing Cyclist is a fascinating autobiography that will take you on Iain’s globe-trotting rollercoaster ride of life so far. It will appeal to those who enjoy true stories and tales of overcoming adversity and strife.
The ride was a kind of self-help therapy to a troubled individual. Rejected by his mum after his parents’ divorce and cruelly abused by his stepmother, Iain was placed in a children’s home at the age of 7. From a long-term foster home, he joined the Marines at 16 and recalls his experiences in the desert, jungle and Arctic. He even shared a landing craft with Prince Philip and got a part as a movie extra, playing a German in Indiana Jones.
At 21, he joined the police, got married and had kids, but his traumatic childhood caused a near breakdown and his career took a bumpy ride with a suspension from duty and a daunting court trial. Subsequently getting his new life seemingly on track, Iain took up marathon running and won the 2000 London fancy dress. He went on to compete on three more occasions but this new hobby was cut short following his ankle break in 2003. Unable to run, his journeys to work by boat soon earned him fame as the ‘canoeing cop’. With a gradual deterioration in the ankle and after failed surgery, he came close to self-amputation.
Box of Frogs: Memoirs of a Canoeing Cyclist is a fascinating autobiography that will take you on Iain’s globe-trotting rollercoaster ride of life so far. It will appeal to those who enjoy true stories and tales of overcoming adversity and strife.
