Tag Archives: book

Book review: The Best of Drives 1

I’ve literally been around the world with Barry Green on a mixture of two and four wheels.

Barry is the author of several motorsport books and now a travelogue of great drives and cars around the world called “The Best of Drives 1”.

It should be of interest to MotorbikeWriter readers whether you are also into cars or not as it is prefaced with Barry’s early career as an amateur motorcycle racer and peppered with references to two wheels.

And, of course, the greatest “drives” are also the greatest roads to ride.

The satin-paged 174-page book costs $55 including postage and packaging anywhere in Australia and is available online at: Barry Green — Author.

It’s an motivational read laced with inspiring images that will make you want to get behind the wheel or handlebars of your favourite steed and go exploring.

Barry has worked for many years in newspapers and motoring magazines and retired last year as the RACQ’s motoring editor on the day the lockdowns started.

After a career of driving exotic and expensive cars, Barry went straight out and bought a rare 2010 Triumph Thruxton in white with a red frame that reminded him of his old 1959 Triumph Thunderbird 650. You simply can’t get two wheels out of the blood!

Motoring editor retires to two wheels
Barry on his Thruxton

His retirement also gave him plenty of time to come riding the hills around South East Queensland with me; that is, when he was not penning this great read.

As motoring editor at The Courier-Mail for a dozen years I partnered with Barry on many local, national and overseas motoring events and launches.

I’m in awe of his driving and riding abilities and I enjoy his good humour and reminiscences of a similar “wild-child” youth.

This book now has me in awe of his poetic and descriptive writing talents that figuratively put you in the saddle as he takes you to some of the greatest roads in the world in some of the most iconic and often relevant cars such as a Mini around the streets of London, a Citroen 2CV in Provence, or Italian supercar drifting twins from Tokyo to Kyoto.

Of course, there is a big section on Australian roads including several of our local SEQ riding routes. 

Even though I know these roads like the proverbial back of my glove, it is refreshing to read Barry’s perspective. 

ROHITESH UPADHYAY breaking the record for world's longest no-hands wheelie October 2019

And I now know why he lingers a little longer on the McAfee’s Lookout bend of the Mt Glorious Road … that’s where he was married to his life-long partner.

The book starts in the 1970s when Barry was inspired by the cult film Easy Rider to become a self-confessed wild child, drag-racing a Kawasaki triple before a succession of road and dirt bikes passed through the garage of his rental where there was always a tallie in the rattly fridge to welcome his like-minded mates.

I don’t think I would be alone among MotorbikeWriter readers in relating to much of that scenario.

And like Barry, starting off on motorcycles instilled the most basic motoring skills and mechanical sympathy that breeds a talented motorist.

He finishes his book with an eclectic selection of vehicles he has driven over the years that range from a 1965 Austin-Healey 2000 Mk IIIA to a 2008 HSV Maloo R8 and on to a 2015 Ferrari F12 Berlinetta.

Thankfully he includes one of my favourite well-balanced raw Italian sports machines, the 1976 Lancia Beta Coupe. 

Hopefully my all-time fave — the Fiat 124CC — will feature in The Best of Drives 2, coming soon!

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

Bike travel author holds virtual book talk

Even the pandemic can’t stop world motorcycle travel author Heather Ellis.

The Aussie rider will share her inspirational travel experiences by motorcycle through Africa and the Silk Road on an online author talk at 11am next Saturday (12 Dec 2020) through the Snowy Monaro Regional Library.

“‘I really miss speaking in person, but due to COVID, libraries still can’t hold author talks,”  says the two-time book author.

“The great thing about being on Zoom is people can attend from anywhere, learn about my travels and ask questions. 

“Hopefully, we can all be back to travelling again next year.”

Heather is the author of two travel memoirs: Ubuntu: One Woman’s Motorcycle Odyssey Across Africa (Black Inc., 2016) and Timeless On The Silk Road: An Odyssey From London to Hanoi (Phonte Publishing, 2019).

Ubuntu details Heather’s epic motorcycle journey from south to north Africa from 1993 to 1994. Timeless On The Silk Road is about her solo motorcycle odyssey along the fabled Silk Roads of antiquity. 

Both her memoirs are filled with survival-against-the-odds adventures that unfold as deeply spiritual journeys of personal growth that resonate with all who read her books. Both books are listed as bestsellers on Amazon.

