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BOOK REVIEWS
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Adventure Motorcycling Handbook 7
AMH has undergone another update but remains an essential book for your shelf. Now 25 years old, Chris Scott’s handbook is as important as ever for anyone wishing to go round the world or round a continent.
There are updates covering choice of bike and luggage for example, as the market for and of these products has expanded dramatically recently. Ironically this is the one title that has probably created that demand.
The very nature of politics and geography means overland route planning is a dynamic thing, but the updates contained in AMH 7are as accurate as they can be and a great introduction to an area if it’s completely new to you; the foundations for your own research. All the riding and packing tips remain timeless and worth re-reading.
Containing great new colour pictures and entertaining tales from the saddle, the whole book is also peppered with terrific Simon Roberts cartoons. The Lisa Thomas article on travelling in a partnership is fresh and insightful and there’s a good historical section introducing riders and trips even I hadn’t heard of!
All of the above may be what you’d expect of a book with a title like the Adventure Motorcycle Handbook. It offers a world of possibilities within its 352 pages and encourages you to dream, but there’s something else intangible about it that is hugely inspirational and always gives me a little shiver if excitement when I open it. I hope it continues to remain the best seller it is, and deserves to be.
ISBN: 978-1-873756-73-7
352pp 40 colour and 150 B&W images, 30 illustrations
Published by Trailblazer Guides (2016)
There are updates covering choice of bike and luggage for example, as the market for and of these products has expanded dramatically recently. Ironically this is the one title that has probably created that demand.
The very nature of politics and geography means overland route planning is a dynamic thing, but the updates contained in AMH 7are as accurate as they can be and a great introduction to an area if it’s completely new to you; the foundations for your own research. All the riding and packing tips remain timeless and worth re-reading.
Containing great new colour pictures and entertaining tales from the saddle, the whole book is also peppered with terrific Simon Roberts cartoons. The Lisa Thomas article on travelling in a partnership is fresh and insightful and there’s a good historical section introducing riders and trips even I hadn’t heard of!
All of the above may be what you’d expect of a book with a title like the Adventure Motorcycle Handbook. It offers a world of possibilities within its 352 pages and encourages you to dream, but there’s something else intangible about it that is hugely inspirational and always gives me a little shiver if excitement when I open it. I hope it continues to remain the best seller it is, and deserves to be.
ISBN: 978-1-873756-73-7
352pp 40 colour and 150 B&W images, 30 illustrations
Published by Trailblazer Guides (2016)
‘Iceland Serow Saga’ by Helen Lloyd
I’m not sure if there’s an official slow travel movement, but Helen Lloyd should be a patron if there is, and this book a manual for it. She’s as comfortable off her bike as on it and this book oozes relaxation but is very much a motorcycle adventure so you’ll be right there as she explores every trail and attempts every river crossing.
During her three months on Iceland the weather is atrocious and that produces its own battle, yet the beauty of the land somehow remains and certainly has an impact on her. The descriptions are wonderful – of sky or land. The tracks are an engaging challenge, but it’s the human interaction, however slight, that brings the simplest daily situation alive.
There are multiple elements to this work but constant is the unending pleasure that travel clearly brings. And it’s infectious. The story of the ride itself knits the narrative, but over-laid is an illuminating history of the place (and its folklore) and the way those social interactions add so much depth and connection to the country.
On the first day she ends up staying with strangers for a couple of nights and it proves somewhere welcoming to return. Deep in the central Highlands, where she finds so much peace and tranquillity, she sleeps in a hut with a couple of guys celebrating their 60th with copious rum and wine. On the north coast, meeting someone online for a day’s riding trails, that she could never have discovered on her own, leads to a week-long invitation to house sit. The list goes on and whether it’s due to the author’s friendly character, or the nature of the Icelandic people, the result is the same for the reader; a building desire to go and live it all for yourself.
Helen is forever resourceful, using thermal pools to cope with the bitter chill brought on by the incessant rain, making bicycle spokes fit her Serow’s failing wheels and ignoring the vanishing oil problem as the bike limps on. It’s beautifully written work.
ISBN 978-0-9576606-4-9
262 pp 25 images inc. maps £10.99
Published by Take On Creative (2020)
During her three months on Iceland the weather is atrocious and that produces its own battle, yet the beauty of the land somehow remains and certainly has an impact on her. The descriptions are wonderful – of sky or land. The tracks are an engaging challenge, but it’s the human interaction, however slight, that brings the simplest daily situation alive.
There are multiple elements to this work but constant is the unending pleasure that travel clearly brings. And it’s infectious. The story of the ride itself knits the narrative, but over-laid is an illuminating history of the place (and its folklore) and the way those social interactions add so much depth and connection to the country.
On the first day she ends up staying with strangers for a couple of nights and it proves somewhere welcoming to return. Deep in the central Highlands, where she finds so much peace and tranquillity, she sleeps in a hut with a couple of guys celebrating their 60th with copious rum and wine. On the north coast, meeting someone online for a day’s riding trails, that she could never have discovered on her own, leads to a week-long invitation to house sit. The list goes on and whether it’s due to the author’s friendly character, or the nature of the Icelandic people, the result is the same for the reader; a building desire to go and live it all for yourself.
Helen is forever resourceful, using thermal pools to cope with the bitter chill brought on by the incessant rain, making bicycle spokes fit her Serow’s failing wheels and ignoring the vanishing oil problem as the bike limps on. It’s beautifully written work.
ISBN 978-0-9576606-4-9
262 pp 25 images inc. maps £10.99
Published by Take On Creative (2020)
Moto Freight
Moto Freight are THE international motorcycle and vehicle transport specialists, with years of experience. Whether you are an adventure traveller, tourer, are buying/selling classics or relocating to another country, we are here to help!
Rice and Dirt by Stergios & Alexandra
Launched in English at The Overland Event in 2018, this book was originally released in Greek, in 2017. Whatever the language I can attest to the fact that the content is superb.
Everything we dream about is here: adventure, excitement, struggle, happiness, mechanical trauma, human kindness and there’s even a love story at the end. Nobody should care for a minute that this pan-African journey happened aboard a Vespa scooter with ten-inch wheels. If anything, readers will find themselves doffing their cap to the abilities of the brave little bike and the gloriously bonkers antics of its crew.
The journey starts in Greece with a couple of Vespa fans (on two machines) turning their backs on their national economic malaise and riding to Italy before catching a boat to Tunisia and aiming their little automatic commuters on a zig-zag course to Cape Town.
The two become one in West Africa and the main protagonist, Stergios, carries on boldly, alone. Opening himself completely to serendipity and letting chance steer him, he discovered a not insignificant Greek ex-pat community in Lubumbashi, after three months struggling to cross the DRC on what must be the world’s worst intercity highway. He was immediately given coffee and lodgings and briefly met Alexandra, who was just leaving for Athens.
Months later in Jo’burg they met again at a BBQ and thought ‘just maybe’… so Alexandra hopped on the back of the Vespa for a one-month trip around Lesotho. The rest, as they say, is history.
The translation of the text is excellent, losing none of the wit and attitude that Stergios has. It’s beautifully written, refreshing to read and one of those books that really, really should be on your shelf. This is a story that spells out the importance of packing a smile. As for the bike, take whatever you’ve got! A highly recommended read.
ISBN: 978-0956430571
Paperback 320pp (£9.99)
Published by Shuvvy Press (2018)
Everything we dream about is here: adventure, excitement, struggle, happiness, mechanical trauma, human kindness and there’s even a love story at the end. Nobody should care for a minute that this pan-African journey happened aboard a Vespa scooter with ten-inch wheels. If anything, readers will find themselves doffing their cap to the abilities of the brave little bike and the gloriously bonkers antics of its crew.
The journey starts in Greece with a couple of Vespa fans (on two machines) turning their backs on their national economic malaise and riding to Italy before catching a boat to Tunisia and aiming their little automatic commuters on a zig-zag course to Cape Town.
The two become one in West Africa and the main protagonist, Stergios, carries on boldly, alone. Opening himself completely to serendipity and letting chance steer him, he discovered a not insignificant Greek ex-pat community in Lubumbashi, after three months struggling to cross the DRC on what must be the world’s worst intercity highway. He was immediately given coffee and lodgings and briefly met Alexandra, who was just leaving for Athens.
Months later in Jo’burg they met again at a BBQ and thought ‘just maybe’… so Alexandra hopped on the back of the Vespa for a one-month trip around Lesotho. The rest, as they say, is history.
The translation of the text is excellent, losing none of the wit and attitude that Stergios has. It’s beautifully written, refreshing to read and one of those books that really, really should be on your shelf. This is a story that spells out the importance of packing a smile. As for the bike, take whatever you’ve got! A highly recommended read.
ISBN: 978-0956430571
Paperback 320pp (£9.99)
Published by Shuvvy Press (2018)
When the Road Ends by Dylan Samarawickrama
Quite probably book of the year. This is a beautifully written account of a GS-mounted global odyssey which barely mentions any of the route. Instead, it focusses on the author’s somewhat unconventional assault on the Darien Gap, that impenetrable section of the Americas between Colombia and Panama.
