Two for the Road (Shirley Hardy-Rix & Brian Rix, Macmillan, $30 tpb, ISBN 1405036435, March) ***
Shirley Hardy-Rix and her husband Brian Rix had a dream to motorcycle around the world. When people close to them unexpectedly passed away, they became even more determined not to reach the end of their lives with ‘if-onlys’. Thus they set out on a 12-month adventure that took them through some of the most beautiful—and most dangerous—parts of the world. Travelling on two wheels through rough terrain and quirky bureaucracy brought with it unique experiences and this is an honest and fair account of the journey. Written in two distinct voices (Shirley and Brian have separate sections in the book), Two for the Road is a cross between a guidebook and a travel narrative. There are detailed descriptions of accommodation, travel routes and activities but there are also sensitive passages about the friendly people they meet, their interesting cultural encounters and the tensions that arise between husband and wife on such a challenging adventure. For anyone wishing to attempt the same, there are also some good tips and warnings on which places are welcoming to motorcyclists and which are just plain inhospitable. A fresh look at the genre of ‘round-the-world odyssey’ full of good humour and warmth.
Kabita Dhara is a bookseller at Melbourne’s Readings Bookstore Carlton
This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2005, Thorpe-Bowker
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