Book Review: The Old Man and the Harley

I recently finished reading this book and I found it to be a pretty good retelling of the author's father's journey from the Worlds Fair in New York to the Worlds Fair in San Francisco in 1939; riding a 1930 Harley Davidson!


The tales of three Newkirks and their father are told concurrently as their respective lives touched the others. While the story is about Jack Newkirk, the author's father and his adventures while doing his epic ride on a 1930 vintage Harley Davidson VL Big Twin, you also learn about Scarsdale Jack Newkirk who is his cousin and a naval aviator who would gain fame as a squadron leader for the famed Flying Tigers under Claire Chennault in China.

You see, the author is named after Scarsdale Jack, and it is with this connection and his relationship with his aging father that he makes the same trip that his father made, except in reverse. The author retraces the route, starting from San Francisco's Treasure Island, with a short stint to take his aging dad to Sturgis to fulfill a promise his dad had made during his 1939 ride. Along the way the author feels the company of the ghosts of his family's past, their memories helping him to relate to events in his own life.

I found the accounts of Scarsdale Jack and his heroics as a Flying Tiger Squadron Leader, his training as a pilot and later naval aviator and his tragic death on a combat mission to be fascinating and well told. It kind of reminded me of the writings of W.E.B Griffin and his USMC series of WWII.

Concurrently, the author vividly takes us along for his father's ride in 1939 America, just barely getting out of the grips of the big depression. His description of the mechanical problems the old Harley gave his father, and how his father overcame these problems was in turn amusing, uplifting and inspiring.

The "Old Man", Jack Newkirk (yeah, same name as the cousin who was the aviator), proved his mettle riding the northern half of the US, just before the outbreak of the Second World War. Jack's brother Horace is mentioned in passing mostly, though a large part of the family, his roles are minor it seemed. The main one being his rescuing of the Harley from a deadbeat who had bought it from Jack after Jack had made it all the way to the west coast and needed money to get back home with his brother via car.

The war changes everyone lives, Scarsdale Jack leaves active service with the US Navy and joins the Flying Tigers, leaving behind a young wife back in the states; and gathers much public acclaim before he's shot down in combat.

Young Jack, back from his ride and overcome by grief from the death of his cousin at the hands of the Japanese joins up in spite of his father's efforts to get him to try a non-combat service job. Jack ends up in the South Pacific and undergoes his own combat trials and horrors which end up being revealed near the end of the book.

The last fourth of the book is devoted to the author's own journey retracing his father's route through the country. His interactions, past and present, with his father are detailed and dissected by the author as he rides cross-country to confront his own demons in the form of regrets, fears and hatreds that are in the end confronted.

In sum, a book worth reading. You'll be amused at the mechanical "issues" young Jack learned to deal with his old Harley. His depiction of life in America during the depression and in the latter part of the 1930s is very well done. I just wish the author's dad had taken more pictures of his trip but then again finances were tight for him. Can you imagine this, trying to ride across the country with a budget of less than $120?

Following in a Master's footsteps

Those of you who regularly read my meanderings have noted, hopefully, my interest in posing my motorcycles in spots where I've found scenery/structures still existing that were photographed in decades past.

Being a history major, I figured that's what came as part of my makeup.

Turns out though, that another guy had similar thoughts and goals! A Mr John Fielder who has followed in the photographical footsteps of William Henry Jackon. Mr Jackson shot many famous shots which made it into the archives of the Denver Public Library; it is mainly this archive that I've drawn from for my "then" shots that I've published so far in this blog.

Mr Fielder published his photos replicating shots made by Mr Jackson back in the late 1800s in a book called: "Colorado 1870-2000". This work was published by Westcliffepublishers.com in partnership with The Colorado Historical Society back in 1999.

John Fielder was commissioned to photograph, in the space of one year, 300 locations replicating selected photographs produced by William H. Jackson between 1870 and 1908.

I discovered all the above when my loving wife, after having seen the "then and now" postings, found the books "Colorado: 1870-2000 II", a sequel to the first book and "Colorado: 1870-2000 Revisited" where the author documents how he got the photos he did!