The number of motorcyclists who have successfully crossed these few hundred kilometres of jungle and swamp is now into double figures, but only Dylan has taken the time to machine a new shaft drive for his BMW so that it can carry a propeller, and then mount his whole bike upon a raft made of ten oil drums and some bamboo, before heading out into the Pacific to try his luck against the massive seas and strong currents.
It’s proper adventure and will, I’m sure, become a film: Failed engine components see him drifting for days towards the Galapagos; complete strangers help in ways unimaginable; Police assist his clandestine border crossings; international boat thieves make the raft adventure possible; locals welding fuel tanks almost don’t…
As the title suggests, everything hinges on what happens ‘when the road ends’, yet Dylan seamlessly interweaves other random parts of his global trip. There’s nothing linear about this read and it’s all the better for it. The raw adventure and ‘can-do’ attitude reminds me of Danny Liska back in the very early 60s and I absolutely love it for the whole reading experience.
Physically the hard-backed item is a delight to hold; the production values superb. It has a dust jacket, excellent layout and design, some lovely inner sleeve graphics and even has one of those fabric ‘bound bookmarks’.
If you care as much about reading as you do motorcycle travel, this will satisfy like few others.
ISBN: 978-3-9524448-5-6
Hard Back 311 pages assorted B&W images and maps throughout.
Published by Zuercher Publishing (December 2015) £20
The number of motorcyclists who have successfully crossed these few hundred kilometres of jungle and swamp is now into double figures, but only Dylan has taken the time to machine a new shaft drive for his BMW so that it can carry a propeller, and then mount his whole bike upon a raft made of ten oil drums and some bamboo, before heading out into the Pacific to try his luck against the massive seas and strong currents.
It’s proper adventure and will, I’m sure, become a film: Failed engine components see him drifting for days towards the Galapagos; complete strangers help in ways unimaginable; Police assist his clandestine border crossings; international boat thieves make the raft adventure possible; locals welding fuel tanks almost don’t…
As the title suggests, everything hinges on what happens ‘when the road ends’, yet Dylan seamlessly interweaves other random parts of his global trip. There’s nothing linear about this read and it’s all the better for it. The raw adventure and ‘can-do’ attitude reminds me of Danny Liska back in the very early 60s and I absolutely love it for the whole reading experience.
Physically the hard-backed item is a delight to hold; the production values superb. It has a dust jacket, excellent layout and design, some lovely inner sleeve graphics and even has one of those fabric ‘bound bookmarks’.
If you care as much about reading as you do motorcycle travel, this will satisfy like few others.
ISBN: 978-3-9524448-5-6
Hard Back 311 pages assorted B&W images and maps throughout.
Published by Zuercher Publishing (December 2015) £20
‘Full Circle’ by Richard and Mopsa English
Good accounts of adventurous travel should be timeless. Well written, they create their own contemporary context within which they never age. They remain valid and accessible even though the world they describe may have moved on, and the only real barrier to enjoyment is actually finding a copy.
Full Circle is such a book. Only ever published once, in 1989, its hardback cover, colour plates and assorted B&W images manage to transport you to some other age even before discovering how well it’s written. Thoroughly English by name and nature, this is a beautifully crafted tale of a couple who spent four and a half years covering 90,000 miles on a Triumph sidecar outfit, when the world didn’t seem quite as dangerous and when a British passport was a jolly good thing to carry within your waxed cotton jacket.
It was the mid-eighties; the factory that supplied their bike went bust while they were away; it was much easier to pick up work when you ran out of funds; different borders were closed to travellers as the Cold War still raged, but somehow there was an innocence that meant you could just ask a chap down the boat club whether or not you and your sidecar could join his ship in the morning. And if you thought the port fees in SE Asia were a little steep, you asked the authorities if they could be sporting and just waive them.
And yet this isn’t a story of toffs on the road, far from it. It’s exciting yet doesn’t exaggerate, insightful yet doesn’t brood. This couple remain patriotically attached to a bike that continually fails. From the UK they ride to India shedding luggage continually. Then Australia, SE Asia and Japan before North, Central and South America followed by a meandering route back up Africa.
I first read this book in ’91 and I’m delighted to have rediscovered it, as following Jupiter’s Travels, this is one of the books that cemented my decision to start overlanding and I’ve never looked back. I urge you to find a copy.
ISBN:978-0-85429-6620
Hardback 183pp 16pp colour insert
Haynes Publishing Group (1989)
Full Circle is such a book. Only ever published once, in 1989, its hardback cover, colour plates and assorted B&W images manage to transport you to some other age even before discovering how well it’s written. Thoroughly English by name and nature, this is a beautifully crafted tale of a couple who spent four and a half years covering 90,000 miles on a Triumph sidecar outfit, when the world didn’t seem quite as dangerous and when a British passport was a jolly good thing to carry within your waxed cotton jacket.
It was the mid-eighties; the factory that supplied their bike went bust while they were away; it was much easier to pick up work when you ran out of funds; different borders were closed to travellers as the Cold War still raged, but somehow there was an innocence that meant you could just ask a chap down the boat club whether or not you and your sidecar could join his ship in the morning. And if you thought the port fees in SE Asia were a little steep, you asked the authorities if they could be sporting and just waive them.
And yet this isn’t a story of toffs on the road, far from it. It’s exciting yet doesn’t exaggerate, insightful yet doesn’t brood. This couple remain patriotically attached to a bike that continually fails. From the UK they ride to India shedding luggage continually. Then Australia, SE Asia and Japan before North, Central and South America followed by a meandering route back up Africa.
I first read this book in ’91 and I’m delighted to have rediscovered it, as following Jupiter’s Travels, this is one of the books that cemented my decision to start overlanding and I’ve never looked back. I urge you to find a copy.
ISBN:978-0-85429-6620
Hardback 183pp 16pp colour insert
Haynes Publishing Group (1989)
Notes from the Road IV by Derek Mansfield
Just occasionally a book arrives on the motorcycle travel scene that is different, brave, sure to cause controversy and perhaps be forever known as ‘marmite’. Dan Walsh’s ‘These are the days…’ is one such book and I think that Derek Mansfield’s ‘Volume 4’ is destined to be another; love it or hate it.
It’s not a big book, but then neither was Steinbeck’s ‘Of mice and men’ and that made something of an impact, so it’s only the size of the punch that matters. Yes there’s political and social comment, but how could any contemporary tour of the former Soviet Republics fail to contain some? In Mansfield’s case this is well-informed commentary, as he’s worked and ridden here many times, and as far east as Mongolia, but never blasting across landscapes in search of way-markers. In Vol 4 he meanders again, immersing himself briefly in the lives of others and being touched by them all in return.
People interest him, psychologically and physically. His notes of the human aesthetic are at times frank, at others esoteric, and yet the constant in his writing is its staccato delivery. There is plenty of space between sentences to fill in the blanks, to use your own cultural and geographical knowledge, and it’s refreshing to be involved as a reader and to join the dots.
He doesn’t lead you by the nose and in fact only once spells out which country he is in. It takes ages to discover he’s riding a Moto Guzzi Stelvio, which should tell you something about his left-field approach. Surprisingly, it’s not that frustrating and instead permits your reading to embrace the same vagrancy. You enjoy the moment he’s recounting on the page in front of you and to hell with the plan. Join him as a sober observer in a drug-addled bar, or travel to a forest on the promise of a four-poster bed but discover only communal Jacuzzi’s and a tent share with Baltic princesses.
Odd? Yes, and definitely intriguing. Will you enjoy it? Well therein of course, lies the controversy which makes so much literature worthwhile. Take a chance. Taste it and see.
Review by Paddy Tyson
ISBN: 978-0-9564305-5-7
£5.99
Shuvvy Press (2015)
It’s not a big book, but then neither was Steinbeck’s ‘Of mice and men’ and that made something of an impact, so it’s only the size of the punch that matters. Yes there’s political and social comment, but how could any contemporary tour of the former Soviet Republics fail to contain some? In Mansfield’s case this is well-informed commentary, as he’s worked and ridden here many times, and as far east as Mongolia, but never blasting across landscapes in search of way-markers. In Vol 4 he meanders again, immersing himself briefly in the lives of others and being touched by them all in return.
People interest him, psychologically and physically. His notes of the human aesthetic are at times frank, at others esoteric, and yet the constant in his writing is its staccato delivery. There is plenty of space between sentences to fill in the blanks, to use your own cultural and geographical knowledge, and it’s refreshing to be involved as a reader and to join the dots.
He doesn’t lead you by the nose and in fact only once spells out which country he is in. It takes ages to discover he’s riding a Moto Guzzi Stelvio, which should tell you something about his left-field approach. Surprisingly, it’s not that frustrating and instead permits your reading to embrace the same vagrancy. You enjoy the moment he’s recounting on the page in front of you and to hell with the plan. Join him as a sober observer in a drug-addled bar, or travel to a forest on the promise of a four-poster bed but discover only communal Jacuzzi’s and a tent share with Baltic princesses.
Odd? Yes, and definitely intriguing. Will you enjoy it? Well therein of course, lies the controversy which makes so much literature worthwhile. Take a chance. Taste it and see.
