Book Review

BOOK REVIEW

TWO WHEEL TRAVEL (Motorcycle Camping And Touring), Edited by Peter W. Tobey, 128 pages, published by the Tobey Publishing Company, Box 428, New Canaan, Conn. 06840. Price, $3.

The first thing you note about this book/magazine is that it measures 10.5 by 14.5 in. Not only is the size eccentric, it is also big.

And so is the concept of this cover-it-all handbook for the motorcycle traveler. The chapters run the gamut. A look at what’s good in fairings and what’s bad, too. Buying a used bike. And stories on how to load your bike, troubleshoot in East Podunk, and buy insurance.

The slant is basic, rather than assuming any knowledge on the part of the rider. At times this can get a bit obvious, like in the chapter on riding technique where several paragraphs and illustrations are devoted to telling you to shift your butt and bones when things get sore. But perhaps it is better in a book like this to err on the side of the ignorant, who need all the help they can get.

The book has other eccentricities, too. Like, a chapter on walking, would you believe? Useful to the motorcyclist if his knucklehead breaks down, no doubt. Further, readers who are looking for an all-motorcycle book will feel that there is an overemphasis on camping, backpacking, and incidentals (how to get a credit card, which one to get, and where you get maps and touring info, how to cook, etc.).

Nonetheless, it may be argued that that this peripheral information is very useful. And, undisputably it is presented in thorough fashion, in a visually beguiling, relaxed manner. Even the five pages spent in reviewing what is good, bad and indifferent about several motorcycle magazines is of value.

Of CYCLE WORLD, the book says: “You can’t possibly absorb it all in one sitting unless you have a spongelike mind and a foam-rubber rump.” In the case of Two Wheel Travel, we must return the compliment.

Buy the thing, for just thumbing through it will turn you on when you’re feeling grumpy. And forgive its editors the sin of making it too big to slip easily into your tank pack .-Dan Hunt