If you’ve ever considered flying to a corner of North America or a far-off land for a motorcycle riding holiday but don’t know where to begin the planning process, Magnificent Motorcycle Trips of the World: 38 Guided Tours from 6 Continents might be the perfect place to start.
Author Colette Coleman has been riding for 25 years and has experienced the best that the world has to offer while exploring on two wheels. In her 208-page paperback book, Coleman has chosen some of the world’s most iconic routes or ones she has discovered herself, but in each case, she has chosen countries where travel is safe and where bike rentals are available or where there are options to pick up a bike as part of an organized tour. Any of the 38 routes can be stand-alone trips while taking a two- to three-week vacation, or in some cases, can be added on to for extended travel times. Each chapter has a map and is a quick read with at least one beautiful colour photo of the area on every page of the book.
In her route descriptions, Coleman begins by describing the region and even describes the types of roads you can expect – and therefore the types of bikes that might work best. She then moves into distances and lengths of time needed to complete sections of the route and what kind of scenery to expect. Finally, she informs about motorcycle rental availability or the possibilities of taking your own bike, and when the best time of the year to visit the particular area is based on temperatures and winter or rainy seasons.
In case you think a motorcycle trip to Africa, Asia, Australasia or Europe might be a lofty goal, Coleman has chosen four trips in Canada (the Rockies, Gaspé, the Maritimes or the Yukon) and five trips in the U.S.A. to get you started a little closer to home.
For an added bit of inspiration, the grandaddy of modern motorcycle travel, Ted Simon, opens the book with the foreword and he says it right: “Planning a journey can be as much fun as the journey itself.”
And what better way to plan a trip into the unknown than to take the advice of someone who has been there and experienced it firsthand.
Available in Chapters for $26.64. ISBN – 13:9781620082386. 208 pages, 8 x 10 inches.