Review by Paddy Tyson
ISBN: 978-0-9564305-5-7
£5.99
Shuvvy Press (2015)
Touching the World by Cathy Birchall and Bernard Smith
This is the account of Bernard and Cathy’s world tour, and the couple, journey and text are unique. Cathy is the first blind person to have undertaken such a journey and, as the main author, vividly describes everything they experience enroute. As she takes you on the journey you can visualise all that surrounds them and yet she cannot see. For the reader, the greatest insight is how a blind person ‘sees’ the world, interpreting that which Bernard relays: the people, roads, dangers, warts and all.
They set out to make the trip Bernard had always dreamt of undertaking, while simultaneously challenging societal prejudice. By demonstrating teamwork and their joint abilities through everyday interactions with people, they subtly ‘open the eyes’ of those they meet.
The reader will find themselves considering issues that had simply never given a thought before. This book is by no means just about blindness though, even if it is an inescapable factor in the journey, there is so much more to this story.
Photos and maps help share in the experiences the couple have along the way and the journey is undertaken on a not ideally suited 1990 BMW R100T. It’s a bike Bernard knows though and I’m glad they chose ‘Bertha’ over a modern BMW GS ‘adventure’ bike. She too is a character on the trip; you find yourself urging her on, up mountain passes, over rough roads and through mechanical troubles.
Familiar scenes for an overland tale are here: border crossings, non-existent roads and new friends made on the way. We are treated to news of the culture of places and of looking for the ordinary people and not believing the rumours of how ‘terrible’ places are. The couple stick to their mantra of ‘What you see mainly depends on what you look for.’
There are of course great highs on the journey as there are times of great physical and psychological stress, but the crises of confidence are shared. Neither party are burdened by ego and the writing reflects this, with Bernard adding his input only now and again, he quietly gets on with riding, navigating, audio guiding and assisting Cathy 24 hours a day, every day – but Cathy makes sure we see this too. Humour is present throughout and they always recognise that they are fortunate to make the journey even at the lowest of times.
It’s an incredible undertaking, narrated with fantastic honesty, illustrating the emotional heights and depths overlanding can occasion. ‘Touching the World’ ticks all the boxes for those who dream of overland travel and still inspires those who have themselves previously embarked on a challenging trip. If you’ve read many overland books or none, you’ll be hooked by this one from the start.
ISBN 978-0-9564975-8-1.
Paperback 344 pp, 29 colour photos and 8 maps £12.99
Published by Panther Publishing
Review by Jenny Cook
They set out to make the trip Bernard had always dreamt of undertaking, while simultaneously challenging societal prejudice. By demonstrating teamwork and their joint abilities through everyday interactions with people, they subtly ‘open the eyes’ of those they meet.
The reader will find themselves considering issues that had simply never given a thought before. This book is by no means just about blindness though, even if it is an inescapable factor in the journey, there is so much more to this story.
Photos and maps help share in the experiences the couple have along the way and the journey is undertaken on a not ideally suited 1990 BMW R100T. It’s a bike Bernard knows though and I’m glad they chose ‘Bertha’ over a modern BMW GS ‘adventure’ bike. She too is a character on the trip; you find yourself urging her on, up mountain passes, over rough roads and through mechanical troubles.
Familiar scenes for an overland tale are here: border crossings, non-existent roads and new friends made on the way. We are treated to news of the culture of places and of looking for the ordinary people and not believing the rumours of how ‘terrible’ places are. The couple stick to their mantra of ‘What you see mainly depends on what you look for.’
There are of course great highs on the journey as there are times of great physical and psychological stress, but the crises of confidence are shared. Neither party are burdened by ego and the writing reflects this, with Bernard adding his input only now and again, he quietly gets on with riding, navigating, audio guiding and assisting Cathy 24 hours a day, every day – but Cathy makes sure we see this too. Humour is present throughout and they always recognise that they are fortunate to make the journey even at the lowest of times.
It’s an incredible undertaking, narrated with fantastic honesty, illustrating the emotional heights and depths overlanding can occasion. ‘Touching the World’ ticks all the boxes for those who dream of overland travel and still inspires those who have themselves previously embarked on a challenging trip. If you’ve read many overland books or none, you’ll be hooked by this one from the start.
ISBN 978-0-9564975-8-1.
Paperback 344 pp, 29 colour photos and 8 maps £12.99
Published by Panther Publishing
Review by Jenny Cook
Land of the Dawn-lit Mountains by Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent
The title of Antonia’s latest book is in fact the literal translation of Arunachal Pradesh, the state in north east India which is little explored and continually contested. India’s forgotten frontier. It’s a wild place, with high mountains, impenetrable forests and plenty of tigers. But woe betide anyone who enters this area carrying a map that doesn’t show the borders as acknowledged by Delhi – the penalties are stiff. China calls the place ‘South Tibet’ and many of the local tribes would rather be left alone to live autonomously.
It’s the people of this area that the author really wanted to meet and the cultural discoveries she made are what help make this a travel book in the classic sense. Somehow intangibly more mature than her earlier works, this lifts Antonia towards the realms of historically established mainstream authors. However Chatwin never used a motorbike and the little Hero of this story is the 150cc dirt bike that provides her with access to even the most remote villages and high passes.
She immerses herself within the Idu tribe, discovering the incredible strength of family structures, and is fortunate to witness Shamen in action. As a devout vegetarian herself, experiencing animal sacrifice was a little trying, but regardless of the experience, all her writing is wonderfully descriptive, powerfully transporting the reader.
Intertwined, there’s also the personal story of overcoming anxiety while in the field. It’s something that could have been superfluous, but actually helps demonstrate the power of exploration, of discovery, of human interaction and of the incredible beauty of the region. Altogether a terrific read.
Paddy Tyson
ISBN: 978-1471156564
Paperback 384 pp £9.99
Published by Simon & Schuster (2017)
It’s the people of this area that the author really wanted to meet and the cultural discoveries she made are what help make this a travel book in the classic sense. Somehow intangibly more mature than her earlier works, this lifts Antonia towards the realms of historically established mainstream authors. However Chatwin never used a motorbike and the little Hero of this story is the 150cc dirt bike that provides her with access to even the most remote villages and high passes.
She immerses herself within the Idu tribe, discovering the incredible strength of family structures, and is fortunate to witness Shamen in action. As a devout vegetarian herself, experiencing animal sacrifice was a little trying, but regardless of the experience, all her writing is wonderfully descriptive, powerfully transporting the reader.
Intertwined, there’s also the personal story of overcoming anxiety while in the field. It’s something that could have been superfluous, but actually helps demonstrate the power of exploration, of discovery, of human interaction and of the incredible beauty of the region. Altogether a terrific read.
Paddy Tyson
ISBN: 978-1471156564
Paperback 384 pp £9.99
Published by Simon & Schuster (2017)
The Japanese-speaking Curtain Maker by Spencer Conway
It’s not a title you might expect for a book about a circumnavigation of the African continent, but you quickly establish that Spencer Conway is anything but ordinary.
Leaving Kent in a rain-storm this petrified unconfident rider soon blossoms, and following a slightly hair-raising blast across Tunisia behind a compulsory guide and his alcoholic driver, has fully settled into his stride by Egypt.
Much of the story telling centres around the human experiences he has and one particular interaction, with Ashraf a boatman from Aswan, illustrates perfectly how he manages to reach into the lives of those he meets. I won’t spoil it, or the myriad other tales, from Nigerian millionaires to Kenyan bandits, drunken soldiers, forests full of beer, malaria in Ghana or crossing borders that haven’t been traversed for years, but I will say that what’s interesting is the way that sometimes the stories are complete tangents. They can be recalled almost as vignettes, taking you away completely from the linear course of the journey, but done in a way that you barely notice, until you abruptly return to the main narrative.
The whole text is certainly high octane and you could never say Spencer is the luckiest of men, but he does make decisions many of us may not. And that of course is what creates the story. There’s mud and guns and breakdowns and aggro and laughter; the whole nine yards.
I found, almost disappointingly that the north west of Africa was traversed in what seemed like an instant. The pull of home – and the desert – leads to massive days in the saddle and the tone of the book changes. If anything the style improves even though the human interaction diminishes.
This is certainly not a book that will bore you, and if you are considering Christmas presents for riders you know, you could do a lot worse. But if you are trying to justify to a loved one why it would be safe and sensible for you to head off for 6 months and discover the world from the back of a bike, I suggest you choose carefully where and when you read it!
Leaving Kent in a rain-storm this petrified unconfident rider soon blossoms, and following a slightly hair-raising blast across Tunisia behind a compulsory guide and his alcoholic driver, has fully settled into his stride by Egypt.
Much of the story telling centres around the human experiences he has and one particular interaction, with Ashraf a boatman from Aswan, illustrates perfectly how he manages to reach into the lives of those he meets. I won’t spoil it, or the myriad other tales, from Nigerian millionaires to Kenyan bandits, drunken soldiers, forests full of beer, malaria in Ghana or crossing borders that haven’t been traversed for years, but I will say that what’s interesting is the way that sometimes the stories are complete tangents. They can be recalled almost as vignettes, taking you away completely from the linear course of the journey, but done in a way that you barely notice, until you abruptly return to the main narrative.
