Kinda didn’t make much fuss of it but on the same bike as I originally rode from Sydney to London on, I’ve just completed my trans-world adventure by reaching Alaska. It was a good trip, cold, a turbulent at times, but we made it. More pictures to follow.
Motorcycle News is very kindly and very generously selling copies of my book, the Long Ride Home, priced at £9.99 including postage and packing.
Despite the changes in the cover, it’s the same book about the same trip from Sydney to London as the other variations that have been shown over the past few months. It’s just taken me a while to nail it down and go ahead with batch printing.
So if anyone would like a copy please click here and do me the kind honour of letting me know how you get on with it once it’s arrived…
For people outside of the UK, please go here for a book.
And don’t forget it’s also available on Kindle, from here
Thanks again to everyone at MCN, especially Gareth and Rob. Much appreciated.
Now to write the second book, about the trip across America….
So I made it across America, with a proper report on that to come. But to summarise, in total I covered 10,000 kilometres (6,000 miles) in six weeks, starting in New York and heading first up through Pennsylvania. From there I took in Detroit, Chicago, then down along the old Route 66 to St Louis then due west across Kansas until finally I hit the Rockies. Rather than dip below them we rode up and over, taking in a trail at 13,000 feet – me having to push Dot some of the way – before dropping down in to Utah and Nevada, taking in Monument Valley, Grand Canyon, Zion and Las Vegas along the way, before finally hitting the coast just above Los Angeles. I rode up to San Francisco, stayed there a few days, then pushed further north, riding 900 miles of Oregon coastline until I made it to Seattle. I left Dot there – storing her in a friend’s garage – before flying home to England, the plan being to return to Seattle next year and finish the push up to Alaska…
For now, a few photos from the trip…
Well, I talked about it long enough. Now it’s happening, me and Dot riding across the States. In fact, we’ve been at it 2 weeks or more, now at the mid-way point, Wichita, waiting for morning to break before pushing on through the mid-west, destination Colorado or Santa Fe, haven’t decided yet.
Apologies for not posting much about it, was kind of a spur of the moment thing. Leaving on a whim, just as it was done before. When I get time I’ll post more pictures, but in the meantime here’s one of the first I took, in Times Square, New York City…
Well, she starts.
First kick!
A few things to adjust and check. Currently the indicators don’t work, the timing chain needs setting and she needs a few more overall checks. But very close to being back on the road, which feels good…
It’s 3.41 am and I’ve just got in from the garage. Getting there…
I mentioned the other day that I’m currently in the process of rebuilding Dot, something which proves quite a problem what with her being an Australian post bike and never officially sold in the UK. Getting parts is therefore difficult and problematic, which is why I’m incredibly grateful to Joe and the rest of the gang at One Ten Motorcycles for the package that turned up on the doorstep today.
For those unaware, One Ten Motorcycles is where I bought Dot from at the very beginning of the trip. It’s just a little shop on an industrial estate on the outskirts of a town called Caboolture, just north of Brisbane. They’re a great bunch and helped me massively during the trip, sending me the parts and then and after that keeping in touch and seeing how we were getting on. In fact, it was Joe who very kindly lent me a bike when I went back to Oz to promote the book when it came out last year.
And now having heard about me rebuilding Dot, Joe’s very kindly sent me everything I need to get her back up and running again. To be honest that list isn’t so long, she doesn’t need much, but it’s a massive help and so I’m incredbily grateful. Cheers Joe and all the rest of the gang at One Ten Motorcycles. (www.onetenmotorcycles.com.au)
As for the rebuild it’s going okay. Today me and my dad changed the clutch plates, I sorted the brakes and in doing so made Dot a sling so she can hang from the rafters and be off the dusty floor. Next stage is to replace the cam chain, which hopefully should get done tomorrow, then simply bolt everything back together.
To be honest I don’t really know what I’m doing, thankfully my dad does so I’m more spectator, but it’s been good to learn and see inside the engine that brought me all that way. Still can’t believe that simple lump of metal took me 23,000 miles with no problems at all. By the look of her she’ll take me the same distance again (don’t tempt me)
Here are some pics from the day…
It’s been over two years since me and Dot rode in to London and completed the journey. In that time I’ve been working on the book and doing other things while she’s largely been shut away in the shed at the bottom of the garden and forgotten about. Well, not forgotten, perhaps just neglected. Out of sight, out of mind as they say.
But now with the book coming to a head and summer approaching I’ve suddenly discovered a new zest for getting her back up to fine form, and so the other day I laid out the tools and took her apart.
To be honest I wasn’t sure exactly what I was doing but gradually the engine came out, the wheels, the petrol tank, the headlight, the forks, pretty much everything until all I was left with was a frame. Poor Dorothy.
Alas, with assistance from my dad I’ve gradually stripping down the engine to find out what she may and may not need. And the surprising thing is that despite doing all those miles, over the Himalayas three times etc, she needs barely anything, in fact the mechanic who had a look at her said she’s ride back to Australia tomorrow without any fuss.
So what I’ve had done is the sump plug repaired, which had been threaded by a strong armed Indian mechanic and held in since by a toothbrush, and then ordered a few parts such as piston rings and cam chain, which all should be here in the next few days. For that I have to thank Joe, the bike shop owner in Brisbane who sold me her in the first place.
Very kindly he’s bundled up everything I need and only charged me the postage. So a big thank you to Joe and all the gang at One Ten Motorcycles. I’m really grateful.
Hopefully then Dot should be up and running by this time week, her hopefully making her appearance at a talk I’m giving at Edwinstowe Library next Wednesday. If anyone’s around it’s from 7-8.30pm, with Edwinstowe a small town not far from Mansfield, the place where I grew up.
In the meantime I’ve uploaded some pics of Dot in her current state. Just don’t stare too long, you’ll make her blush.
Well, it’s taken some doing but I’m finally proud to announce the release of my book; The Long Ride ‘Home’.
The book is a tale of my adventure of my adventure from Sydney to London on a 105cc Honda called Dorothy. Together we covered 35,000 kilometres, passed through eighteen countries and took nine months to get from one side of the world to the other. It was adventure conducted on a whim, with no planning and only two days preparation. It was simply a case of saying, ‘well, I’m going to give it a go and see how far we get. And from there it was one day, month and mile at a time.
My favourite countries were Thailand, East tImor and Pakistan, and if you have a look at the ‘photo tab at the top you’ll be able to see all the images I took from those countries. There are also videos, maps and other things.
As for the book, well, it was originally published by HarperCollins in Australia under the title of ‘Going Postal’ where it’s currently sold around 4000 copies. This however is my own version, more widely available and retitled as I think the new name sums up better what the trip was about. I’ve also added more images, 140 in total, and weaved them throughout the book in order to help set the scene of where I am and what I’m up to at that particular point.
All in all, it’s not really a motorcycle book, or even a travel book, it’s just my story, a personal one, of how I came to be in Austalia and how I subsequently ended up riding ‘home’ again.
There is also a Kindle version, available here, and an ebook edition availalbe here.
Thanks for visiting my site.
Nathan (and Dorothy)
