I know Sigrid and Travis from Tiktok and I was thrilled that Travis wrote a book about Sigrid. I really enjoyed the book as I was able to learn more about them.

Sigrid Rides is a book all about Travis Nelson and his cat Sigrid, TikTok sensations known for their bicycle journeys around London. I was very interested in finding out how Travis got started doing TikToks with his cat, and this book provided a great backstory on how he came to London and the challenges around the pandemic, including his honest thoughts about mental health struggles he faced, and how Sigrid helped him deal with it. I loved finding out more about how they got started with cycling, and how quickly Sigrid became a bit of a celebrity. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in the TikTok channel or in cats and/or cycling. It was a relatively short read but a great one!

I was delighted to receive an arc of Sigrid Rides as I have enjoyed the videos of Sigrid and her human of their cycling adventures via social media. The story of their life together pre and post lockdown is particularly poignant and the bond between the two is palpable. Even if you are not a cat lover (I am) readers will fall in love with Sigrid and her quirky personality. Long may the two continue to bring joy to people on their travels.

I couldn’t read this book because it wasn’t available in kindle form.
There aren’t many reviews for it so I am guessing that other reviewers have had the same problem

This is one of those books that talks to your heart and can be appreciated by people of all ages, animal lovers and any type of reader
I loved the story, loved Travis and Sigrid and smiled a lot
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Sigrid is absolutely beautiful and quite the little diva isn't she?

Nelson takes us a candid journey through his humble upbringing in the states and charters us through his battles with employment, mental health, the Covid pandemic and the joys of being an ex pat of the USA living in London.

Rekindling his love for cycling, Nelson decides it's time to introduce Sigrid to the delights of London - pigeons, Picadilly Circus and the Olympic Park to name but a few.

Their story is inspirational, enjoyable and there's never a dull moment with Sigrid.

I will admit to naturally being more of a dog person but having said that I do like cats and this appealed straight away. The beginning of the book tells about Travis’ early years and family issues. It wasn’t an easy life and he had to work hard for every opportunity, teaching himself programming in his parent’s attic room. This led to various opportunities in Silicon Valley until the dot.com bubble burst.

A job offer from an old colleague led him and his wife Bianca together with his two cats Ylva and Sigrid from the US to London and life was good until Covid, furlough and then redundancy struck. Travis is honest about his mental health and history of depression and it was so saddening to read of the effect that this had on his and his family’s life – immigration and financial worries being an additional concern.

I loved reading about his cycling adventures and explorations with Sigrid, his deaf Norwegian Forest cat. (I wasn’t aware that cats with blue eyes are more prone to deafness). Sigi’s personality shone through in the writing, as did Travis’ love for his cycling companion. The book documents their life together through lockdowns, making travel for Sigi safe and comfortable and how he was able to use the growing social media attention to highlight causes close to his heart, I especially enjoyed the recounting of the visit with Sigi to a deaf school. It was clear that money and self promotion wasn’t a driving factor but that more importantly getting out exploring with Sigi, improved his own mental health whilst people’s positive interactions when encountering Sigi in her bicycle basket seemed to brighten their day too. For those wondering whether Sigi also enjoyed these outings, it seemed from her body language that she did and it was clear that Travis’ concern for her welfare was such that he wouldn’t be doing this if it caused her distress or harm. She lapped up the public attention – although her tolerance did not extend to dogs!

There were a few bits that went over my head – not being a cyclist, the detail about fixed gear and road bikes didn’t mean a great deal to me although this would no doubt be of interest to others. I was there mainly for the ride, and was entranced by the pair’s adventures whilst cycling around London and beyond. After reading the book I followed Sigi and Travis on their social media platforms and there are many videos to enjoy. The book is written in an engaging and conversational way and is such an enjoyable read.

Recommended for cycle fans, cat lovers and well, just anyone who loves an uplifting personal story.