The whole text is certainly high octane and you could never say Spencer is the luckiest of men, but he does make decisions many of us may not. And that of course is what creates the story. There’s mud and guns and breakdowns and aggro and laughter; the whole nine yards.
I found, almost disappointingly that the north west of Africa was traversed in what seemed like an instant. The pull of home – and the desert – leads to massive days in the saddle and the tone of the book changes. If anything the style improves even though the human interaction diminishes.
This is certainly not a book that will bore you, and if you are considering Christmas presents for riders you know, you could do a lot worse. But if you are trying to justify to a loved one why it would be safe and sensible for you to head off for 6 months and discover the world from the back of a bike, I suggest you choose carefully where and when you read it!
Moto Freight
Moto Freight are THE international motorcycle and vehicle transport specialists, with years of experience. Whether you are an adventure traveller, tourer, are buying/selling classics or relocating to another country, we are here to help!
‘The Unseen Walls’ by Christian Brix
The bravery of solo travel is often mentioned by others. The myth of a courageous attitude is something few overlanders work hard to dispel, but similarly very few are prepared to discuss what can be the psychological reality of solo adventure through alien cultures.
Living through the visual medium of Facebook and Instagram, where everyone’s life seems to be a stream of excitement and happy selfies, you’d be forgiven for thinking that’s the reality of travel. The truth of course can be very different and as humans we flow through cycles of contentment and confidence where each wax and wane.
The Unseen Walls that travel with many people can control and encase you. Psychological barriers that fill you with dread and curtail the cultural interaction that makes travel so much more than just riding your bike.
Brix plans to ride south from the UK to Cape Town and chooses a 660 Ténéré to do it, but human frailties and battles with bureaucracy catch up with him in West Africa and he ends up flying from Ghana to Jo’Burg before looping the southern part of the continent and heading North-East to Kenya and the sanctuary of his sister’s house.
This is still an 18,000-mile travelogue, yet it contains more reflection that most. It’s very well written, but some of the content may scare you, because it’s real. This book shines a light on the problems and fears that we comfortable Westerners can face, and on the real state of the developing world, or rather, the rest of the world. There is a lot of social politics mixed in to the text, as you may expect of a politics graduate, but most of it is observational and opinionated. On occasion it felt that he said in a page what he could have more eloquently said in a paragraph, and there are times the reader might want to shout ‘stop moaning’, but that’s probably because we are more comfortable when reading about challenges that relate to road surfaces, weather and terrain, than the human condition.
If you want another enthusiastic tale to bolster you into action, this isn’t it, even though some of his descriptive prose is wonderful. However, if you’d like to understand a little more about mental health and how depression can nibble away, or can completely embrace you while you’re on the road in an alien environment, this could be really educational and that’s why I recommend you take the challenge.
ISBN: 978-17314-3769-3
240 pages, 8 B&W route maps (£12.00)
Published by author (2018)
Living through the visual medium of Facebook and Instagram, where everyone’s life seems to be a stream of excitement and happy selfies, you’d be forgiven for thinking that’s the reality of travel. The truth of course can be very different and as humans we flow through cycles of contentment and confidence where each wax and wane.
The Unseen Walls that travel with many people can control and encase you. Psychological barriers that fill you with dread and curtail the cultural interaction that makes travel so much more than just riding your bike.
Brix plans to ride south from the UK to Cape Town and chooses a 660 Ténéré to do it, but human frailties and battles with bureaucracy catch up with him in West Africa and he ends up flying from Ghana to Jo’Burg before looping the southern part of the continent and heading North-East to Kenya and the sanctuary of his sister’s house.
This is still an 18,000-mile travelogue, yet it contains more reflection that most. It’s very well written, but some of the content may scare you, because it’s real. This book shines a light on the problems and fears that we comfortable Westerners can face, and on the real state of the developing world, or rather, the rest of the world. There is a lot of social politics mixed in to the text, as you may expect of a politics graduate, but most of it is observational and opinionated. On occasion it felt that he said in a page what he could have more eloquently said in a paragraph, and there are times the reader might want to shout ‘stop moaning’, but that’s probably because we are more comfortable when reading about challenges that relate to road surfaces, weather and terrain, than the human condition.
If you want another enthusiastic tale to bolster you into action, this isn’t it, even though some of his descriptive prose is wonderful. However, if you’d like to understand a little more about mental health and how depression can nibble away, or can completely embrace you while you’re on the road in an alien environment, this could be really educational and that’s why I recommend you take the challenge.
ISBN: 978-17314-3769-3
240 pages, 8 B&W route maps (£12.00)
Published by author (2018)
Hit the Road Jac by Jacqui Furneaux
I’d already heard about some of Jacqui Furneaux’s adventures with her globe-dawdling 500cc Enfield. There have been a couple of magazine articles, not least in Overland Magazine, and some guest appearances at bike shows, but then she launched this book at The Overland Event 2017.
Now, having read the full story of her personal odyssey in ‘Hit The Road Jac’, I find myself drawn further in to her outlook on life, ideas that have been quietly inspiring me for a while now.
There’s something very attractive about her style of travel; unhurried, optimistic, spontaneous.
This is the often surprising story of an already highly capable person, whose typically conventional life is upended in an equally conventional manner but who responds to her change in circumstances in ways that many find surprising in someone of her age and background.
By remaining open to what the world can be like, Jacqui Furneaux has developed a capacity for self-reliance, based on a kind of soft-strength rather than the sort of mobile siege-mentality that some travellers feel they need to adopt.
An independent spirit responding to the people she meets with a happy-go-lucky openness to the kindness of strangers, based on her growing self-awareness rather than simple naivety.
Told with understated, matter-of-fact candour, Jacqui’s heart-warming story is one of self-discovery at a time when the world is in flux just as much as she is.
Through her account of romance on the road, fending-off amorous sea-dogs, dodging pirate attacks, facing adversity with courage, we begin to see how Jacqui’s upbringing prepared her to grow in confidence when faced with the unexpected.
I’m trying to avoid using the word ‘memoirs’; it seems such an outdated term to use, suggesting the reader can expect the rambling reminiscences of past-glory and dry facts gone musty with age. But the best of memoirs are anything but that and, if it seems a somehow inappropriate word to use when reviewing a motorcycle travel book, just consider how many great memories we all have as the result of a willingness to go places on two-wheels.
ISBN 978-0-9564305-6-4
Paperback 330pp colour images and maps
Published by Shuvvy Press (2017)
Now, having read the full story of her personal odyssey in ‘Hit The Road Jac’, I find myself drawn further in to her outlook on life, ideas that have been quietly inspiring me for a while now.
There’s something very attractive about her style of travel; unhurried, optimistic, spontaneous.
This is the often surprising story of an already highly capable person, whose typically conventional life is upended in an equally conventional manner but who responds to her change in circumstances in ways that many find surprising in someone of her age and background.
By remaining open to what the world can be like, Jacqui Furneaux has developed a capacity for self-reliance, based on a kind of soft-strength rather than the sort of mobile siege-mentality that some travellers feel they need to adopt.
An independent spirit responding to the people she meets with a happy-go-lucky openness to the kindness of strangers, based on her growing self-awareness rather than simple naivety.
Told with understated, matter-of-fact candour, Jacqui’s heart-warming story is one of self-discovery at a time when the world is in flux just as much as she is.
Through her account of romance on the road, fending-off amorous sea-dogs, dodging pirate attacks, facing adversity with courage, we begin to see how Jacqui’s upbringing prepared her to grow in confidence when faced with the unexpected.
I’m trying to avoid using the word ‘memoirs’; it seems such an outdated term to use, suggesting the reader can expect the rambling reminiscences of past-glory and dry facts gone musty with age. But the best of memoirs are anything but that and, if it seems a somehow inappropriate word to use when reviewing a motorcycle travel book, just consider how many great memories we all have as the result of a willingness to go places on two-wheels.
ISBN 978-0-9564305-6-4
Paperback 330pp colour images and maps
Published by Shuvvy Press (2017)
Motorcycle Messengers ed Jeremy Kroeker.
This Trans-Atlantic collection of writing from writers who ride, is more than just that. What Jeremy Kroeker has created with this volume, is a terrific introduction to the breadth of literature that exists within the travelling motorcycle community. It provides a platform for readers to acquaint new writers, regardless of how long they may have been producing text, and it honestly links two communities of overland travellers that for too long have been separated by a body of water. The irony is paramount.
Writers like Christopher P Baker, Ted Bishop, Mark Richardson and Jeremy Kroeker himself, are not commonly known in the UK and should be, creating as they do wonderfully engaging work. It seems remarkable that the written word inspires us to ride around the world and yet the words themselves don’t seem to have the same mobility in what we are told is an electronically interconnected world.
There is one exception of course, the author of the Foreword to this collection, Ted Simon, whose publications have deservedly reached far and wide, through exemplary content and international publication. But few large publishers take risks now and most are unwilling to step outside their content comfort zone, so it’s left to small independents who can never achieve the necessary global distribution. So as an English speaking community we find ourselves divided. And not this time, by the common language.
