Customer Reviews

Leanings: Best of Peter Egan from Cycle World

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After reading this book I wanted to quit my job and become a motorcycle journalist, and I don't even own a motorcycle yet. Touching, funny and informative Leanings is a collection of the columns and features that Egan has written over the years, including travel pieces on motorcycle trips to the Isle of Man, Mexico and New Zealand that will make you want to pack up and go and informative and humorous articles that answer questions such as "How many motorcycles do you need" and "should you buy a British motorcycle". Now more than ever I want to buy a motorcycle.

If you are the least bit familiar with Cycle World Magazine you'll instantly recognize Pete Egan's name. His column has always been the first thing I turn to every month. Some times it's just so so but more often than not it's an outstanding piece of literary art. The same can be said for this book. Every page is a joy but towards the end it starts to be a little repetitive. But when the stories are this good repetitiveness isn't that big a problem.

Pete is a rare individual, he's a gifted writer with a background made for storytelling. He's a true motorcycle enthusiast that finds the same beauty in a Honda Benly 150 Touring as a Harley Ultra Classic with a deep love of British bikes (especially old ones). Where the gift comes in is that while his subject is motorcycles he's really writing about passion and life. The story of his adventure with his friend across Canada is surprisingly moving even for this great collection. In the sixties Pete and a college pal went on an investigation into Canada as they considered dodging the draft. The terrible time they had and the warm welcome by family and friends when they returned convinced Peter not to throw that all away. As a result he did a tour in Vietnam. As with most of his experiences it was his love of a motorcycle (a Triumph) that helped him make it through Vietnam.

This guy has done it all and writes about it with great detail. It's great to read articles dating from the seventies and early eighties. Pete was riding Route 66 before it was turned into an historical tourist attraction, all but gone. He was drinking Guiness before most people had heard of it. He's been married for 30 years or more. Several readers of Cycle World have accused him of making up the perfect wife, if you read this book you'll understand why. And he has been riding bikes through the ups and downs in ridings popularity.

Peter Egan is to motorcycle journalism what Ernie Pyle was to war reporting. This guy has done it all and writes about it so well it's never a chore to read his stories. I don't want to sound like I'm trying to oversell this book but if you are the least bit interested in motorcycles and travelling this is a must read. It's a shame he hasn't expanded to a wider audience. He is in the top five on my list of fantasy dinner party guests and this is a heck of a collection.

I own a lot of books about motorcycles, from Hell's Angels to Proficient Motorcycling. But more often than not, I pull Egan's Leanings off the shelf when I'm in the mood for a quick fix. Egan writes well and with insight, but without the pseudo-philosophical B.S. of Persig et al. This is a collection of aricles with the earliest dating back to the 70s, so some observations are a mite dated, but Egan captures the experience of riding (and buying, and fixing, and being stranded) so wonderfully, that I enjoy reading every word in this book. Egan has a good sense of humor that runs as an undercurrent through most of his writing. Leanings is like having a tray of your favorite appetizers at hand any time you fancy a snack. When I set this book down after reading for a spell, I don't feel as if I just finished Atlas Shrugged, but it always puts me in a better mood and makes me want to pick out a bike and go for a ride. Plus I give any writer that knows how to properly kick-start a large displacement single a bonus star, and I bet Ayn Rand couldn't do that. Without this book, I also never would have bought V Four Victory on DVD, so I owe Peter Egan for that as well.

'Down the Road Again' One of several chapters that for many of us, captures a moment in time. Unlike Mr. Egan, I was lucky to have owned a brand new Triumph Bonneville during the Summer of Love (1967), and ride it to Monterey Ca. in June of that same year to attend the first International Pop Festival, taking in all the greats. I have read Peter Egan's 'Leanings' many times over, and have given his works to all my friends and family. It is difficult to put my feelings down in words about such great writings. The emotional spirituality that defines this book, especially for ALL of us old British Biker people, is eternal ~ Aloniw

I enjoyed every part of this book. The stories start back in the 60's and 70's and bring us up to modern bikes and modern times. I expected that I would pick it up once in a while and read a story, then put it aside for a few days (or weeks). That was not the case, as I found myself moving from one enjoyable tale to another. I finished the book in four days, and I am looking forward to reading it again. Peter has a way of tying the bike experience into the travel experience better than anything I have ever read. Maybe it helped because he was talking about places that I have been, or bikes that I have ridden. Regardless, this collection of stories will have you laughing and loving every minute of it.

Like many, I stumbled across Peter Egan through his columns in Cycle World Magazine. Egan's columns are extremely addictive, one read and you'll want more.

Unlike most books about biking however, Leanings is a story reflecting the relationship between man, machine and Nature.. with of course, a dash of adventure and a large dosage of determination told from experience. I'm sure many riders, be it casual or extreme, will relate to Egan's foolhardiness (during his younger years) and even smile at the memories which Egan brings back through a breezy but detailed storyline.

After flipping past the last chapter of Leanings, I have only but one regret - that I did not purchased Leanings that was personally autographed by Egan himself.

Peter Egan's book is a compendium of his Cycle World features going back over twenty years. His personal history chronicles the actual or imagined lives of most of us who have lived with motorcycles during the sixties through the present. When reading Egan's adventures with his various bikes and his pink tent, I feel like I'm on the road with him - moving Barbara off the pillion while circumnavigating the Isle of Man, or Ireland, or Route 66, or New Zealand, or wherever. This book has become my constant bedside companion, carrying me back to my cycling youth, or time in Vietnam or helping me envision my "in process" restoration projects on a winding country road on a perfect spring day. Thanks, Peter.

Not only did I enjoy this book, all I had to do was mention it to several of my friends and they now have copies too. Peter Egan fans are probably an easy sell though, the real test would be those not previously aware of the quality and depth of Egan's writing. The Foreward by Allan Girdler (another favorite) was especially well done. I thought I knew Peter Egan after reading his columns all these years but the added commentary opens up a new appreciation for his life and formative experiences. Yes, I liked the book, a lot.

Peter Egan has always been such a great read, and this book especially shows why. Even the articles which I had read prior were interesting and fun to read again. Can't recommend this book highly enough for motorcyclists who enjoy reading... (and yes, there are a few of us...)

Here I sit, watching the snow flutter down in the middle of the country, suffering from PMS (parked motorcycle syndrome) with the Battery Tender attached to my beloved Bonneville in the garage, and re-reading Peter Egan's "Leanings".

Egan knows about motorcycles and the people who ride and adore them. He translates and writes that knowledge and affection so well onto the page, you can read these stories more than once.
Egan takes us to places he's been, on strange odysseys, poorly-planned junkets, and better-financed road trips for his magazine. Places we might never go, but reminders that we can always hop on board with him until we get the bike fired up again.

If you ride (and read) and haven't discovered Peter Egan yet, I envy you for the fun you'll have reading "Leanings" for the first time. It's lyrical stuff and gets at explaining why we ride better than anyone else I've ever read.