Tales From a Life-Changing, Cross Country Hitchhiking Trip Circa 1980

Who knew that the dashing British banker we met in Greenacres in the 1980’s had a far less conventional past then we would ever imagine?

It took me forty years to find out that the charming executive and former President of Scarsdale Golf Club discovered America by trading in funds he won for a scholarship to study at the Library of Congress for a plane ticket to Los Angeles so he could surf at Malibu Beach and then hitchhike across the United States.

Now retired, Broyd explains that those memorable seven weeks of his life became the content for his first book. He explained, “I decided to write down the amusing stories that I have told for 40 years of my first trip to the US in 1980, when I hitchhiked across the country. I thought I would write them for fun, I would self-publish the stories and send them to 30 or 40 friends.”

But you never know where an email will go. Broyd says, “I sent some chapters to a friend for feedback, he forwarded it, and they forwarded it, and it ended up in the hands of a major publisher, who absolutely loved it. They signed me up to a 3-book contract. I am on the short-list for a major literary event in Philadelphia. I have a book tour - New York, Atlanta, Dallas and London, with more to follow. It has completely taken-off. I am in the pre-review process now - everything is coming back really positive.”

And publishing a book is not Broyd’s first success. He was born and educated in the UK and came to New York in January 1982 on a bank assignment. He married Betsy Broyd in 1983 and moved to Scarsdale in 1986. Apart from one 5-year and one 3 1/2 year assignment back to London, the Broyd’s have been in Scarsdale ever since.

He had a 40-year career and served as the US CEO of the Royal Bank of Scotland. He was also President of British American Business (the US/UK Chambers of Commerce) and sat on several Federal Reserve Committees. He was President of Scarsdale Golf Club from 2023-2024 and now lives on Rutland Road in Edgemont. In 2024, he published his first book, 'The Panama Canal Treaties: The diplomacy and economics behind the treaty that changed the international order.’

His latest book, titled “Backpack, Jacket, Surfboard, My Journey Across America Then and Now” will be published on August 12, 2025.

Here’s the genesis of the tale, in Broyd’s own words:

“While at college in England I won a scholarship to study at the Library of Congress for 6 weeks, flight out and back, cheap hotel, stipend for food. I sold my ticket to DC and bought one to LA as I wanted to go surf Malibu Beach. I thought I would surf for a week, hitchhike across to DC for a week, study for 4 weeks and go home. The stories from those 7 weeks, including visits to Tijuana, Yosemite, New Orleans, and New York amongst others, and gambling in Vegas and interviewing the head of the US Senate, are pretty remarkable. But I have added a little on how these adventures can be formative experiences for a person, better education than any school. I also went back to retrace my steps in 2024, and that allowed me to reflect a little on the differences between the American I fell in love with in 1980 and the America we experienced in 2024.

See more about the book on Amazon here and find an interview with Broyd on “Call to Create” with Betsy Bush here.  

Broyd will hold a publication launch party on Thursday August 14 at 6:45 at Scarsdale Golf Club. If you’re interested in attending, please reach out to him at [email protected].