Yet the message is the same – that travel broadens the mind and that it’s the excitement of human interaction that really makes a trip, builds personality and breaks socially constructed barriers.
There are some book extracts here, but there is also new writing from young and old, and aside from great entertainment, this collection acts as a terrific pointer to further explore work of the 18 included authors. The last of the 26 stories is undoubtedly the newest and is written by the youngest, Natalie Ellis Barros, just 23. Age is no barrier to either riding or writing, but getting the exposure can be. At Overland we do our best, but here’s a title to leave in the smallest room, to dip into and from which to plan many more purchases. And journeys.
ISBN: 978-0-9918250-1-1
£9.99
Published by Oscillator Press (2015)
Writers like Christopher P Baker, Ted Bishop, Mark Richardson and Jeremy Kroeker himself, are not commonly known in the UK and should be, creating as they do wonderfully engaging work. It seems remarkable that the written word inspires us to ride around the world and yet the words themselves don’t seem to have the same mobility in what we are told is an electronically interconnected world.
There is one exception of course, the author of the Foreword to this collection, Ted Simon, whose publications have deservedly reached far and wide, through exemplary content and international publication. But few large publishers take risks now and most are unwilling to step outside their content comfort zone, so it’s left to small independents who can never achieve the necessary global distribution. So as an English speaking community we find ourselves divided. And not this time, by the common language.
Yet the message is the same – that travel broadens the mind and that it’s the excitement of human interaction that really makes a trip, builds personality and breaks socially constructed barriers.
There are some book extracts here, but there is also new writing from young and old, and aside from great entertainment, this collection acts as a terrific pointer to further explore work of the 18 included authors. The last of the 26 stories is undoubtedly the newest and is written by the youngest, Natalie Ellis Barros, just 23. Age is no barrier to either riding or writing, but getting the exposure can be. At Overland we do our best, but here’s a title to leave in the smallest room, to dip into and from which to plan many more purchases. And journeys.
ISBN: 978-0-9918250-1-1
£9.99
Published by Oscillator Press (2015)
By Motorcycle through Vietnam by Lawrence Bransby
Subtitled 'reflections on a gracious people', the thing that's most striking as this book progresses, is the gracious nature of the author. It's difficult for anyone to write about travel through Vietnam without mentioning the 'American war', or displaying some partisanship, but somehow Bransby has created a book which encapsulates the essence of motorcycle adventure, while simultaneously addressing the historical elephant in the room with a delicate humanism.
He doesn't employ a list of historical facts or anecdotes, yet plenty of information is interwoven between, or because of, the huge amount of local population interaction he strives to maintain as he travels. He manages to make every daily experience a moment of real human engagement and does this in part because of his insightful observations. Everything from watching the slow ritual creation of a cup of iced coffee, to interpreting the doleful eyes of a young masseuse, I am tempted on occasion to go so far as to call Bransby's descriptive prose simply beautiful. There are no pictures in this book and there is absolutely no requirement for them as the writing creates everything.
He's using a locally sourced 125 Honda dirt bike, which proves perfect for the terrain, and if you're after adventure motorcycling it’s all here: bull-dust, rocks, jungle, muddy single track routes all tackled in rain or oppressive heat. So too is the dodgy food, remarkable characters and insalubrious lodgings, but then there's something else that's very special. At the end of each chapter there are short extracts from a handful of books and diaries written by individuals who directly experienced the war in Vietnam. There is no need for comment, no need to labour points, but there is clear illustration of the reason for Bransby's choice of book sub-title.
Executing this 'extract' idea could have been awkward and unwieldy but has perhaps produced a masterpiece in the genre. If the definition of a good book is page-turning engagement, it's achieved here. If it's quality entertainment that inspires the reader to get out there and be brave enough to confront fears of isolation by respecting everyone from street dweller to head of state, it does that too.
ISBN: 978-152097-722-5
Paperback 279 pages £8.29
Published by author (2017)
He doesn't employ a list of historical facts or anecdotes, yet plenty of information is interwoven between, or because of, the huge amount of local population interaction he strives to maintain as he travels. He manages to make every daily experience a moment of real human engagement and does this in part because of his insightful observations. Everything from watching the slow ritual creation of a cup of iced coffee, to interpreting the doleful eyes of a young masseuse, I am tempted on occasion to go so far as to call Bransby's descriptive prose simply beautiful. There are no pictures in this book and there is absolutely no requirement for them as the writing creates everything.
He's using a locally sourced 125 Honda dirt bike, which proves perfect for the terrain, and if you're after adventure motorcycling it’s all here: bull-dust, rocks, jungle, muddy single track routes all tackled in rain or oppressive heat. So too is the dodgy food, remarkable characters and insalubrious lodgings, but then there's something else that's very special. At the end of each chapter there are short extracts from a handful of books and diaries written by individuals who directly experienced the war in Vietnam. There is no need for comment, no need to labour points, but there is clear illustration of the reason for Bransby's choice of book sub-title.
Executing this 'extract' idea could have been awkward and unwieldy but has perhaps produced a masterpiece in the genre. If the definition of a good book is page-turning engagement, it's achieved here. If it's quality entertainment that inspires the reader to get out there and be brave enough to confront fears of isolation by respecting everyone from street dweller to head of state, it does that too.
ISBN: 978-152097-722-5
Paperback 279 pages £8.29
Published by author (2017)
Going the wrong way review.png
Chris Donaldson left the Northern Irish ‘Troubles’ behind, to ride overland to Australia on his Moto Guzzi Le Mans. By today’s niche-market standards it was certainly not the ideal bike, but it was what he owned, and 1979/80 was a very different time. He sets the scene well in the early chapters.
Packed full of gripping adventure, this is a real page turner peppered with Northern Irish ‘turns of phrase’, which is comforting for me as someone who also grew up through the conflict.
He’s young, impetuous and as we ride with him through Europe nothing works out as planned, though in truth there was precious little in the way of a plan, other than to ride east. But then the Iranian revolution happened – access denied – and he had to head south, thinking a boat from Kenya to India might be an option. It wasn’t, so he kept going to Cape Town, where he hitched a lift to Rotterdam on a racing yacht. Bizarrely the yacht’s sponsors agreed to ship his bike to LA while he battled the mighty ocean waves on a very steep learning curve.
Yes, this is the story of 20 months’ and 43,000 miles living at a manic pace. Every kind of adrenalin-filled experience is here.
He cadged the place on the yacht with no sailing experience, in the same way that he bluffed his way through the war zones down Africa and crossed borders repeatedly without paperwork. There’s work, romance and riding with Hells Angels in the USA and there’s illness in Peru that effectively finishes him, turning the closing stages of the trip into a final dash to Buenos Aires and even more serendipitous encounters.
Written almost 40 years after the event, the mind can always play tricks, and there are some inconsistencies that detract from the narrative, like seeing a McDonald’s in Kenya in 1980 when the first one opened in 2017, or some of the abuse the bike seems to get and recover from. It was certainly a different time, with the Cold War and Apartheid raging, and it seems implausible that you could ride into Israel and not get stamps in your passport, but try not to let any of that detract from the story. If you want entertainment and something to really ignite any dormant feelings of wanderlust, this has got to be it.
After such a long time, I won’t ponder why this book has been rushed to press, but it’s that haste that disappoints. The text has random ‘returns’, in some places there are organisational headers that would doubtless be omitted if this was the final version of the manuscript, and some images are distorted or repeated – though with different captions – while others question the accuracy of the text.
With all that however, ‘Going the Wrong Way’ is engaging, exciting and refreshingly buoyant, making it ‘a good read’ for sure.
Paddy Tyson
ISBN: 978-1-8380127-6-2
Paperback 348pp 23pp colour images £13.99
Published by author (2020)
Packed full of gripping adventure, this is a real page turner peppered with Northern Irish ‘turns of phrase’, which is comforting for me as someone who also grew up through the conflict.
He’s young, impetuous and as we ride with him through Europe nothing works out as planned, though in truth there was precious little in the way of a plan, other than to ride east. But then the Iranian revolution happened – access denied – and he had to head south, thinking a boat from Kenya to India might be an option. It wasn’t, so he kept going to Cape Town, where he hitched a lift to Rotterdam on a racing yacht. Bizarrely the yacht’s sponsors agreed to ship his bike to LA while he battled the mighty ocean waves on a very steep learning curve.
Yes, this is the story of 20 months’ and 43,000 miles living at a manic pace. Every kind of adrenalin-filled experience is here.
He cadged the place on the yacht with no sailing experience, in the same way that he bluffed his way through the war zones down Africa and crossed borders repeatedly without paperwork. There’s work, romance and riding with Hells Angels in the USA and there’s illness in Peru that effectively finishes him, turning the closing stages of the trip into a final dash to Buenos Aires and even more serendipitous encounters.
Written almost 40 years after the event, the mind can always play tricks, and there are some inconsistencies that detract from the narrative, like seeing a McDonald’s in Kenya in 1980 when the first one opened in 2017, or some of the abuse the bike seems to get and recover from. It was certainly a different time, with the Cold War and Apartheid raging, and it seems implausible that you could ride into Israel and not get stamps in your passport, but try not to let any of that detract from the story. If you want entertainment and something to really ignite any dormant feelings of wanderlust, this has got to be it.
