A year on the road began when Monica Joseph and her husband Simon Rosentool set-off from their home in Australia to travel the ancient Silk Roads with a small band of good friends.
Somehow things just rolled along and by the time they returned they’d clocked-up 50,000 kms riding across 30 countries along the way.
Travelling the world by bike had been Simon’s dream for decades and the couple had travelled widely in their youth. But, although she had held a motorcycle license since the days before they started a family, for Monica a ride like this was a tough proposition.
After a year of preparation she was well practiced and fully prepared to keep up with her more experienced riding companions, which is just as well considering how some of the adventures turned out.
The main protagonists show themselves to be both capable and resourceful travellers. At various points they parted company with, and joined forces with, a variety of other riders possessed of many skills that helped them along the way. But it wasn’t plain sailing and some outstanding arrest warrants means they don’t intend to be going back to Spain any time soon.
Once home, Monica wrote down their many adventures in the form of this book, her first (and as far I can tell only book to date), hoping it would empower other people to believe that testing themselves outside of their comfort zone in pursuit of their dreams can be both fun and rewarding. Judging by the content of most of the reviews I’ve seen, her audience appear to agree that she has hit the mark first time.
For this reviewer, ‘Keep Moving’ proved to be less satisfying. Informative, yes. Detailed, yes. But Engaging? Not particularly. It just didn’t come to life for me, being a little too close for comfort to some fairly flat travelogues on the market. Personal taste counts for a lot in adventure writing and I’m impressed by those authors who can make you feel like they carried you with them, not just give a good account of what happened. But, fair goes, I may just be mistaking the characteristic Aussie matter-of-factness for a lack of sparkle.
In any case, ‘Keep Moving’ provides an unusual perspective on bike travel and is certainly worthy of your consideration.
ISBN:978-1-48361-118-1
Paperback 252pp
Published by Xlibris, Australia (2013)