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motorcycle literature — travels (authors L–Z)

One woman's account of riding her motorcycle from New Jersey to Alaska and back. Realizing that years of work and travel in other people's countries made her a stranger in her own, Karen Larsen set out on a fifteen-thousand-mile trip with nothing but her motorcycle and the barest of essentials. Her journey tests the limits of her own endurance, challenges her long-held beliefs and values, and asks what it means to belong to a family. Danny Liska rode his BMW R60 motorcycle from Alaska to Argentina in 1960–61, the first person to complete an overland route from the Arctic Circle to the tip of South America. This classic book is 755 pages of pure adventure, with a photo or illustration on nearly every page.

The second (2004) hardcover edition features more than 600 photographs and illustrations, plus extraordinary high quality printing to exactly match the first (1989) edition.

The story of a 115-day, 20,000-mile motorcycle trip from London to New York, via Europe, the Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, across the Bering Strait to Alaska, then down through Canada and America. Given McGregor's "movie star" status, and the extensive Bravo TV support, it's all a bit artificial in execution, but a challenging journey through often inhospitable territory nonetheless.

This is the companion book to the 10-episode TV documentary of the same name, available as a three-DVD set; it's best to view this video first. An inferior, 7-episode two-DVD version is also marketed. An enhanced, illustrated edition of the New York Times bestseller (described above), with hundreds of colour photographs.

It's still better to watch the video first, preferably the full 10-episode version. "You want a nice read? Get this book." —Rider Magazine

"Notch grabs your attention with the promise of a well-written travelogue. But he delivers more." —BMW Owners News

"... rich with metaphors that seem right on target and are quite entertaining." —Friction Zone

"Finally, a book that we love ... the energy that propels this book is unstoppable ..." —Minnesota Motorcycle Monthly

Stuck in a rut, Torontonian Dan Murphy (with limited motorcycle experience) quits the two best jobs he ever had and takes off on a 10,000-mile solo motorcycle trip, visiting Newfoundland, Alaska, and the Grand Canyon. This is the record of his adventures. A compelling book about a tumultuous and complicated three-month journey around the Baltic Sea. Noren is exhilarated by the challenges presented by a used BMW, but his girlfriend hates it from the get-go. Screaming down the Autobahn in driving rain at 85 mph, stumbling upon a motorcycle rally full of alcohol-induced biker revelers, and camping out after long days on the road don't hold the same appeal for her that they do for him. The story works on many levels, but at its best is a poignant account of two people whose dreams have begun to diverge. It is also a descriptive travelogue, full of wonderful passages that bring the landscapes of Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland to life. Required reading for anyone even thinking about taking that round-the-world trip. "Lyrical and pleasing reflections on machinery, midlife crisis, and sundry other matters ... with a used machine, he took to the road, making his way from New Mexico to Alaska and back again, celebrating the freedom afforded him by the Harley-as-extension-of-self ... a series of loosely connected essays ... a nice entertainment ... " —Kirkus Reviews

This book is a retitled reprint of Pilgrimage on a Steel Ride, previously published.

For more than a decade, Norwegian photographer Helge and his sturdy BMW motorcycle Olga travelled in vagabond style, across five continents and over a quarter of a million miles. This book is the gorgeously-photographed record of that journey: crossing deserts and jungles; coping with dystentry, malaria, extreme hunger, broken bones, & infection; enduring corruption in Africa, imprisonment in Somalia, & expulsion from Japan; and meeting the challenges of a serious love affair with an American. Adventure travel books don't get much better than this.

This book is currently out of print, and may be difficult/expensive to acquire.

"Peart’s story reminded me of Theodore Roosevelt’s travel West to overcome the sorrow of losing his wife and mother ... " —CNN Headline News

An often moving account of a 55,000-mile motorcycle journey (across much of North America, down through Mexico to Belize, and back again) in an odyssey to recover from the deaths of his wife and nineteen-year-old daughter, by the drummer of the rock group Rush.