Heather’s background includes time as a child living on a sheep station in Australia’s outback where she learnt to ride a motorcycle, made friends with the local Aboriginal children and developed a love of the desert. 

Years later, while working as a radiation safety technician at a uranium mine, Heather realised her ambition to travel the world by motorcycle. 

WYLD Electric Chopper

First Africa, then Central Asia and has plans to ride the Americas and beyond in later years.

Ubuntu: One Woman's Motorcycle Odyssey Across Africa by Heather Ellis epic
Heather on her African adventure

After her travels, Heather worked as a journalist for News Ltd and for international development agency Plan International. 

She is a professional public speaker and is presently working in communications while exploring her emerging passion for screenwriting. 

Heather lives in the Yarra Valley, near Melbourne, with her three teenage boys.

MEAP independent Heather Ellis non her Thruxton millions online survey
MEAP independent Heather Ellis on her Thruxton
  • What: From Africa To The Silk Road – Virtual Author Talk
  • When: 11am AEDT (Sydney, Australia), Saturday, 12 December 2020
  • How: Click here to register. This presentation will be broadcast online using Zoom. When you register you will receive the link to join.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

Book review: Shiny Side Up

If you’re looking for a light read about motorcycles, the riding lifestyle and growing old gracefully, check out Shiny Side Up by BMW fan Ron Davis.

The book consists of extracts from the Wisconsin rider’s columns, features and stories published in various magazines, mainly BMW Owners News.

Hence the book’s subtitle: Musings on the Improbable Inclination to Travel on Two Wheels.

Ron may be a BMW rider and all that goes with that and he may be a farkle fiend, but he’s not a bad bloke for a Yank!

Shiny Side UpRon Davis Shiny Side Up author

Despite all that, his writing feels inclusive, although maybe it’s just that I can empathise being of a similar vintage.

What I like about Ron’s writing is what it is not. It is not contrived nor an imitation of Hunter S. Thompson (you know who I mean), it is not boastful (yes, him again) and it is not sesquipedalian-ly loquaciousness (look it up – and yes, him again).

Ron’s self-deprecating whit is charming, inoffensive and clean!

Here’s a lovely extract from the second chapter “How to lose friends and influence absolutely no one” where Ron attempts small talk at a neighbourhood cocktail party:

Somehow, knowing the name of Hans Muth’s dog, or the incredible run of sixties-era BMW sidecar victories turns out to be, socially, the equivalent of having breath that smells like a bucket of walleye guts … after three days … in the sun.

(By the way, a walleye is a type of North American fish.)

Wisconsin riderRon Davis Shiny Side Up author

Ron is based in Wisconsin so there are a few travelogue chapters that may feel alien to non-Americans. Or maybe they will entice you to head State-side.

And because the book’s chapters are taken from his magazine articles it can be disjointed and a little repetitive, but only if you try to read it in one sitting as I did while I waited for my bike to be serviced.

Best of all, the paperback fits nicely in your tank bag so you can take it on your next riding holiday to fill in those lonely hours while you wait for the tow truck. Unless, of course, you own a Japanese bike.

Shiny Side Up is published by Road Dog Publications and you can buy it from Amazon for $8+ on Kindle or $31.55 in paperback.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

Aussie guide to road trips in the USA

Aussie rider Linda Norman has published a US road trips guide for other Australian riders after spending several years touring the country with her husband, Barry.

Aussies Guide to Roadtripping America isn’t a recap of their trips but a valuable guide to help other Aussie riders plan their journey, Linda says.

“Hopefully it will save them a few dollars along the way.”

Reader discountLinda Norman Road Trips in USA book

To celebrate the launch, Motorbike Writer readers can get a 20% discount when they order online if they type in the special code “motorbikewriter19”. The road trips guide normally costs $39.95 plus $5 shipping.

Linda says her guide includes tips such as placing a red arrow on the screen or fairing that points to the kerb to remind riders to ride on the right side of the road.

“It is very easy to forget what side you are supposed to ride on when you become fatigued,” she says.

Other helpful tips revolve around licensing and helmet laws, phone connections, currency conversion and insurance.

“I also cover the options of undertaking a fully guided tour, hiring a bike, shipping your own, or purchasing one over there and how to ship it home.”

The book features the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, Route-66, and many of the great bucket list rides, with full-colour photos from her tours as well as easy-to-follow maps.

