This book was neither as good nor as consistent as the author's first. In fact, one could argue that this was several different long magazine articles shuffled into one book. And the title? While the author does report on himself being "abroad", much of the book is not outside America and has nothing whatsoever to do with being abroad. So, (1) we have sort of general comments about dealing with other bicycle people in just a few other countries. (2) We have sometimes almost mindless chatter about how his life is good, and, by the way, we like riding our bikes as a family. And then, (3) we have some the author's best work on the very essence of using a bicycle in American society. In fact, I'd like to take roughly a fourth of the book and republish it as, "What Every Non-Cyclist Should Know About Cycling in America and What Every New Cyclist Better Learn Very Fast". The author has expanded his family since his first book. Perhaps, he is more distracted. Perhaps, a new child has shifted his values somewhat. Perhaps, his energies have been spread over more areas. In any event, there are very certainly parts worth reading, essential even, for cyclists as well as for those in love with their cars, but some of this is just twaddle. ( )