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- A Fast Bike Through the Badlands - July 3, 2025
- Free Ride - June 27, 2025
By Noraly Schoenmaker
I don’t follow the Itchy Boots YouTube channel. I watched a little when Noraly was in the Antofagasta de la Sierra but nothing more. That’s not a negative review because I really can’t bring myself to watch any of the popular moto vloggers for long enough to give a review.
But I also can’t bring myself to watch 99% of TV series or Hollywood movies made recently either. I just flew Qatar airlines who offered 800 video on demand choices and couldn’t find a single thing to watch. So yeah I am a bit of an odd one. I watch some new foreign cinema and some old classic cinema but my TV sits idle most of the time.
I actually do like travel documentaries and try to watch moto tours posted to YouTube. However I dislike the 155 degree FOV from GoPro’s which flattens the landscape and I find helmet cam footage boring, then throw in older cams have poor dynamic range and all details are lost. The Missenden flyers tour of Japan is an example of this, I know every road he was guided over yet the video failed to capture them. But I digress.
I noticed Noraly’s book being released so decided I would add it to my Kindle for the multi flight journey from Townsville to Munich and am writing this review whilst still in route at Doha airport having finished the book in roughly 6 hours.
I enjoyed reading it far more than I expected. It follows the story of Noraly’s decision to leave stable employment and try to make it initially as a travel blogger before setting her sights on being a full time moto vlogger.
Not being a follower I was unaware of this first moto journey Noraly took or the extensive non moto travel Noraly had completed prior to this in her professional career and those non moto stories interested me as much as the ride she did from India to Malaysia then from Oman to Netherlands.
A common theme in every moto adventure story is being under dressed for the conditions and there are a few chapters featuring this in the book. I sometimes find myself saying out loud please just buy some proper riding gear when reading these moto stories. But then I remember I never used to own any decent gear either until much later in life. It’s a weird thing we riders do as a decent setup these days doesn’t cost a fortune long as you ignore the marketing hype of big brands.
I found the writing well paced. Whilst I was not really interested in reading more about riding Central Asia (because every moto writer has already written about riding that region) I got through those chapters easy. The only criticism I can think of is Noraly brings up her ex and his affair more times than is necessary.
Anyway you don’t need to be a follower of the channel to enjoy this book. I liked it a lot and recommend it.
Well Warren. I taught that You are a bit more “ Harlequin” of a guy😜
Best regards my friend
Safe travels
Hey mate, well you know I am sometimes a jester 🙂
When are we meeting up for another epic moto tour somewhere in the wide world?