The Cycle of Kindness, written by Guild member, Nathaniel Allenby, is the first of a what the author hopes will be a series of memoirs about his travels across the globe.

Book 1 covers Allenby’s bike adventures across Europe. His best friend, Dan, inspires their trip. The two begin traveling in Denmark. After biking extensively, a female joins them who pairs up with Dan. Allenby tires of being left shut out most of the time, and decides to travel on his own.  

During the entire trip, Allenby travels without funds. He survives by hunting through trash bins near restaurants. Most days they cycle a hundred miles, so they need a lot of calories. When times become desperate, they knock on doors and plead for help using a card to translate their request. Sometimes people are generous, sometimes not.

For a while they travel with protesters who picket dirty electric plants. Allenby helps to take over a warehouse to create a place for parties for the group. Soon, Dan and Allenby decide to continue their travels. From time to time, they stay at counter-culture communities where they work in return for food and lodgings. These experiences uplift the author and give him a sense of purpose.

Dan is informed that his mother is very ill. He returns to the States to find his mom is healthy. She tricked him to coming home. For a while, the female companion pairs up with the author. They seem to be in love, but she leaves for home too.

Allenby travels alone up steep climbs and endures freezing weather at night. At times, he finds places to stay, mostly in urban areas, where he finds couch-surfing opportunities online. In the end, he finds traveling too lonely. His father sends him a one-way ticket home.

Over the journey, Allenby changes from being an immature, live-in-the-moment, distrusting young man, to a leader who does acts of kindness, and fights for a cleaner, healthier planet.

At the end of Book 1, Allenby has returned to the United States, disheartened that he had not traveled as far as he had originally planned. I’m glad to hear he, over the years, continued to take trips throughout the United States, as well as to Peru, New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, and Zimbabweand. I look forward to reading about his other adventures.

Nathaniel Allenby is a visual artist, travel photographer, circus entertainer, and author. Born on a farm in Aurora, Oregon, he embarked on a life-changing journey in 2006, cycling 28,000 miles across ten countries and thirty U.S. states.

Allenby’s art and photography reflect his global journey, featuring geometric designs, ancient symbols, and stunning nature scenes captured from unique perspectives. As the founder of Cirque Quirk, he inspires audiences through educational performances, blending skillful juggling, stilt walking, and motivational storytelling.

A true visionary, he channels his extraordinary experiences into art and entertainment, sharing a message of resilience, creativity, and the enduring power of kindness.