After such a long time, I won’t ponder why this book has been rushed to press, but it’s that haste that disappoints. The text has random ‘returns’, in some places there are organisational headers that would doubtless be omitted if this was the final version of the manuscript, and some images are distorted or repeated – though with different captions – while others question the accuracy of the text.
With all that however, ‘Going the Wrong Way’ is engaging, exciting and refreshingly buoyant, making it ‘a good read’ for sure.
Paddy Tyson
ISBN: 978-1-8380127-6-2
Paperback 348pp 23pp colour images £13.99
Published by author (2020)
‘Rebirth’ by Mark Holmes
It’s not uncommon for a book to be subtitled ‘…around the world on a…’ and this one is indeed like that. In this case it’s ‘…the world’s largest motorcycle’ but everything else about this book breaks the mould.
This certainly is a very personal journey. It seemed the most natural thing in the world for Mark Holmes to climb aboard his bike, a 2300cc Triumph Rocket X that he and his wife had used for many trips to Europe, when things in life took a turn for the worse. In the space of a few short weeks he had lost his wife and best friend to cancer, lost a business he’d run for years, and lost all of his income. But he had his bike.
To Ireland, then France and eastwards, the text does take some time to establish context, this is a very personal journey after all. He needs to grieve and consider what may happen next in his life. He needs to make decisions about where he should live – he always thought he might try a different country – and there is a lot of time for thought when you are inside a helmet. He did not expect what happened in France however, nor realise how it would impact on every part of the journey and be the reason that his RTW ride involved more than a dozen flights and even more personal anguish with his family.
You may think it starts slowly, but everything in those early months is important. By the time he reaches Turkey, and certainly Iran, the pace has been increased and there is a lot less of the detail and daily routine. His heart, attitude and mind is opening though and his ability to engage people in conversation is admirable. This is never going to be a story about battling swamps or rocky goat-tracks, as he’s hauling one of the world’s heaviest road bikes and wearing black leathers while he does it. Instead it’s a story of change, loss and very new love, from a man who learns how to smile. There’s transformation through travel. And there’s football…
His ideal route to Australia is repeatedly altered due mainly to visa and admin problems caused by the speed of his initial departure. His route up the Americas is altered by the new draconian legislation passed by President Trump meaning his 8-day transit of Iran made him persona non grata even though he’d visited the US countless times and done millions of dollars of business there in previous years. It meant more freighting to fly his bike into Vancouver.
Rebirth is well written and flows nicely. One or two thoughts are recounted too often, but when you consider the situation at the start, and the incredible outcome, it’s not a bit wonder. I won’t spoil it for you. Read it to find out!
ISBN: 978-109-33538-60
210 pages some B&W images throughout. (£12.99)
Published by author (2019)
This certainly is a very personal journey. It seemed the most natural thing in the world for Mark Holmes to climb aboard his bike, a 2300cc Triumph Rocket X that he and his wife had used for many trips to Europe, when things in life took a turn for the worse. In the space of a few short weeks he had lost his wife and best friend to cancer, lost a business he’d run for years, and lost all of his income. But he had his bike.
To Ireland, then France and eastwards, the text does take some time to establish context, this is a very personal journey after all. He needs to grieve and consider what may happen next in his life. He needs to make decisions about where he should live – he always thought he might try a different country – and there is a lot of time for thought when you are inside a helmet. He did not expect what happened in France however, nor realise how it would impact on every part of the journey and be the reason that his RTW ride involved more than a dozen flights and even more personal anguish with his family.
You may think it starts slowly, but everything in those early months is important. By the time he reaches Turkey, and certainly Iran, the pace has been increased and there is a lot less of the detail and daily routine. His heart, attitude and mind is opening though and his ability to engage people in conversation is admirable. This is never going to be a story about battling swamps or rocky goat-tracks, as he’s hauling one of the world’s heaviest road bikes and wearing black leathers while he does it. Instead it’s a story of change, loss and very new love, from a man who learns how to smile. There’s transformation through travel. And there’s football…
His ideal route to Australia is repeatedly altered due mainly to visa and admin problems caused by the speed of his initial departure. His route up the Americas is altered by the new draconian legislation passed by President Trump meaning his 8-day transit of Iran made him persona non grata even though he’d visited the US countless times and done millions of dollars of business there in previous years. It meant more freighting to fly his bike into Vancouver.
Rebirth is well written and flows nicely. One or two thoughts are recounted too often, but when you consider the situation at the start, and the incredible outcome, it’s not a bit wonder. I won’t spoil it for you. Read it to find out!
ISBN: 978-109-33538-60
210 pages some B&W images throughout. (£12.99)
Published by author (2019)
Moto Freight
Moto Freight are THE international motorcycle and vehicle transport specialists, with years of experience. Whether you are an adventure traveller, tourer, are buying/selling classics or relocating to another country, we are here to help!
Ubuntu by Heather Ellis
One woman’s motorcycle odyssey across Africa.
If the essence of a good travel book is one that informs and enthrals, engages and excites – though not melodramatically – and is written by an author who is honest and personal, yet not self-obsessed, then I’ve just read one of the best offerings of 2016.
Heather Ellis is an Australian who immersed herself and her Yamaha TT600 in the African continent for 15 months back in 1993/4. In her twenties at the time, she discovered the importance of trust and then embraced it wholeheartedly, eschewing fear in favour of believing in humanity. The result is reproduced within these 370 pages and is truly heart-warming, especially in this time of rising nationalism and misdirected hate.
Many of the African countries she travelled through were no more stable then than many are now, but by steadfastly ignoring media reports and seeing for herself, she grew immeasurably as a person and had a magnificent life experience.
This is not to say everything went well. Nearly dying in deserts and suffering recurring malaria, dysentery and worse, she nevertheless discovered that something always appeared at the right time and that those with next to nothing are the most likely to share it. Sleeping wild or under the auspices of ‘village head’ protection she was prepared to expose herself to the continent, warts and all, and was richly rewarded.
She built a real relationship with her TT but was not averse to leaving it – entrusted to strangers – while she climbed mountains or hiked through jungles. There is plenty of motorcycle action for those who need it to pepper their adventure travel stories, but it’s all relayed in a hugely accessible way. The story itself, like her confidence, improves markedly after she parts from her early travel companion, something which enabled standout experiences like the 24-day barge journey down the Congo river. This narrative is thrilling, beautifully written and highly recommended.
Paddy Tyson
ISBN:978-1-863958-20-2
Paperback, 370pp, pp colour plates from £15.99
Published by Nero (2016)
If the essence of a good travel book is one that informs and enthrals, engages and excites – though not melodramatically – and is written by an author who is honest and personal, yet not self-obsessed, then I’ve just read one of the best offerings of 2016.
Heather Ellis is an Australian who immersed herself and her Yamaha TT600 in the African continent for 15 months back in 1993/4. In her twenties at the time, she discovered the importance of trust and then embraced it wholeheartedly, eschewing fear in favour of believing in humanity. The result is reproduced within these 370 pages and is truly heart-warming, especially in this time of rising nationalism and misdirected hate.
Many of the African countries she travelled through were no more stable then than many are now, but by steadfastly ignoring media reports and seeing for herself, she grew immeasurably as a person and had a magnificent life experience.
This is not to say everything went well. Nearly dying in deserts and suffering recurring malaria, dysentery and worse, she nevertheless discovered that something always appeared at the right time and that those with next to nothing are the most likely to share it. Sleeping wild or under the auspices of ‘village head’ protection she was prepared to expose herself to the continent, warts and all, and was richly rewarded.
She built a real relationship with her TT but was not averse to leaving it – entrusted to strangers – while she climbed mountains or hiked through jungles. There is plenty of motorcycle action for those who need it to pepper their adventure travel stories, but it’s all relayed in a hugely accessible way. The story itself, like her confidence, improves markedly after she parts from her early travel companion, something which enabled standout experiences like the 24-day barge journey down the Congo river. This narrative is thrilling, beautifully written and highly recommended.
Paddy Tyson
ISBN:978-1-863958-20-2
Paperback, 370pp, pp colour plates from £15.99
Published by Nero (2016)
Old Men Can't Wait by Simon Gandolfi
Simon is afraid. Afraid that born in 1933 he's too old, too fragile now, that what he's about to do can't be done: ride from the far south of Argentina all the way to New York on a 125cc bike. Simon has to prove to his family, to the world and mostly to himself that actually, he still can. And by doing so, he also proves that we can do it. Even at less than half his age, I sometimes wonder if I'm able enough, fit enough, good enough a rider to go wherever I'm trying to go... It is comforting to know that a septuagenarian on a tiny Honda attempted to ride into the snowy Andes, crossed the Amazon forest, witnessed shady politics in action, sailed murky waters, dealt with border officials, even ventured in the mysterious urban jungles of the USA.
On the way, which is minutely described on a day-by-day basis, in an original and direct style, Simon meets people: in a restaurant, on the bus, the road, for a minute or for months and they are the actual heroes of this book. The constant separations, are the bad guys.
It is particularly comforting to know that Simon refused to acknowledge that these travels were not appropriate for an old man. He demonstrates that we all have time to see the world, and reading this American odyssey is a very good start, as inspiration and education.