What a wealth of information these two books are, I must also find the first book of course! Reading these books have given me many leads to more locations all over Colorado for future blog postings. I doubt I'll be able to do as thorough a job as John Fielder since some of the photo-taking locations involved hiking up terrain inaccessible to my motorcycles; still I will come as close as I can to the "then" shots. The "revisited" version will become my bible as it encompasses small pictures of all the photos in the first two books along with information on how he got to the spots!

On the one hand, it was kind of a letdown to see someone else had already blazed this particular trail; but his work will make my explorations that much easier so for that I am grateful.

Here's a link to John Fielder's website: LINK

From the second book's intro: John Fielder is a national renowned nature photographer, publisher, teacher and preservationist. He is the photographer of 36 books, most about Colorado. Fielder has worked tirelessly to promot the protection of Colorado's open space and wildlands. His photography has influenced people and legislation, earning him awards from my conservation groups, including the Sierra Club's Ansel Adams Award.

Book Reviews: Geoff Hill's "Way to Go" and The Road to Gobblers Knob

I have stumbled upon the motorcycling adventure books I've read usually when they're referred to in motorcycling catalogs such as Aerostich's motorcycling catalog, or they're mentioned in a blog or website.

Such was the case with the works of Geoff Hill, an Irish travel writer for a couple of newspapers in Belfast, Ireland; he apparently has quite the following in the paper's clientele and is winner of several writing awards in Europe.

He's written two books, the first being "Way to Go" about two rides he did after hitting on the brilliant idea of writing his column while on the road, getting paid to do it and see the world. Now why didn't I think of that first? Yeah, I know, who'd want to read about me designing/supporting networks while riding a motorcycle?

The book is split into two journeys, the first is where he and his friend Patrick Minne (Isle of Man Racer) fly to New Delhi, India and pick up a couple of Royal Enfield 500 Bullet motorcycles. You might know these were a famed British marque which went out of business in Britain but their manufacturing facilities and licensing were bought at their factory in Madras, India and they continued to be produced in India.

Courtesy: Amazon.com

Their motorcycles and ride are sponsored by the tea company called Nambarrie and the premise is they are flown to India to pick up the first tea leaves of the season and ride them back to Nambarrie in Great Britain via their "British" motorcycles.

Their adventures along the way, the mishaps, the countries and cultures they encounter and the manner in which the author vividly describes it all makes for a good reading. His descriptions of their Enfield motorcycle, made me glad I've chosen Beemers as my motorcycle of choice for touring. Although I am sure the author exaggerated a bit, the mechanical "issues" an Enfield owner must endure were quite amusing, especially when one is to imagine the riding they did on the motorcycles they used!

Note, the author admits knowing next to nothing about the mechanical workings of motorcycles and machinery in general, lucky for him Patrick Minne was a mechanic. As luck turns out though, Geoff Hill's Enfield makes it through relatively unscathed, while Patrick's Enfield would have a tougher ordeal; to include hitting a sheep!

The second portion of Hill's first book is of his riding the length and breadth of Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles while being sponsored by Miller Beer. I tell you, this guy was born under a lucky star to score these writing gigs that he did. I am certain of course that having the talent for describing a journey, and the ability to put a personal and acute spin on the things he saw and the people he met, helped him to be chosen for these riding adventures.

Geoff Hill's writing style strikes me a bit similar to Dave Barry's style of writing. Numbers and descriptions are wildly exaggerated, his humorous depictions of characters and locations are easy to follow; and there are plenty of funny nuggets interspersed in the travelogue. It's like you're there with him and he's telling you the story from across the table while you're both drinking a lot of beer.

Conversely, he has a knack for describing the scenery he sees in such a colorful manner that at times I could picture what he was describing. Some of his descriptions of the vast land expanses along Route 66 reminded me of the scenery I've encountered in my longer rides. His descriptions brought back some good memories for me.

He quotes or rather paraphrases artfully from the many guidebooks he schleps with him, giving you a bit of history and color about the places he rides to and spends some time exploring. It is this, I believe, what makes him a popular travelogue writer, for he makes even the most boring historical note interesting, if only fleetingly.

