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A cross-country bicycle adventure becomes an audiobook and album
For most people, moving across the country involves a moving truck and careful planning. For Haskins, Ohio native Matt Palka, it meant buying a used bicycle for $100, tieing on pots and pans, canned foods and a guitar strapped across the handlebars, and with $600, pedaling from Ohio to California with determination and curiosity.
That remarkable journey has now become Moment In The Sun, an audiobook accompanied by an original soundtrack album. Together, the recordings relate the true story of a young man chasing a dream while discovering people, places and unexpected moments that shape his life.
The project is more than a memoir, employing cinematic sound design, narration and original songs to allow listeners to travel alongside Palka. “I always wanted to put people on my handlebars.
That trip transformed my life . . . [and] people can [listen and] imagine how it was,” Palka explains.
A journey that changed everything
Growing up in rural Northwest Ohio, Palka always knew there was a bigger world waiting beyond the country roads. After graduating from Ohio University with an acting degree, he pointed his bicycle west. Without GPS. Without a cellphone. Without a credit card. Just a guitar, a backpack and a willingness to embrace the road.
Rather than writing a traditional memoir, Palka created something much more immersive. “It’s like a movie without the picture,” he says. The audiobook blends narration with original music and cinematic sound design, allowing listeners to hear tree frogs in quiet fields, rushing mountain winds and spinning bicycle tires. The companion album serves as the emotional soundtrack to the adventure, featuring songs inspired by both the landscapes and the people Palka met along the way. Together, the book and album paint a hopeful Americana soundtrack filled with bittersweet reflections, youthful optimism and dream-chasing excitement.
Finding hope on the open road
At its heart, Moment In The Sun is about courage. Palka says the trip taught him that people are capable of far more than they believe. In today’s world of endless research, reviews and overplanning, he sees many people never taking the first step toward their dreams. Palka’s message is simple: Don’t wait for the perfect time. Start now.
Whether it’s repairing a broken relationship, learning to play an instrument, opening a business or embarking on an adventure you’ve always imagined, Palka inspires listeners to take action.
Toledo holds a special place in Matt Palka’s heart
Although Palka’s journey stretched across America, Northwest Ohio remains close to his heart, and so does Toledo. Before becoming an author and recording artist, Palka worked as clubhouse manager for the Toledo Mud Hens and he has family here.
For the Ohio native whose life has been shaped by art, storytelling and adventure, Toledo continues to feel like home.
Follow Matt Palka at mattpalka.com; @themattpalk; Matt Palka on Spotify or @Matthewpalka on YouTube.
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Q&A with Matt Palka
What can listeners expect from Moment In The Sun?
When I moved from Ohio to California on a bicycle with just $600 and a guitar. I really had no idea what I was doing. It’s a coming-of-age story in the spirit of On the Road and Into the Wild, but it’s completely immersive with original music and sound design. It’s like watching a movie without the picture.
Why an immersive audiobook instead of a traditional memoir?
As a songwriter, I’d written songs inspired by the trip and I wanted people to experience the emotions as well as the story. The sound design ties everything together so listeners feel like they’re actually traveling alongside me. I always wanted to put people on my handlebars.
How did that bicycle trip change you?
It taught me we’re capable of far more than we think. Today, people can spend so much time researching and planning that they never actually do the thing they’ve been dreaming about. Just get out there and live your best day today.
What do you hope listeners take away from both the audiobook and the album?
I hope people feel empowered to take action on whatever dream they’ve been putting off. Whether it’s repairing a relationship, traveling somewhere new, starting a business, learning an instrument or writing a book, I hope they stop waiting and take that first step.
