Friday, August 31, 2012

Book Review: Jack Riepe's Conversations with a Motorcycle

Sitting here, having just finished reading a preview digital version of Jack Riepe's second book:  Conversations with a Motorcycle, I am inundated with the vivid mental imagery painted before my eyes by Jack's writing.


This book, written to describe his ascent and transformation from a self-described douche to fulfilling the very image he'd imagined possible through the acquisition of a motorcycle is a fast-paced and deeply entertaining read.

Quite the evolution I must say, from callow young man fixated on trying to not be the last virgin in New Jersey at 18 years old.  The trials and tribulations of learning to survive riding a known widow maker of a motorcycle; his coarse friends and their environment forging his development are laid out in front of your eyes, as if you'd been fortunate to sit on the bar stool next to Jack.  I swear I smelled stale cigarette smoke as he wrote of the times he spent in the many bars his motorcycle took him to.

His motorcycle is his companion, it is his worst enemy and best friend in one speeding package.  The motorcycle is his transportation and his destination is the ride.  The women he sought and failed to impress, the ones he won over and then lost, the woman he regained only to lose again are grand reflections of what all males have experienced at one time or another; though for some of us, only in our dreams.

The experience of riding in the elements, at speed, something known only to a motorcycle rider are described in this book and one is reminded of why one rides.  The trials and tribulations of riding are recounted and true riders will chuckle in the shared misery and the shared elation of these experiences.

Remember your "great moments" on your motorcycle?  Perhaps the first close call while riding, or the first night ride in a full moon's light, or maybe finding that special spot where fleetingly, all was right in your world?

Relive those moments as Jack finds them for himself and then refreshes your memory of those moments through his writing.

If you're a regular reader of his moto-blog, Twisted Roads, you'll find echoes of tales told but now with the enriching back story details which make said tales that much more real and engrossing.  Jack also writes the humor column in the monthly publication for BMW Motorcycle Owner's Association where he has a huge following as well.

In sum, the book is Jack and his motorcycle's journey, initially to get laid by trying to assume the rough and dangerous image of a biker, to his eventual piercing of said mythos and the reality behind the illusion. It is, perhaps, a journey all real riders have shared.

If you're a motorcycle rider, aspire to be one, wonder what makes a motorcyclist "tick", or enjoy reading well written motorcycling adventure content....get this book!  It'll be out September 15, 2012 and I can't wait to get my own hard copy of the book!



4 comments:

BeemerGirl said...

OK...how did you get a digital copy??? Now I really am looking forward to getting my copy. :-)

redlegsrides said...

BeemerGirl....I caught Jack in a moment of weakness....

BeemerGirl said...

Lucky duck! You speak so nicely of it. Are you sure our Jack wrote it?? ;)

MarvinLWright said...

I would like to check this book. I wanted to make sure if it is perfect for me who wants to learn how to ride a motorcycle.