Throw in amongst all this his imaginary rabbit traveling companion, the search for the best pie and custard and riding through the whole of Route 66 on that most American of icons, a Harley Davidson motorcycle.

His second book, which I read first since the library had it available first, is called "The Road to Gobbler's Knob" where he rides a motorcycle from the tip of South America, on the Pan-American Highway, all the way to where it ends in Alaska.

Courtesy: Amazon.com

The adventures he has, along with a Scottish friend of his, Clifford; are entertaining and move along nicely. Clifford is quite the character in his own right, chatting up the women they meet along the ride and snapping their photo for his "upcoming" book on beauties of the Pan-American Highway. The red tape of border crossings, the crash Geoff Hill is unfortunate to have in Columbia and his "carrying on" in spite of it; the people and places they see; all make for a pretty good read.

There is a great review of "The Road to Gobbler's Knob" at amazon.com: LINK

The only turn-off I had with the second book was his propensity for political commentary, some of which I took offense at. This offense, once taken, kind of ruined the rest of the book for me. I wish he'd just kept to writing about his travels and not used the book as a way to tell me his political views. It's a good reminder to me, to keep politics out of my riding blog.

Still, the book is worth picking up, I recommend via your local library, to have a short read over a couple of evenings. Neither of his books is very long, and you will most likely get a chuckle or two in each chapter at least.

Book Review: Obsessions Die Hard

I just finished reading Ed Culberson's short but well written book on his obsession to motorcycle his way across the Darien's Gap. An 80 mile stretch of jungle terrain between Panama and Columbia.

Source: Google

He followed the projected path of the Pan American Highway, a system of roads that stretches from Alaska to the Southern Tip of Argentina. The Darien Gap is where finances, loss of political interest and will, and tree huggers contributed to the road building effort to stop.

The book details the many reasons involved with the gap's existence and the lack of roads through it and how it became the author's obsession to be the first person to traverse it on a motorcycle. In his case, he did it with a 1981 BMW R80 G/S! This book resonated with me as Culberson's motorcycle was basically the same motorcycle in terms of engine/frame specifications as my own 1987 R80, Brigitta.

The G/S however had better suspension and offroad wheels of course and still it was an epic struggle on the part of Culberson and the indian guides he hired to help him along the way. He had to deal with crooked cops, scam artists, accidents and near-death experiences along the way and his writing style keeps you turning the pages to see how he gets out of the situations he finds himself in.

Just picture yourself doing this: Using hand winches/pulleys to lift a 500 lb motorcycle up hills and down ravines in the middle of thick jungle terrain. Employing the local natives to hack a path for your motorcycle along barely discernible remants of trails and past failed expeditions by other types of vehicles!

This book should be available to you from your local library system as it was for me. I may actually have to buy my own copy as reference and inspiration as Culberson did stuff in his mid-50s that I would never even dream of now. Unfortunately for me, I'll never get a chance to meet Ed Culberson as Lou Gehrig's disease took him in 1995, truly a legend in BMW and motorcycling circles.

ISBN: 1-884313-06. Get it, read it, then try and keep it in mind when encountering some tough stretch of road.

Me? I know I'll wimp out and bypass the gap if I ever get the urge/time/wherewithal to ride the length of the Pan American Highway.

Book Review: Leanings and Leanings 2 by Peter Egan

I just finished reading both books, back to back. Thoroughly enjoyable reading of a long time motorcycling enthusiast and outstanding CycleWorld motorcycle magazine writer/editor Peter Egan. The man can write and is a skilled and diverse rider!



He's got a great sense of humor and the rare ability to inject just the right phrase/comment into a well told story to get one laughing or at least snickering. The man's dabbled in all kinds and makes of motorcycles: Ducatis, Vincents, Beemers, Hondas, Nortons, Triumphs and Harley-Davidsons amongst others that slip my mind as I type. He's got a weakness/bias for British Iron and Italian Reds but is not adverse to throwing his leg over other marques as well.

