Book Review: Lois on the Loose

I just finished reading this travelogue of Lois Price, who rode a Yamaha Serow 225cc Dirt Bike 2o,ooo miles from Alaska to the southernmost tip of Argentina. Its a short book but packed with colorful details of here preparations, thoughts and the logistical obstacles she had to face on her journey.

You can buy the book HERE

She's got quite the flair for describing her surrounding and the people she met along the way, her riding companions were as varied as the motorcycles and nations they came from.

Lois Pryce carries on throughout the book in the storied British tradition of not letting discomfort, fear and mechanical problems getting her down and her flexibility in dealing with delays and breakdowns impressed me.

By the end of the trip she talks about fixing her motorcycle with the air of the experienced wrencher. She manages to communicate mechanical diagnosis information to mechanics along the way with miming motions and sound imitations, much to the amusement of the mechanics I'm sure.

There's the many droppings of the bike, one big crash, descriptions of the "sanitary" facilities one encounters in Central and South America, descriptions of fabled tourist destinations such as Machu Pichu or Lake Titicaca, the kindness of strangers in rendering aid and/or shelter when needed, the dealings with the "fixers" at the borders "helping" one through each country's customs bureaucracy, the dealing with the hot-blooded latino lover wannabes, learning the hard way about watching what one eats in foreign countries, and descriptions of men that would surely be missing from a travelogue written by a man.

This book should be quite entertaining for male riders and I am sure would be an inspiration to ride for the female long distance riders out there. The book had me laughing a several points with Lois Pryce's description of people and situations that she encountered. To ride the ride she did, on such a small motorcycle, was truly a great adventure. Some of the roads she described crossing, I am not sure I'd attempt in the first place....at least, not on Maria, maybe Brigitta.