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The Longest Ride: My Ten-Year 500,000 Mile Motorcycle Journey
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| List Price: | $34.95 |
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Product Description
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #16521 in Books
- Published on: 2007-03-15
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Hardcover
- 224 pages
Features
- ISBN13: 9780760326329
- BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
Editorial Reviews
Review
Sun Media’s Newspapers, Dec. 9, 2007
“The following list is in no special order of preference, except for one book in particular that topped the list hands down: The Longest Ride.”
Cycle World, May 2007
F650.com,
“If you are only going to read one book this year, it should be this one … I have just read the first few chapters, but I'm totally hooked. Scotto is a great story-teller ... I definitely recommend it.”
“Motorcycle travel writer Emilio Scotto’s book The Longest Ride chronicles his amazing 10-year, 500,000-mile journey around the world on the 1980 Honda Gold Wing he dubbed ‘The Black Princess.’ In his native South America and almost everywhere else, Scotto took lots of compelling photos and tells even more compelling stories about the 279 countries and territories he visited.”Friction Zone
“Scotto is a natural born story-teller who is able to effectively relate much of the excitement of his trip into the Longest Ride.”
From the Inside Flap
Hopping aboard the Black Princess, his 1980 Honda Gold Wing, Emilio Scotto set out on a record-breaking world tour that lasted more than a decade. He began by exploring his native South America, followed by Central America, Mexico, and the United States. From there he went to Europe, from there the Soviet Union, and from there on to Africa.
The list of countries Emilio toured in the following years--Tunisia, Libya, Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone (where he was set upon by cannibals), Liberia, Congo, Zaire, Mozambique, Tanzania, Somalia (which he escaped from on an old freighter), Petra, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Nepal, China, Tibet, Singapore-- is practically endless, matched only by the list of adventures he had during his journey.
With over 300 photos, The Longest Ride takes the reader along on Emilio’s ride as he relives this amazing, record-breaking adventure of a lifetime.
From the Back Cover
For his eighth birthday, Emilio Scotto’s mother bought him a world atlas. He told his mother that he would someday make a route that would pass through all the countries of the world. As an adult, through a melding of fate, karma, and luck, he got his hands on the most amazing machine: a black 1100 Honda Gold Wing motorcycle. “This will be my ticket to see the world,” he said to himself. With no money or credit cards, and zero travel experience, Emilio bid farewell to his family, hopped on his motorcycle, and headed into the unknown. Thus began a decade-long journey that landed him in the Guinness Book of World Records. Through words and photos, Emilio takes you on the journey of a lifetime in The Longest Ride.
Customer Reviews
The best ride report ever?
This is the best book on motorcycle adventure travel I have read so far. It's about this crazy Argentinian who sets out to ride around the world on an 1100 GoldWing (!), with hardly any riding skills, and even less mechanical skills. He starts out carrying "everything" (up to and including full scuba gear!), but gets robbed of it all after a few days. The rest of us would have gone back home, but Scotto continues his journey with $53 or so in his pocket, no gear, but an impressive ability to charm his way to free meals, beds (with and without company) and gas money.
Scotto is a great story-teller, and I easily forgive him the spices I am sure he must have sprinkled over his stories. Some of you may remember a "teaser" in the 2005 edition of Cycle World Adventures magazine, where he more or less carried the GoldWing through the jungle in Guinea, West Africa.
Mixed results
The first half of the book really shines. It is an excellent narrative of what might be one of the worst prepared for trips around the world in the history of exploration! Emilio's personality is such that strangers offer help when most of us would be out of luck. He is either the luckiest person alive or has an overworked guardian angel. His description of crossing the railroad bridge ahead of all out war in El Salvador is just one example.
The second half of the book reads like his editor reminded him of a deadline that was rapidly approaching. It is very terse and reads like a chamber of commerce brochure. The "you are there" feeling is gone - replaced by "I went here, then did that, and then there..." This cost my review 1 star.
A big disappointment was the author's choice to include a rather graphic depiction of his first carnal experience with his then girlfriend in the introduction. It is something more appropriate to a back rack porno magazine. I have an extensive collection of motorcycle and adventure literature that my young nephews love to read - this one is definitely not "age appropriate." What a shame too, because it added nothing to the experience of his story - this cost the review a second star.
Amazing Story. Extremely well told.
By the end of the "Introduction" I was hooked. I expected the intro to aquaint me with the author and define the beginning of his trip and the reasons for it. I could not have been more in error. By the time I completed these beginning pages I was convinced he'd never make it. Even if you have never even seen a motorcycle, you will be enthralled by this story. Amazing courage, a guardian angel, and uncommon good luck are a part of each paragraph. Don't miss this great story.