“My book is written by an Aussie, for Aussies, and was printed in Australia,” Linda says.

Road tripsLinda Norman Road Trips in USA book

Linda describes herself as a 50+ nana of three who has been around motorbikes since meeting her husband over 37 years ago.

She was the first woman in Queensland to become a registered Q-Ride provider and is now on her 12th Harley, a 2018 Roadglide.

I remember my first trip to America, the planning, searching, studying that went into that trip and there was still so much we didn’t know,” Linda says.

Linda Norman Road Trips in USA book
Be prepared for weather extremes!

“My husband, Barry, and I head over to America almost every year and spend between four to six weeks riding roads that just seem to get better every day, winding our way among the snow-capped peaks of the Rocky Mountains, or cruising our way along a favourite part of the historic Route-66.

“I love traveling those hidden backroads, finding historic little towns that still look the same as when the people walked away from them over 100 years ago.

Linda and Barry have also done a lot of road trips throughout Australia, Canada and many other countries. They are also planning a ride to Alaska in 2020.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

Harley affair is a real-life true love story

If you are interested in reading a true love story with motorcycles as a central theme, check out Mary Jane Black’s debut novel, “She Rode a Harley”.

The 256-page book is a tale of abuse, true love and loss. It is published by She Writes Press and goes on sale in October 2019.

You can pre-order the paperback at $US16.95 and Kindle at $US9.95 from Amazon.

Harley build is a true love story

True love

“She Rode a Harley”  starts with the school teacher’s account of her escape from an abusive marriage.

Mary Jane then meets and falls in love with Dwayne on a blind date.

Dwayne, a biker since he was 13, teaches her how to save herself by believing in her own strength, power, and individuality.

Harley build is a true love story
Mary Jane

They marry and Dwayne also teaches Mary Jane how to build and ride a Harley.

On our wedding day, Dwayne and I made a vow to love each other until death and to buy a Harley together,” Mary Jane says.

“Within a year we bought and rebuilt together our first Harley, a 1980 Shovelhead. It’s called that because the top of the motor looks like an upside-down shovel.

“Eventually, Dwayne brought home my first Harley which was a police Road King. Hesitant at first, I loved the feeling when the large motorcycle rumbled beneath me as we danced down the highway.

“Even though I don’t own a Harley now, I still see myself as a biker, a Harley rider.”

The bike becomes a symbol for Mary Jane’s newfound independence and strength.

Tragedy strikes

Mary Jane ends up following the white lines with Dwayne through 15 years of marriage.

Traveling together, they learn to be partners, both on and off the road, until Dwayne is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Mary Jane writes of caregiving, and the joy and pain inherent in a love meant to last.

She not only has to take on a new role as caretaker, but also bike mechanic.

The story I tell of my marriage to Dwayne was building inside of me from the moment we sat in a doctor’s office and received his cancer diagnosis,” Mary Jane says.

“We had a remarkable love story. know everyone probably says that. However, we were both over 40 and love had almost wrecked both of us before we got together.

“I escaped an abusive relationship before I met him.

“At my first memoir workshop three years after Dwayne’s death, the dam inside me broke, and I wrote the first essay for the memoir. By the time I went home, I had three essays completed. 

In the pages of my book, Dwayne lives again. I want my readers to meet this remarkable man, for them to join us on the incredible road trip that was our life together.”

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

Heather Ellis releases second book

Victorian rider Heather Ellis has released her second book, Timeless On The Silk Road: An Odyssey From London to Hanoi.

It follows her first book, Ubuntu: One Woman’s Motorcycle Odyssey Across Africa, in which Heather documents her solo ride on a Yamaha TT600 through Africa in 1993-94 at the age 28.

Ubuntu: One Woman's Motorcycle Odyssey Across Africa by Heather Ellis epic
Heather on her African adventure

Over 15 months, Heather travelled 42,000km through 19 countries.

The book is still on the Amazon best-seller list and includes an endorsement from Ted Simon author of Jupiter’s Travels which inspired Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor and Cheryl Strayed author of Wild. 

Second book

Her second book, Timeless On The Silk Road: An Odyssey From London to Hanoi, is an extension of the African tour on the same Yamaha dirt bike.

After her African trek, Heather was diagnosed with HIV in London at the age of 30 and given five years to live. It was 1995 when death from AIDS is inevitable.