His long motorcycling careers encompasses many motorcycles/racing cars and through it all he can recount to you specific events in his life that evoke similar thoughts in one's own experiences. His road trip tales are very detailed and amusing, his dirt rides through Baja even made me, briefly, want to get a dirt bike and follow the trails he rode.

I really liked his trademark "Should you buy a X bike" tests where X is replaced by the word British or Italian or German, you get the idea. The tongue-in-cheek questions always, at least to me, had obvious answers and amuse the test taker at the same time.

His short stories of fixing/wrenching on his many bikes stirred an affinity with him what with my recent mechanical work on Brigitta. He's of course way more knowledgeable and experienced than I'll ever be, but its good to see he also can sometimes not "bend" a bike to his will in terms of mechanical issues.

Well worth the read, and you can do several of his articles in a short sitting, leaving you inspired to get some riding in; or perhaps "rescue" an old bike from storage and restore it to health, something he did quite often. He must have a very understanding wife, as I do, though I am sure mine would draw the line way before FIVE motorcycles were parked in my garage. Five being the perfect number of motorcycles according to Pete Egan! You'll have to read the books to find out why.

Book Review: One Man Caravan

Sunday, 20JUL08. A short little ride today left me most of the remaining day to relax at home hiding from the heat of the day, reading another travelogue.

This one was by Robert Edison Fulton Jr, he traveled around the world right after architecture college, on a six horsepower motorcycle made by the Douglas Motor Works. It was a two cylinder horizontally-opposed engine, with same tires as cars of the time, weighing in at 750 pounds! He'd had an extra 4 gallon tank mounted in the rear to supplement the stock 3 gallon tank in the usual spot. Mind you, he undertook this journey in the mid 1930s!

You can buy the book here

He equips the motorcycle to his specifications, adding to the items one expects something quite unexpected....the creation of a secret compartment for his .32 caliber pistol that he felt he wanted along! This along with thousands of feet of film for his camera and he was off.

He starts off his journey from London with some quaint ideas involving parties at embassies along the way, which of course required him packing white tie dinner attire! These illusions fade as he crosses Europe and the items are summarily discarded for the more practical.

His adventures include some lengthy wanderings in what was then British-controlled middle east lands such as Syria and Iraq. I found his description of British army life in the middle east and India, the ride through the Khyber Pass, and all the people he met along the way very interesting in light of today's modern view of the Middle East and its inhabitants. Thing sure have changed in that part of the world now that the Pax Britannica is no more. Border crossings apparently were challenging back then as they are today to modern world riders. His challengers however were somewhat more unique.

I believe a majority of the book is comprised of the rides in this part of the world; managing entrance into forbidden Afghanistan through the failing linguistic memory of the Afghani ambassador in Turkey. He rides into and out of what we'd call war zones today with a goodly amount of luck and fortune, for the middle east has always been a troubled area apparently.

His travels then take him through the Indian sub-continent, Malaysia, Indochina which is now present day Vietnam and onto China's major cities. The book is like a whirlwind tour at this portion of the world but still full of colorful details of the peoples he encounters and the cultures he's exposed to as a motorcycle rider.

He uses water and rail transport when needed and does not feel bad about it, his intent not being to lay claim solely to having ridden a motorcycle all the way. Heck, he even resorts to riding his motorcycle in between railroad tracks when they're the only clear way to his next destination!

His last foreign land is Japan and from there a steamship across the Pacific ocean and the USA which he crosses in a couple of pages on the book. The major event being his motorcycle being stolen in Texas but thankfully soon recovered afterwards so he could ride it home to New York in time for Christmas with his family after three years away.

He covered 40,000 miles on this severely underpowered scooter by today's standards, quite the adventure and accomplishment in my opinion. In today's age of accurate maps, GPS, satellite phones and Internet Cafes he would probably look curiously at today's world travelers and their gadgets and just ride on past with a cheery wave; well perhaps he'd like the maps for he sure wandered a lot due to the maps and roads of the day.

This book is one motorcyclist's view of the world prior to the second world war, quite fascinating to me as a history major in the picture he paints of how the world was before that war.

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.