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Travellers' questions that don't fit anywhere else This is an opportunity to ask any question, and post any notice you wish that doesn't fit into one of the other sections.
Photo by Lois Pryce, schoolkids in Algeria

25 years of HU Events


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Photo of Lois Pryce, UK
and schoolkids in Algeria



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  #1  
Old 3 Jul 2004
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I agree the JT get lost in places. I thought the last 1/4 was basically a rush to get home. Nevertheless, there are many great chapters and compared to the rest of the books it stands out IMHO.

I also agree the Peyton's DP series is very informative and motivating. In fact, I decided not to go to Colombia because he strongly advises against going.

A little off topic, but Blue Highways was a great read. I always thought of trying to retrace that trip on a motorcycle.
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  #2  
Old 3 Jul 2004
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I read Jupiters travels many years ago when I was 18 and decided then that that was what I wanted to do and so far I have managed one trip to Australia from the UK and one to Capetown, just the Americas now to have done a RTW, albeit in 3 stages.
One book on motorcycle travel I would recommend is Sparing with Charlie by Christopher Hunt, very funny account of his travels in Vietnam by Russian 2 stroke
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  #3  
Old 4 Jul 2004
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How about "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", it gets way of topic concerning bike travels, but it´s one of my all time favourites.
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  #4  
Old 23 Nov 2006
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The Truth about Motorcycle Travel!
Hi, I'm the writer of most of the above book. It was actually about travelling in Europe (written by Peter Rae) and a trip by my friend Charlie and myself from Australia to the Guinness brewery in Dublin. I then did a bit of other travelling with my wife-to-be and finished the trip by myself, crossing America and returning to Oz.
I will be republishing my section of the book some time in 2007. It will be called 'The King of Every Kingdom'.
Meanwhile, I edit Australian Road Rider magazine and sell my other books: 'Motorcycling in Australia' and 'On the Road Again'. Feel free to get in touch at the.bear@optusnet.com.au .
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Old 9 Dec 2006
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not about bikes and can't remember who it is by but 'The bone man of Benares' had a bigger impact on me than any other travel book I have read. funny but also tragic, it goes deep into the psychology of travel. if it doesn't bring a tear to your eye you really are a heartless bxxxxxx!!

also the perfect vehicle by melissa holbrook peterson. about her love of motorcycling, guzzies in particular and the occassional man! a companion story for women, an eye opener for men.

then of course there is 'me, dad and the Plymouth to Dakar' my own book about me not quite killing my dad on the pdc!! it's available through my ebay shop at
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Captain-Mog...3aFQ3aSTQQtZkm
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  #6  
Old 28 Feb 2007
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Originally Posted by moggy 1968 View Post
not about bikes and can't remember who it is by but 'The bone man of Benares' had a bigger impact on me than any other travel book I have read. funny but also tragic, it goes deep into the psychology of travel. if it doesn't bring a tear to your eye you really are a heartless bxxxxxx!!

also the perfect vehicle by melissa holbrook peterson. about her love of motorcycling, guzzies in particular and the occassional man! a companion story for women, an eye opener for men.

then of course there is 'me, dad and the Plymouth to Dakar' my own book about me not quite killing my dad on the pdc!! it's available through my ebay shop at
eBay UK Shop - Captain Moggy's Surplus Store: The QM's Store -miscellaneous, QM's Store -military Trousers

The Bone man of Benares is by Terry Tarnoff, who did the hippy trail thing back in the '70s I think. Truly fabulous despite the lack of bikes. I'm halfway through "Mondo Enduro" and it's brilliant! Really don't-want-it-to-end-good.
I got it to pass the time while I recover from surgery and I'm almost scared to read it in case I split my stiches laughing!
I didn't think "Lois on the Loose" was available yet? Of to Amazon then, the excerpts in the AMH were hilarious.
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Old 1 Mar 2007
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Greg Frazier's M/Cycle Touring
This is an interesting book if you're a beginner - if youre more experienced you'll like reading it but wont learn much. The price is way too high in the UK; I bought it and found it wasn't worth the £16. I should have spent the money on petrol instead. Chris Scott's Adventure M/Cycling is a much better buy.

Despite his travels, Greg says that laws in other countries like Venezuela are based on Napoleonic laws where you are guilty till proved innocent. I refute this. There is an occasional patronising thread throughout, but he has a good attitude to bike travel, and is healthily immune to the hysterical "latest model" mania which is so current.

It is a US book, so there is a lot of space given to those lumbering giant rolling armchairs of bikes which are so common there.
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  #8  
Old 27 Feb 2007
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Wink another decent book....
Another good book that deserves a mention is 'Smith & Son' - an account of father and son trip across Africa on a pair of Triumph Tiger cubs.
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Old 4 Jul 2004
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I picked up an motorcycle anthology, called "She's a Bad Motorcycle", and while most of the stories are in the outlaw biker genre, one story stood out so much that I actually called the publisher to try and find other titles by the same author, to no avail. The story is called "Girl on a Motorcycle" by Rachel Kushner. It's the story of how she was influenced by a former boyfriend to ride the Cabo 1000, an unofficial street race from Tijuana to Cabo, down the Baja peninsula. While she is obviouly venting some anger (well, a lot of anger) at her ex, it is a great look at the motorcycle lifestyle, from a womean's point of view, without glossing over some of the contradictions that go with it. If I knew she was just pissed off at her ex and not men in general, and knew how to find her, I might have to ask her to marry me, sight unseen.

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  #10  
Old 6 Jul 2004
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I've read many of the books out there. "Odyssey to Ushuaia" gives some insight as to what it is like to travel in a group. Three guys who meet on the internet argue their way thru South America. After reading that book, I am definately going solo <g>.

IMHO, It may not be the best written book, but the best story, hands down, is Dave Barr's "Riding the Edge". Very inspiring.

The best adventure story ever told, is the story of Shackleton expedition as chronicled in "Endurance" by Alfred Lansing

good thread
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  #11  
Old 8 Jul 2004
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The Bikeriders by danny lyon, great photographs from 60's american bike gangs with their stories. Only could only get it as a soft cover here in Austraaalia.
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Old 13 Jul 2004
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Agree with Pedro "Zen" is a brilliant read.
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Old 25 Aug 2004
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I happen to see Bikeriders in a Barnes and Noble here in the U.S. Very interesting photos but not much text. Whitehorse Press has also started selling it.

I read Zen when I was in high school and think that is what planted the motorcycle bug in me. I still have the old paperback; need to read it again soon.


Has anyone read Terror on Two Wheels yet?
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Old 25 Aug 2004
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Pedro picked one of my favorites for describing being on the road and connecting with a bike. Zen and the art of motorcycle maint. I even had a old honda superhawk about the time that book came out.
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Old 25 Aug 2004
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Just finished reading "Two Wheels Through Terror" by Glen Heggstad. It recounts his trip from California to tip of South America & back again via Brazil. En-route he was kidnapped & held captive for 5 weeks by ELN rebels in Columbia. Once released, he refused to return home, had a bike shipped to Columbia & carried on with his journey.

He's currently travelling to Germany from Vladovostok, via Mongolia on an F650. An ongoing account of his travels, writing under the name of Striking Viking, can be read here:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41699

[This message has been edited by Steve Pickford (edited 25 August 2004).]
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