Ted Simon
Jupiter's Travels
At 6pm on Saturday 6th October 1973, Ted Simon climbed aboard a Triumph T100 motorcycle and, over the next four years, he travelled through fifty-four countries, clocking up 63,000 miles in the process. The idea had originally come to him earlier that year, completely out of the blue. Travelling around the world seemed like a good idea for a bloke in his early forties with no particular ties.
He chose to do it on a motorcycle; it was an obvious choice. He didn't have a motorcycle nor, a licence and he had to result to deception to obtain a 125cc machine to take his test on. He failed first time. He didn't even particularly like motorcycles. Although he didn't realise it at the time, he set off just as the Middle East began to boil over and the price of oil went through the roof.
Jupiter's Travels is a voyage of discovery. Not only did he learn a lot about the planet on which we live and the people who inhabit it, he learned a lot about himself too; breakdowns, accidents, prison, war, revolutions, disasters, even a commune in California, it's all in there.
Ted Simon may not have been the first to embark on such an adventure but, it was his story that led Ewan McGregor to call his friend Charley Boorman and suggest, what eventually became, The Long Way Round, even leading to a meeting, en route, during the latter pair's own circumnavigation.
Jupiter's Travels is a monster of a book. It is well written, refreshingly honest, insightful and, if you've ever had a desire to do the same, reading it will only make that feeling stronger.
He chose to do it on a motorcycle; it was an obvious choice. He didn't have a motorcycle nor, a licence and he had to result to deception to obtain a 125cc machine to take his test on. He failed first time. He didn't even particularly like motorcycles. Although he didn't realise it at the time, he set off just as the Middle East began to boil over and the price of oil went through the roof.
Jupiter's Travels is a voyage of discovery. Not only did he learn a lot about the planet on which we live and the people who inhabit it, he learned a lot about himself too; breakdowns, accidents, prison, war, revolutions, disasters, even a commune in California, it's all in there.
Ted Simon may not have been the first to embark on such an adventure but, it was his story that led Ewan McGregor to call his friend Charley Boorman and suggest, what eventually became, The Long Way Round, even leading to a meeting, en route, during the latter pair's own circumnavigation.
Jupiter's Travels is a monster of a book. It is well written, refreshingly honest, insightful and, if you've ever had a desire to do the same, reading it will only make that feeling stronger.
Dreaming of Jupiter
In January 2001, at the age of 69, some thirty years after taking off on a Triumph motorcycle on his first round-the-world adventure, Ted Simon climbed aboard a borrowed BMW R80GS and set off, again, to do it for a second time.
The obvious question is, 'Why?' Well, actually, it depends on how you look at it. To me, the most obvious question is, 'Why not?' If you could, wouldn't you?
Dreaming of Jupiter is the story of that second journey around the planet, covering, more or less, the same route he had travelled three decades earlier. As the world had changed forever shortly after he set of that first time, 2001 would see the world transformed, once again, during this trip.
The basis for Dreaming of Jupiter was to see how much the world had changed during the intervening years. Ted had certainly changed, for a start he was knocking on 70 years old now. Although he did find many differences, some things never change and, some of those are surprising.
Just as much of an adventure as the first time around, Simon's well-crafted writing style makes it a pleasure to read and Dreaming of Jupiter is just as unputdownable as Jupiter's Travels. Be warned: Reading this book may lead to feelings of Wanderlust.
The obvious question is, 'Why?' Well, actually, it depends on how you look at it. To me, the most obvious question is, 'Why not?' If you could, wouldn't you?
Dreaming of Jupiter is the story of that second journey around the planet, covering, more or less, the same route he had travelled three decades earlier. As the world had changed forever shortly after he set of that first time, 2001 would see the world transformed, once again, during this trip.
The basis for Dreaming of Jupiter was to see how much the world had changed during the intervening years. Ted had certainly changed, for a start he was knocking on 70 years old now. Although he did find many differences, some things never change and, some of those are surprising.
Just as much of an adventure as the first time around, Simon's well-crafted writing style makes it a pleasure to read and Dreaming of Jupiter is just as unputdownable as Jupiter's Travels. Be warned: Reading this book may lead to feelings of Wanderlust.
Riding Home
Riding Home was published in 1984, ten years after Ted Simon had embarked on his first trip around the planet. It is the story of what happened after he returned to the world he had left behind. Once you have ridden a motorcycle around the globe, what do you do? Do you return to the life that you had left four years earlier? Can you go back? Is it possible? How do you readjust?
Good questions, all.
Riding Home answers many of them yet, ultimately, poses even more.
The story related in Jupiter's Travels is, undoubtedly, a life-changing one and, if you have ever wondered how you go from riding through the Altiplano to a life of domesticity, family, and 'normality', this is a must-read. Combining vivid flashbacks from his original adventure, with the journey from his 'mediaeval slum' in France, to take his pregnant wife to California and a new life, as they anticipate the birth of their first child. Just as engrossing as Jupiter's Travels and Dreaming of Jupiter, Riding Home fills in some of the gaps between the two epic journeys.
Good questions, all.
Riding Home answers many of them yet, ultimately, poses even more.
The story related in Jupiter's Travels is, undoubtedly, a life-changing one and, if you have ever wondered how you go from riding through the Altiplano to a life of domesticity, family, and 'normality', this is a must-read. Combining vivid flashbacks from his original adventure, with the journey from his 'mediaeval slum' in France, to take his pregnant wife to California and a new life, as they anticipate the birth of their first child. Just as engrossing as Jupiter's Travels and Dreaming of Jupiter, Riding Home fills in some of the gaps between the two epic journeys.
