The book, like its title, is big and bold; a physically beautiful thing if you like books and especially glossy coffee-table ones. It’s a collaborative work recounting a fully supported trip from Colombia to Tierra del Fuego which used the moniker Expedition 65, representing the 65 degrees of latitude that were travelled in 65 days, by a group of GS riders predominantly from North America.
Alfonse Palaima has taken the pictures and Colin Evans is the scribe.
It’s not a blow by blow account of the two months the team were together, but is instead a collection of vignettes. Each page-spread contains material that may be travelogue, info or opinion, but all are easy and enjoyable reads which demonstrate a worldly understanding; that of someone who has already seen and experienced a lot from the seat of his bike and who considers greater context before passing comment.
The photography is nice and certainly kindles expeditionary desires, but it is perhaps the way that you can dig in or drop out of this book that is its most appealing feature, learning a little about the people or terrain, or the group that are riding.
It’s the sort of thing that makes for a great gift and would be lovely in a hotel lobby or office reception, but the hardback cover and high production value does mean that it retails in the UK for £35.
Book review by Paddy Tyson
ISBN: 978-1937747855
Hardback 192pp colour images throughout £35
Published by Octane Press (Nov 2017)