ISBN 978-0-9564305-2-6
Paperback 270pp £9.99
Published by Shuvvy Press (2011)
On the way, which is minutely described on a day-by-day basis, in an original and direct style, Simon meets people: in a restaurant, on the bus, the road, for a minute or for months and they are the actual heroes of this book. The constant separations, are the bad guys.
It is particularly comforting to know that Simon refused to acknowledge that these travels were not appropriate for an old man. He demonstrates that we all have time to see the world, and reading this American odyssey is a very good start, as inspiration and education.
ISBN 978-0-9564305-2-6
Paperback 270pp £9.99
Published by Shuvvy Press (2011)
Empire Road by Alan Whelan
Alan Whelan has an ability to convey experiences and encounters in an easy descriptive style. His observations about people and places sit well alongside historical context that scratches below the surface without being wordy. They are lightly sketched yet apposite, efficient rather than superficial.
The latest book in a series about African journeys, ‘Empire Road’ is the most insightful and thought-provoking yet. As with ‘African Brew Ha-Ha’ and ‘The Black Stars of Ghana’, what you get is an entertaining and well-written account of a down-to-basics journey of discovery with purpose.
Each of his trips on locally sourced Chinese bikes have had a device at their core: seeing who you get to talk to as you brew a cuppa by the roadside; looking in on the World Cup through the eyes of football-crazy underdogs and now, a ‘circumambulation’ of Lake Victoria following the trails left by Livingstone and other early European explorers.
Alan prefers to travel optimistically; no GPS or laptop, just an open attitude, a single change of clothes, a notebook, camera and voice-recorder in a back-pack strapped to the luggage-rack of (this trip) a Shineray XY175GY ‘Sport’. That optimism is borne-out by frequent kindnesses of the sort that see a penniless rider rescued by banks willing to open-up after closing for the day, or a stranded trucker that uses air from his own tyres to help the ‘mzungu’ back on his way. But there is no glossing over the potential for conflict and banditry, on one memorable day he is attacked by warriors on the lonely road to Lake Turkama and later nearly waylaid by a highwayman truck-driver.
Africa has become addictive to Alan as “…the place with the greatest allure – the deep wells of sincerity, the harsh living, the wildlife, the capacity to see nothing as ordinary, an amazed attitude to life, and the open-armed hospitality all encourage exploration.”
Written with warmth and humanity, ‘Empire Road’ is a thoroughly enjoyable and engaging read; a compelling nudge for anybody thinking about their future travel plans.
ISBN 978-0-9572248-1-0
Paperback 225pp £9.99
Published by Inkstand Press (2015)
The latest book in a series about African journeys, ‘Empire Road’ is the most insightful and thought-provoking yet. As with ‘African Brew Ha-Ha’ and ‘The Black Stars of Ghana’, what you get is an entertaining and well-written account of a down-to-basics journey of discovery with purpose.
Each of his trips on locally sourced Chinese bikes have had a device at their core: seeing who you get to talk to as you brew a cuppa by the roadside; looking in on the World Cup through the eyes of football-crazy underdogs and now, a ‘circumambulation’ of Lake Victoria following the trails left by Livingstone and other early European explorers.
Alan prefers to travel optimistically; no GPS or laptop, just an open attitude, a single change of clothes, a notebook, camera and voice-recorder in a back-pack strapped to the luggage-rack of (this trip) a Shineray XY175GY ‘Sport’. That optimism is borne-out by frequent kindnesses of the sort that see a penniless rider rescued by banks willing to open-up after closing for the day, or a stranded trucker that uses air from his own tyres to help the ‘mzungu’ back on his way. But there is no glossing over the potential for conflict and banditry, on one memorable day he is attacked by warriors on the lonely road to Lake Turkama and later nearly waylaid by a highwayman truck-driver.
Africa has become addictive to Alan as “…the place with the greatest allure – the deep wells of sincerity, the harsh living, the wildlife, the capacity to see nothing as ordinary, an amazed attitude to life, and the open-armed hospitality all encourage exploration.”
Written with warmth and humanity, ‘Empire Road’ is a thoroughly enjoyable and engaging read; a compelling nudge for anybody thinking about their future travel plans.
ISBN 978-0-9572248-1-0
Paperback 225pp £9.99
Published by Inkstand Press (2015)
Sleeping around in America by Andrew Beattie
This 304-page colourful publication personifies ‘coffee-table’ reading. You can absorb the linear narrative and follow the story of a man who takes 50 days to visit 50 classically-styled motels, riding his BMW F800GT 10,150 miles in the process, or you can dip in to enjoy the stories of life, love and loss that every one of those motels produces. He interweaves both seamlessly.
Family-owned, neon-lit motels may be a staple of twentieth century North American popular culture; road-trip romance instilled by Hollywood, but the reality is that very few remain. Built cheaply and quickly to cater for a newly mobile America, they were often torn down or just collapsed as the network of highways developed, simultaneously changing the value of land and the fortunes of those who found themselves bypassed. Having been aspirational places for many travellers, where they might experience colour TVs or trouser presses for the first time, they were all too soon to be the domicile of down-and-outs, or bought out and homogenised into the Holiday Inns and Super 8s that line the freeways today.
There is definitely a travelogue here of value, and the early chapters which set the scene of this bygone hospitality industry and its striking architecture are just wonderfully written and educational. However, what makes this for me is that the stories from each motel aren’t observation from afar, or projection by Beattie given his experience of staying in them. This is solid journalism that has taken the time to arrange to meet the proprietors and hear their stories, as well as research the previous life these establishments led in other hands. For some of these places with their restored neon signage, their heyday may not have passed in 1963, but in fact be coming yet as people crave individuality, or times past, and eschew the bland mediocrity of identikit hotels.
Following that opening section each chapter focuses on one or two premises, which enables that pick and mix way of reading, should you wish to dip in and out of this book. Thankfully there are more than 50 surviving ‘Roadside Motels’ in North America. The author’s website motelorcycle.com continues to expand documenting them, their architecture, history and current owners.
Capturing and revitalising the romance of the era, this beautifully presented publication is one of those books, should it be left lying around, that may lead to your loved one suggesting a trans-American ride. Just sayin’…
Review by Paddy Tyson
ISBN: 978-1-5255-6752-0
304 pages colour images throughout.
PB £24.99 HB £34.99
Published by Friesen Press (2020)
Family-owned, neon-lit motels may be a staple of twentieth century North American popular culture; road-trip romance instilled by Hollywood, but the reality is that very few remain. Built cheaply and quickly to cater for a newly mobile America, they were often torn down or just collapsed as the network of highways developed, simultaneously changing the value of land and the fortunes of those who found themselves bypassed. Having been aspirational places for many travellers, where they might experience colour TVs or trouser presses for the first time, they were all too soon to be the domicile of down-and-outs, or bought out and homogenised into the Holiday Inns and Super 8s that line the freeways today.
There is definitely a travelogue here of value, and the early chapters which set the scene of this bygone hospitality industry and its striking architecture are just wonderfully written and educational. However, what makes this for me is that the stories from each motel aren’t observation from afar, or projection by Beattie given his experience of staying in them. This is solid journalism that has taken the time to arrange to meet the proprietors and hear their stories, as well as research the previous life these establishments led in other hands. For some of these places with their restored neon signage, their heyday may not have passed in 1963, but in fact be coming yet as people crave individuality, or times past, and eschew the bland mediocrity of identikit hotels.
Following that opening section each chapter focuses on one or two premises, which enables that pick and mix way of reading, should you wish to dip in and out of this book. Thankfully there are more than 50 surviving ‘Roadside Motels’ in North America. The author’s website motelorcycle.com continues to expand documenting them, their architecture, history and current owners.
Capturing and revitalising the romance of the era, this beautifully presented publication is one of those books, should it be left lying around, that may lead to your loved one suggesting a trans-American ride. Just sayin’…
Review by Paddy Tyson
ISBN: 978-1-5255-6752-0
304 pages colour images throughout.
PB £24.99 HB £34.99
Published by Friesen Press (2020)
A Bird too Far by Robert Duncan
Many people seek a hook on which to hang their journey, something that will stand out on the social media battlefield and gain them notoriety. Others just get on with it, are true to themselves, and don’t seem to notice that they have produced something unique.
When this book arrived I really wasn’t sure what to make of it, given that digital media has enabled the democratisation of publishing, but I tentatively dipped in nonetheless and am glad that I did. It is really well written, perfectly proofed and easy to read. It’s also strangely compulsive which, hand on heart, I hadn’t expected because it actually is about birds. Yes, the fluffy kind.
My ignorance means I know there are little brown jobs and really big ‘soary overhead’ ones, but beyond that bird spotting has never really kindled any inner flame. Motorcycles on the other hand… which is why I wondered how much of this book would hold my attention and if it really, honestly, was about bird-watching. It is and it compelled me to learn and broaden my understanding of the natural world. I had no idea that Romania is home such an incredible range of species!