Instead of giving up, Heather rides along the fabled Silk Roads of antiquity to Australia, thinking it would be her last adventure.

Her second book is available online for $25 plus $5 postage.

You can get a copy signed by Heather for $25 at the official launch on Sunday (7 April, 2019) at Russian House, 118 Greeves St, Fitzroy, Melbourne.

The free book launch includes food, beer, wine and soft-drinks provided for gold coin donation.

Please contact Heather via email for bookings.

Book extractheather ellis Timeless On The Silk Road: An Odyssey From London to Hanoi.

From Chapter 15: A Moment of Madness, Uzbekistan to Tajikistan, while Heather was travelling with three Frenchmen from Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan.

Together, the four of us walked into the Tajik border post, a small tin shack where it was standing room only. In the cramped confines, the heat was oppressive; none of the Frenchmen wore deodorant. A middle-aged man in a sweat-stained grey military uniform, the buttons straining across his round belly, sat behind the desk. Two other younger men in the same grey fatigues stood beside him. The only other item of furniture was a tall wooden cabinet. Behind the official was an open window, which framed a spindly tree. A small bird sat on a branch tilting its head inquisitively.

‘Passeports,’ he demanded, the sweat beading on his brow framed by a stock of thick greasy black hair.

‘You no cross. Pay one hundred dollar!’ he boomed.

‘We are transiting to Kyrgyzstan,’ Fabrice replied while Patrick and Frédéric vocalised their objection in French with a few phaws.

An evil smirk spread across the guard’s face that dropped as a series of folded bristly jowls onto his collar. ‘You pay. No cross.’

Fabrice stood his ground. Hands on hips. ‘We have permission to transit. We have a Russian visa.’ As if anything to do with Russia was still held in high esteem in this backwater of the former Soviet Union.

I kicked his foot and leaned close to whisper: ‘We must pretend we don’t understand.’

At this point, a vehicle pulled up outside in a cloud of dust. The Tajik border official and his two off-siders pushed Fabrice aside as they headed towards the door. We filed out behind them. The vehicle was a four-wheel drive with UNHCR emblazoned across its side. A huge man unfolded from the vehicle. He stretched to well over six foot and was enormous both in height and body width. Not obese, but his sheer size demanded instant respect. Proclaiming his support for refugees, he wore a black T-shirt printed with the words in white, ‘Einstein was a refugee’.heather ellis Timeless On The Silk Road: An Odyssey From London to Hanoi.

‘Where you from?’ he asked. We pointed to our motorcycles parked opposite saying France and Australia. ‘Long journey,’ he said nodding to me when I said I’d ridden through Africa. ‘I was in Rwanda. Very bad what happened there,’ he added and told us he was from Bosnia and stationed at Osh in Kyrgyzstan.

Since Soviet independence, Tajikistan had been gripped by civil war from infighting amongst its various clan groups, but foreigners were allowed to transit the stretch between Bekobod and Kulundu, a distance of about fifty kilometres. But we were not at this ‘official crossing’ for foreigners. Instead, we’d ridden over a narrow bridge to cross the Syr Darya and across a semi-arid plain; it was as if a finger of the Karakum desert had followed me all the way from Turkmenistan. I’d read that nearly 50,000 Tajik villagers had died from the fighting between the clan groups, leaving more than half a million refugees. Russia had stepped in, and around 25,000 of its troops were stationed in Tajikistan, effectively making it a Russian protectorate. This peacekeeping force also made it safe to transit into Kyrgyzstan as long as we kept away from the Afghan border where there were still skirmishes between the faction groups.

It made little sense as to why Stalin, back in the 1920s, had so unreasonably carved up the borders where three Central Asian nations met: Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. I could only assume it was to ensure the countries remained linked like the entwined fingers of lovers so they would forever retain a close and loyal bond.

‘Is there problem?’ the UN official asked the Tajik border guards.

‘Nyet. Nyet problem,’ the man in charge replied meekly.

‘It’s alright guys. You can cross.’ The Bosnian climbed back into his vehicle and with a wave, was gone just as suddenly as he had appeared. We all watched speechless as the vehicle disappeared in a trail of dust.

‘You pay,’ the lead official boomed from behind us. Then the three officials marched back to the tin shack. We followed.

‘Can you stamp our passports please,’ I asked in demure politeness pointing to our passports stacked on the desk.