"Bored by her desk job at the BBC, Pryce decided to convert her travel daydreams into real-life adventure. At her local travel bookshop, she discovered a book called Jupiter's Travels by Ted Simon as well as a few handbooks on motorcycle adventuring, and she was hooked. She bought a small dirt bike, a versatile and affordable Yamaha XT225 Serow, and decided she'd bike from Anchorage, Alaska, to the southernmost city of South America, Ushuaia, Argentina—almost 20,000 miles. In this engaging read, Pryce narrates the adventure. Local bikers helped the witty and sociable Pryce get her Serow fixed, strangers offered shelter or advice and various friends joined her, for better or worse. She rode through flaking dried mud and boulder-strewn donkey paths, through broiling desert heat and blinding Andean snows. Armchair travelers will delight in this funny, vivid account and—almost—wish they'd done it themselves. B&w photos throughout." —Publishers Weekly From the Gulf Coast to the Pacific and back again, La Ropa Sucia ("Dirty Laundry") is a brief account of the adventures and mis-adventures of four long-time Harley-Davidson riders (and friends for more than thirty years) as they navigate mountain roads and enjoy ocean vistas on a 3,000-mile, nine day tour of Mexico. Photos, route maps, and useful motorcycle travel tips are included. An enjoyable — if short — read for those planning (or dreaming about) their next trip. "A strange work of travel writing that might well have been entitled International Investment and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Motorcycle enthusiasts and investors ... will enjoy this account by fast-track biker and financier Rogers of his 20-month world odyssey in search of financial enlightenment. In 1980, he retired from Wall Street, a millionaire at the age of 37, intent on fulfilling his dream of riding his motorcycle around the entire planet. After years of battling with Communist bureaucrats in both China and the Soviet Union, Rogers crossed China by motorcycle in 1988 and received permission in 1989 to cross Siberia. With his girlfriend, he finally set off in March 1990 for a world tour, commencing from Ireland, traversing six continents, and finishing in Texas." —Kirkus Reviews

"... an entertaining and unique world tour" —Publishers Weekly "What would possess a man to venture into the perils of the vast Sahara desert? ... Why travel to a place where the miserable dunes at the beginning of a day's ride are identical to the ones you see at day's end? Why journey across an area where a simple mechanical failure can be potentially life-threatening? [Scott's] half-dozen trips into the searing heat of a vast Saharan desert are more than just a man on vacation. They are a test of his fortitude, cunning, and resourcefulness. And through his excellent writing we are able to ride along with him, sharing the fear of moments such as when his tank split 100 miles from the nearest assistance, as well as the triumph of each successful return home ... Desert Travels is an entertaining tale of a modern-day adventurer ... Its pages are full of the kinds of stories that keep you reading far past your normal bedtime." —Whitehorse Press

This book is available directly from the author's Web site.

An '85 Honda Goldwing. The 48 contiguous U.S. states. 24 days. Whew!

A fast trip and a fast read, with lots of information garnered along the way that could well be of interest to anyone planning to cover similar territory.

Though riding in the slipstream of a semi is not a practise that many would recommend.

Simon rode a motorcycle around the world in the seventies, when such a thing was unheard of. In four years he covered 78,000 miles through 45 countries, living with peasants and presidents, in prisons and palaces, through wars and revolutions. What particularly distinguishes this story is that Simon was already an accomplished writer when he began his journey. In 25 years this classic book (a European best seller) has changed countless lives, and inspired many to travel (notably including Ewan McGregor). Simon's earlier book, Jupiter's Travels, has for many years had a cult following among American motorcyclists, but is only now becoming recognized in the U.S. as a travel classic. Riding High is a natural companion and sequel to that book, packed with untold episodes from the Jupiter journey.

This book is a much-expanded version of Riding Home, previously published in Britain. "An affecting tale of a madcap motorcycle trip across South America in the tracks of a long-dead revolutionary... Symmes is smart and funny, given to a kind of innocent goofiness that serves him well as a gringo traveler in sometimes hostile territory. His avoidance of hyperbole gives the reader reason to trust his first book, which is stuffed at every turn full of adventure and misadventure. And in the bargain, Symmes imparts a good deal about Che Guevara, the Cuban revolution, motorcycles, and Andean potholes. An able, thoroughly readable work ... " —Kirkus Reviews

A delightful 10,000-mile trip aboard a temperamental BMW R80 G/S.

The beauty of this book is its innocence ... no message here and no soaring prose, simply an account of an adventurous British girl from Liverpool, who started in spring 1950 and toured 14,000 miles across Canada, the USA, and Mexico, back to the USA, and from there by ship to Denmark. Beginning with US$60 in her pocket, she rode a 125cc BSA Bantam motorcycle, accompanied by her 60-pound Airedale 'Matelot', riding pillion!

This book, which is also known as A Ride In The Sun, is currently out of print, and may be difficult/expensive to acquire.

Seven riders began the journey. But 402 days and 44,000 miles later, only three of them finished this journey along the longest land route around the world (through Europe, Russia, North America, South America, and Africa), riding 350cc motorcycles. First documented on the Discovery Channel, their story is now a book, combining the trip diaries maintained by the bikers themselves. Completely unsponsored and without backup, the Mondo Enduro members discovered their mistakes the hard way, because they had no idea what they were doing.

DVD versions of both this adventure and a follow-on cross-Siberian trip are available from the original filmmakers in London.