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Two more motorcycle travel books.
With touring off due to the virus I am catching up on few things I had forgotten about like posting these two motorcycle adventure books.
All the Gear, No Idea
In 1997 Michele Harrison at age 33 quit her office job and purchased a Royal Enfield motorcycle to tour India. Up to that point her riding experience was limited to scooters in London. She then travels some 27,000 odd km around India. The book details the highs and lows of that huge adventure.
I know this book has been inspiring to quite a few riders, I personally did not connect to it in that way. Some chapters read more like a diary than travel book and I found those slow going and even started skipping a little of it. Perhaps those parts speak more to other women however overall I still found enough to enjoy in the book. It’s just $2.59 currently in Kindle format, not risking much to try it.
Way to Go
Way to go is actually two separate stories. The main is Delhi to Belfast on a Royal Enfield and a smaller follow up is Route 66 on a Harley. Like Michele, the author had little motorcycle experience when he decides to buy a Royal Enfield and ride it back to Ireland but Geoff Hill is an award winning journalist and a professional travel writer so this book is very well written.
The India ride is truly a brilliant bit of travel writing. Geoff is a very funny guy. You will laugh out loud but his acute observations are also very thoughtful. The India to Ireland ride remains one of my favorite motorcycle travel stories and I think most people will really enjoy it. The additional ride in this book for me was not as good, let down perhaps by the editing that allowed the tone to be bit too critical. If you want a great motorcycle ride in USA book then look for Twisting Throttle America which pokes a lot of fun at everyone including the author and now finally released on Kindle.
Anyway the main story in this book is worth the price and two rides for the price one makes this also good value in Kindle format. Geoff has since ridden the pan American route and a RTW ride and I look forward to reading those stories in future.