‘No. You must pay five dollar.’

‘Okay,’ I said. At least the Bosnian’s arrival had saved us each US$95. The Frenchmen nodded, and we filed out of the hut to retrieve the money from our money belts so their prying eyes would not see our booty, especially Frédéric. He had told me he carried US$5000 in cash strapped to his belly. Fabrice and Patrick, I imagined, carried the same. ‘Aren’t you worried you’ll get robbed?’ I asked in disbelief when he’d told me. ‘This never leaves me,’ Frédéric had said patting his round stomach, his money belt hidden under his T-shirt with it all held in place by a wide kidney belt. It not only protected his kidneys and vulnerable insides should he crash, but also gave no indication that he carried a small fortune in a country where the annual salary was US$600.

Knowing you are going to die does strange things to your way of thinking, namely in the risks that you’d otherwise never consider taking. In the weeks that followed my HIV diagnosis, I rode around London with no regard for speed limits, road rules and consideration of other road users. Perhaps those vodka-infused days in Turkmenistan where I’d nearly come to grief several times while riding inebriated were also part of this disregard for my own safety. This wasn’t a conscious decision. It was just what happened. I was beyond thinking I might get hurt or I might die. What happened next at that Tajik border post, I can only think, had something to do with this unconscious death wish that occasionally took control of my behaviour.

But it was also a desire to seek approval, seek forgiveness from my father. The offer of a gift that would please him. A parting gift that was so significant that it may even go so far as to nullify the perceived shame I’d brought on my family. These were my distorted thoughts on that day.

When I’d walked into the hut, a grey Russian army cap lay on the desk. I’d picked it up, saying, ‘I give you ten dollar.’ The official sitting at the desk snatched it from me and threw it behind the cabinet. When he’d gone outside as the UN vehicle pulled up, I’d quickly retrieved it and stuffed it under my kidney belt and zipped up my jacket.

We paid our five dollars and with our passports stamped, were about to file out the hut, when the border official in charge pulled out his revolver and pointed it at Fabrice’s head. I held my breath thinking he’d thought Fabrice had stolen the cap. Patrick and Frédéric stood motionless beside me. Fabrice turned white. The two other guards smiled as if they shared a private joke. The Tajik with the gun flashed a demented grin, his finger on the trigger. Then he turned and fired the gun through the open window at a small bird sitting on the branch. It looked like the same bird as before. Unbelievably, it did not fly away. Like us, I expect, it was too shocked to move. The Tajik fired off another four shots, deafening us all in the tin shack, and still, the bird did not move. Only when it was quiet, and the Tajik had returned the gun to its holster, did the bird fly away. Without a word, we slowly filed out of the hut then ran towards our bikes.

Just as I was about to hoist my leg over the TT, the Tajik in charge stormed out of the hut, pointing to his head, his two assistants closely behind. I knew exactly what he meant, but the Frenchmen looked at him dumbfounded. I rushed back inside the hut, the Tajiks following close behind, but I reached the doorway first and knelt down near the cabinet and pulled the cap from under my kidney belt dropping it on the floor. The Tajik in charge grabbed my arm lifting me off the ground and shoved me against the wall.

‘Your cap. There it is. Remember, you threw it behind the cabinet.’

‘Duzd, Duzd,’ he repeated his face contorted in anger as he squeezed my arm. I assumed this was Tajik for thief.

‘Fuck off, you bastards!’ I screamed pulling my arm away and pushing past the three men like a deranged woman. ‘Go! Go!’ I yelled at the Frenchmen who sat astride their idling motorcycles.

The TT fired first kick. Pumped with adrenalin, I dropped the clutch and opened the throttle. The bike launched itself and me to freedom leaving the three Tajiks standing in a cloud of dust. I fully expected a bullet to lodge into my back, but no shot was fired, and yet again I’d escaped a respectable death. As I followed the Frenchmen, I realised I risked pulling them down with me. For their own safety, it was time I moved on.heather ellis Timeless On The Silk Road: An Odyssey From London to Hanoi. heather ellis Timeless On The Silk Road: An Odyssey From London to Hanoi. heather ellis Timeless On The Silk Road: An Odyssey From London to Hanoi. heather ellis Timeless On The Silk Road: An Odyssey From London to Hanoi. heather ellis Timeless On The Silk Road: An Odyssey From London to Hanoi.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com