Robert Duncan is a twitcher aboard a CBF600, undertaking a dream journey around Europe on a quest to see birds in their natural habitat, before it’s too late, for them and for him. He ‘ticks’ 243 birds from his list during the ride but what difference to ticking off Alpine passes as many do? He’s not an overly confident rider and doesn’t allude to any heroics, though you may be able to empathise if you’ve ever had to ride when exhausted and ill, stopping to throw-up at the side of the road in the pouring rain.
But birding and indeed biking is only half the story, as Duncan rides around Europe for 2 months. He also faces the kinds of realities that befall most of us when dealing with a family life that may have become something other than the dream once youthfully envisioned. There is no ladling of self-pity, but there is the honesty of acknowledging the battle between guilt and pleasure when undertaking a solo trip, knowing that some responsibilities are being put on hold, or given to others.
It certainly is different, I learnt a lot and really enjoyed this book.
ISBN: 978-17941-663-56
372 pp sprinkling of B&W images (£10)
Published by Littlehouse Publishing (2019)
When this book arrived I really wasn’t sure what to make of it, given that digital media has enabled the democratisation of publishing, but I tentatively dipped in nonetheless and am glad that I did. It is really well written, perfectly proofed and easy to read. It’s also strangely compulsive which, hand on heart, I hadn’t expected because it actually is about birds. Yes, the fluffy kind.
My ignorance means I know there are little brown jobs and really big ‘soary overhead’ ones, but beyond that bird spotting has never really kindled any inner flame. Motorcycles on the other hand… which is why I wondered how much of this book would hold my attention and if it really, honestly, was about bird-watching. It is and it compelled me to learn and broaden my understanding of the natural world. I had no idea that Romania is home such an incredible range of species!
Robert Duncan is a twitcher aboard a CBF600, undertaking a dream journey around Europe on a quest to see birds in their natural habitat, before it’s too late, for them and for him. He ‘ticks’ 243 birds from his list during the ride but what difference to ticking off Alpine passes as many do? He’s not an overly confident rider and doesn’t allude to any heroics, though you may be able to empathise if you’ve ever had to ride when exhausted and ill, stopping to throw-up at the side of the road in the pouring rain.
But birding and indeed biking is only half the story, as Duncan rides around Europe for 2 months. He also faces the kinds of realities that befall most of us when dealing with a family life that may have become something other than the dream once youthfully envisioned. There is no ladling of self-pity, but there is the honesty of acknowledging the battle between guilt and pleasure when undertaking a solo trip, knowing that some responsibilities are being put on hold, or given to others.
It certainly is different, I learnt a lot and really enjoyed this book.
ISBN: 978-17941-663-56
372 pp sprinkling of B&W images (£10)
Published by Littlehouse Publishing (2019)
Motorcycle Messengers 2 ed Jeremy Kroeke
As the catchy title may lead you to discern, this is the second of the Oscillator Press collections of writing by ‘writers who ride’, this time with a foreword by Charley Boorman.
There are some of the instantly recognisable names here, like Ted Simon, Chris Scott and Sam Manicom, but rather like the last edition, there are some that will be totally new to you, and what better way to sample and get a feel for different styles?
Catherine Germillac from France, who I was fortunate to meet at The Overland Event, writes of the surreal in Colombia, as she tries to deliver chocolate truffles through a Bogota gun fight. Allan Karl who’s an author and TV personality based in California, recounts the hilarious tale of getting change – of a sort – from a Guatemalan policemen who’s demanding a bribe and Billy Ward decides to test his mettle by sleeping totally wild in the African bush.
I’d never heard of Allan and didn’t know that Catherine or Billy wrote so engagingly, and that’s the real beauty of this anthology. Here is an introduction to writers and to experiences in twenty-four parts of the world that you may have never considered visiting and it’s really worth reading these easily accessible vignettes.
Already available in North America it’s planned UK release is end of March 2019.
ISBN: 978-09918-250-2-8
287pages (£13.50)
Published by Oscillator Press (2018)
There are some of the instantly recognisable names here, like Ted Simon, Chris Scott and Sam Manicom, but rather like the last edition, there are some that will be totally new to you, and what better way to sample and get a feel for different styles?
Catherine Germillac from France, who I was fortunate to meet at The Overland Event, writes of the surreal in Colombia, as she tries to deliver chocolate truffles through a Bogota gun fight. Allan Karl who’s an author and TV personality based in California, recounts the hilarious tale of getting change – of a sort – from a Guatemalan policemen who’s demanding a bribe and Billy Ward decides to test his mettle by sleeping totally wild in the African bush.
I’d never heard of Allan and didn’t know that Catherine or Billy wrote so engagingly, and that’s the real beauty of this anthology. Here is an introduction to writers and to experiences in twenty-four parts of the world that you may have never considered visiting and it’s really worth reading these easily accessible vignettes.
Already available in North America it’s planned UK release is end of March 2019.
ISBN: 978-09918-250-2-8
287pages (£13.50)
Published by Oscillator Press (2018)
Southern Escapades by Zoe Cano
You might well be familiar with Zoë Cano; the well-travelled Brit with a penchant for Triumph’s Bonneville twins, has been a regular feature at bike events large and small since the publication of her first book "Bonneville go or bust" in 2014.
Zoë Cano is one of a handful of authors who have gone beyond having a stab at writing–up their adventures, taking a professional and committed approach to marketing books that people clearly love to read.
She counts herself especially lucky to have landed a publishing deal, albeit not with a UK publisher. “Bonneville go or bust" was picked up by Florida based 'Road Dog' publications, almost by accident, after the proprietor happened to see a US magazine interview with her. Mike Fitterling liked her Brit's-eye view of touring on some of the USA's quieter and more interesting roads. They struck a deal and the book did well.
When Mike invited Zoë to fly back to the States for a promotional tour of bike shows, and to ride some of the back roads of the southern states with him on another Bonneville, she knew it was an opportunity not to be missed.
That tour provided the jumping off point for her latest offering, “Southern Escapades”.
Compared to her first book, this story has a very different dynamic. For the most part Zoë is travelling with someone else, rather than her preferred solo mode. More than that, when they travel together Mike is in charge; he has the local knowledge, knows the culture and can string together a route linking some of best roads he knows between hospitable friends who will provide a free roof for the night.
In between those long-distance loops between promo events, Zoë does manage to take off on her own for a few days and spends a while camped out at the beach; decompressing and reflecting on the beauty and charm of the southland and its people.
Zoë’s descriptions of the characters she meets are nicely three-dimensional, but didn’t always strike me as natural with a little too much explanation and scene setting forced into some of the reported conversations.
I’ve stumbled over some of the syntax in both of Zoë’s books. That can be an issue to do with style more than substance, but there were times when I wondered whether this title had been properly proof-read. Not least because of the annoying regularity with which commas are placed both before and after the word ‘and’.
There are around three-dozen black and white photos interspersed where they can help to illustrate the text. I like that approach, but it would work even better with a little more thought given to conveying a scene by cropping some of the images.
But, put those criticisms to one side and give her work a fair go, because if you like your authors down to earth and capable of carrying you with them on their travels, then you'll probably like Zoë's work.
ISBN: 978-1890623494
Paperback 240 pages B&W images throughout
Published by Road Dog Publications (2016)
Zoë Cano is one of a handful of authors who have gone beyond having a stab at writing–up their adventures, taking a professional and committed approach to marketing books that people clearly love to read.
She counts herself especially lucky to have landed a publishing deal, albeit not with a UK publisher. “Bonneville go or bust" was picked up by Florida based 'Road Dog' publications, almost by accident, after the proprietor happened to see a US magazine interview with her. Mike Fitterling liked her Brit's-eye view of touring on some of the USA's quieter and more interesting roads. They struck a deal and the book did well.
When Mike invited Zoë to fly back to the States for a promotional tour of bike shows, and to ride some of the back roads of the southern states with him on another Bonneville, she knew it was an opportunity not to be missed.
That tour provided the jumping off point for her latest offering, “Southern Escapades”.
Compared to her first book, this story has a very different dynamic. For the most part Zoë is travelling with someone else, rather than her preferred solo mode. More than that, when they travel together Mike is in charge; he has the local knowledge, knows the culture and can string together a route linking some of best roads he knows between hospitable friends who will provide a free roof for the night.
In between those long-distance loops between promo events, Zoë does manage to take off on her own for a few days and spends a while camped out at the beach; decompressing and reflecting on the beauty and charm of the southland and its people.
Zoë’s descriptions of the characters she meets are nicely three-dimensional, but didn’t always strike me as natural with a little too much explanation and scene setting forced into some of the reported conversations.
I’ve stumbled over some of the syntax in both of Zoë’s books. That can be an issue to do with style more than substance, but there were times when I wondered whether this title had been properly proof-read. Not least because of the annoying regularity with which commas are placed both before and after the word ‘and’.
There are around three-dozen black and white photos interspersed where they can help to illustrate the text. I like that approach, but it would work even better with a little more thought given to conveying a scene by cropping some of the images.
But, put those criticisms to one side and give her work a fair go, because if you like your authors down to earth and capable of carrying you with them on their travels, then you'll probably like Zoë's work.
ISBN: 978-1890623494
Paperback 240 pages B&W images throughout
Published by Road Dog Publications (2016)
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