Motorcycle Literature

[nick crisp]

Can anybody recommend any good biking tales, fiction or non fiction?

[Punkstig]

The Carin' Sharin' chronicles by Dave Gurman
Ex despatch rider, used to write for the riders digest!


Entertaining book with a pretty cool insight into old school dispatching and riding tales!
From getting lost to near fatal accidents, playing games with police to contemplating suicide etc

[rustyrider]

There's one written by a guy who rode around the world solo that I read years ago.  Unfortunately I can't remember what it was called!  It was something similar to Gulliver's Travels but not, maybe it will jog someone else's memory.

[nick crisp]

By Ted Simon?

[Dave48]

Jupiters Travels by Ted Simon

[adeejaysdelight]

Bit obvious, but the long way round is a good read. I have never seen the TV show though. Charlie seems a bit jealous of Ewan and that gets more obvious as the book unfolds. Also, Nick Sanders is a decent read, as is the Haynes book on Rossi.

[Dave48]

"Motorcycle Reminiscences" by IXION about the pioneer motorcyclists around the turn of the century (1890-1900s)

[nick crisp]

Just bought Carin' Sharin', and Jupiter's Travels. Thanks guys. What about fiction - anything good out there?

[chaz]

here's a tale that is worth a look?
www.go-faster.com/SS100.html‎

read the bit about his dad having a go on his ducati

[Chillum]

Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance - fantastic book, thoroughly recommended to everyone (not just bikers)

[mikelockyer]

Try Jim Redmans Biography. From boyhood to an 80year old still turning up to ride at classic meetings. World champion in the days when 3 or 4 riders were killed a year. Great story great man.

[nick crisp]

Was reading the Carin' Sharin Chronicles at lunch at work today - brilliant, funny, was hard to put it down! Thanks Stig for that recommendation! I had picked up the odd copy of TRD from the tea hut at High Beach when that was my local meet, but don't remember any of this. Golden era of dispatch riders eh? How do you think it compares nowadays Stig?

[dazza]

If you want pure fiction try reading "The impossible journey" by Don Texist.

[nick crisp]

Another tip-off duly noted. Cheers Dazza.

[Punkstig]

Golden era of dispatch riders eh? How do you think it compares nowadays Stig?

Sat nav's killed it lol,
It is an enjoyable read, but some of it delves deep into a depressive lonely mind which was quite hard to read tbh, but I think that was just from a similar point of view, it can be a very lonely job and if anything is on your mind on distance work it just screws you cause you just go over conversations and possible what ifs in your own mind for hours at a time!


But, I remember my first proper distance job down to Dorset, I was on a loan fz6 and got a puncture a quarter of a mile away from the delivery, it was about 8.30 at night, luckily it was a private address, I nursed it there (loan bike so I didn't give a toss about damaging tyres/ wheels) didn't have any recovery, I ended up staying the night in their spare bedroom, after many phonecalls to the bike shop the next morning sorted somewhere to get it fixed and headed back to London.

[nick crisp]

Maybe you, Exupnut and any other dispatchers/ex-dispatchers on FOC-U ought to put together a book of your own - I would guess that between you, you'd have a few tales to tell!

[Punkstig]

Off topic of motorbike literature but similar writing to carin sharin hunt down 'Don't tell mom I work on the rigs, she thinks I'm a piano player in a whore house' it is absolutely hilarious and a true life story about a guy who, funnily enough, works on oil rigs! He does ride a motorbike though!

[caretaker]

lois pryce - 'lois on the loose'./ any of ted simons books/ uneasy rider by mike carter./sons of thunder by neil bradford. enjoy.

[nick crisp]

I read Uneasy Rider a while back, but can't remember what it was like, so may check it out again. I've been feeding myself with a steady diet of Stephen King lately - not that I'm particularly fond of horror, just like the way he writes his characters. But feel it's time to break out for something in a different genre where fiction is concerned. Well, bike tales seem the obvious way to go. Many of the non-fiction books mentioned on this thread are ones I've been meaning to check out for a while, now I'm getting around to it. Fiction on the subject- well, I just don't know who or what to try. But all suggestions so far noted with thanks. :thumbup

[Punkstig]

For fiction I prefer Dean Koontz to Stephen king, they have a similar sense of horror/drama but Koontz won't spend 20 pages talking about the hero's cousins first pet hamster!