Reading the Winter Blues Away!

While winter has been unusually mild thus far, I haven't been out riding since I put the bike away in early December. I have, however, been reading some interesting books related to motorcycling. Here is my review of two of my favorite books. I'll be posting some more books reviews occasionally.

Subscribers of Cycle World magazine might be familiar with the writings of Peter Egan. I was aware of his popular column Side Glances in Road and Track, and had assumed he was simply a car nut. Then I came across two books, Leanings and Leanings 2, both compilations of his articles in Cycle World over the last 25 years. Peter Egan is, I realized, first and foremost, a motorcycle enthusiast. His writing is essentially about his lifelong love affair with motorcycles. He has owned over 40 bikes, of all types from vintage Nortons and Vincents to modern Ducatis and Harley Davidson Electra Glides. He has ridden on some of the best motorcycling roads in the world, from touring the Alps and the Isle of Man to off-roading in Baja California to riding the length and breadth of North America. His essays, based on his experiences, take the reader along on the journey, with his vivid descriptions, heartfelt emotions and poignant observations. For many of us, his is the life we dream of: days spent riding in exotic locales or tinkering with vintage motorcycles in the garage, evenings spent in the company of like minded friends or, occasionally on the computer hammering out another heartwarming story that millions will read. But Egan beguiles the reader into thinking that, despite his enviable lifestyle, he is one of us. He yearns to spend more time riding, or wishes he had the means to lay his hands on that old Triumph. And in doing so, he echoes the same desires in his writing that his readers have - to do more of what they are passionate about. And for readers who "get it", who share this passion for motorcycles, these two books are literary gems.