Amazon Review by user 'Fred'
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My wife will tell you that I will read anything, and while that is arguably true, I wont go back for a second helping unless the author can actually write.
I was introduced to "David and Suzanne's Big Frikin' Canadian Motorcycle Adventure" through David's blog post and found the first couple of installments hilarious. Unfortunately my attention span is short and since blogs are writing on the installment plan, I soon moved on to reading material that I could carry with me. The kindle, like a good dog, never leaves my side.
So when I discovered purely by accident that it was available as a book, I thought, "heck, lets give it a try", after all most of us have spent more money on a lousy movie and popcorn. So I took the plunge and ordered the book - the kindle version not yet being available.
I have to admit that, when I opened the box from Amazon, and looked at the book, I was a little taken aback. I was expecting a short travelogue, something peppered with more than a few photos, and text reminiscent of that in the Roy Clark Big Note Songbook. What I got instead was 302 pages of type so small that I was forced to briefly consider a page magnifier or a trip to Costco to get my bifocal prescription changed.
Rather than reach into my wallet again, there are after all, chrome bits and go fast goodies that are competing for my disposable income, I opted for closing one eye and holding the book at arms length. With that out of the way I settled in for a read, that once again, exceeded my expectations.
Lions, Spiders, and Bears! Oh My!
David and Suzanne's Big Frikin' Canadian Motorcycle Adventure sports a cast of characters that includes predators that run the gamut from large carnivores and imaginary spiders, to BMW riding lawyers and Nietche spouting Doctors. There are vaguely "Deliverance" inspired innkeepers, and euro-tourists who continually court disaster because they cannot conceive of wildlife acting naturally, and who insist on attempting to feed, pet and photograph at close quarters the grizzlies and cougars who have made the area surrounding the lodge their home.
Every touring rider has packed the wrong gear for the weather, spent a couple of days soaked to the bone or traveled miles out of their way, risked running out of fuel and dealt with road conditions that were less than ideal. David and Suzanne handle it all with humor and love. If you are married you will recognize the unspoken conversations and the subtext that occurs between spouses.
Sure, this is a story about a motorcycle trip, and the fact that the motorcycle is a Victory Vision (one of the coolest machines ever built) doesn't hurt, but in reality the main character is the 30 year relationship between David and Suzanne. They are at once as familiar as an old leather jacket and as comfortable as your favorite boots.
Despite bad planning, poor roads, lousy directions, and inclement weather, David Moore's absurdist humor and self deprecating point of view turn the story of a week long motorcycle trip to a cushy mountain retreat into a humorous, and at the same time touching reminder that in motorcycling, and more importantly in life, it's not the destination but rather the journey that matters.
The journey, and with whom you choose to travel.
