Customer Reviews

Lois on the Loose: One Woman, One Motorcycle, 20,000 Miles Across the Americas

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Really, my only real criticism of this book is the really bad cover design. But heeding the advice from my wise father, I cracked open the cover and began reading giving the author fifty pages to capture my attention; it took Pryce far less time. Within the first few pages I had laughed out loud half a dozen times, was entirely engrossed and had added "SuperBri" to my lexicon!

This is the fourth book I've read that details an adventurous motorcyclists attempt to ride to Ushuaia, the southern most city in the Western Hemisphere, but Pryce's version has captured the fun factor better than the competition. Finding humor and irony in just about everything she faces, I giggled and grinned my way from Alaska to Argentina, grew anxious over the state of disrepair or her bike and took comfort in the fact that she surely must have survived because who else would have written her book.

Pryce does a brilliant job of describing the world she is traveling though, with comical prose that is fun and easy to read and where so many of these stories strive to come to some deep, thought-out, life-lesson learned, Pryce simply expresses the desire to return to the comforts of home and reveal the desire to begin her next big adventure (which, by the way, is riding through Africa according to her website). I only wish she would have taken a few more photo's. In any case, this should be on the shelf of any moto-adventure geek who hopes to someday take more than a week or two to wander about on ones motorcycle.

This is a quick and easy read. Lois's amazing 20,000 mile motorcycle mega-transect from Alaska to Argentina is an entertaining and witty tale. The author has a good sense of humor and her descriptions of the people she meets and places she roars through are light, loose (pun intended) and a lot of fun. Not only that, her scathing portrayal of life in a cubicle for the vaunted BBC may be the best part of the book. What wankers her immediate supervisor and his boss were. Anyone familiar with the drudgery of modern office life can certainly relate.

I've long dreamed of navigating the Pan-American Highway but fear it may be too late, even in a 4WD vehicle. Lois's story relates just what a grueling and demanding trip that would be; definitely an undertaking for a youthful bum and spine. How she managed to do it on a high-pitched 250-cc trail bike made this reader shake his head in wonder. The border crossings of Central America alone were enough to dishearten even the most determined traveler.

As an American I was glad to see there wasn't any Yank-bashing, despite the fact that Pryce must have had plenty of ammunition. Whisking through southern California had to have been tempting fodder. A French woman who tags along for a portion of the trip is described as having "anti-American sentiments" and one bloke in South America, while berating an American biker for his lack of cooking skills says something along the lines of "No wonder the world hates you," albeit jokingly. That's about the extent of it and, all in all, we don't come out looking any worse than the other nationalities, including a maniacal Canadian cop who goes ballistic on her for riding without insurance.

An inkling of just what an undertaking this was is revealed toward the end of the book, in the far reaches of southern Argentina. A peasant woman with whom Pryce is staying looks blankly when told the trip had started in Alaska. When she's made aware that Pryce passed through Santiago, the woman says, "They have come all the way from Santiago! SANTIAGO, CHILE!" As isolated as this woman was, in deepest Patagonia, she could only absorb so much.

If I have a complaint about the book, it's that some sections are glossed over a bit too much. It left me wanting more detail. Having just spent a few days in the redwood country of northern California, I was disappointed at how Lois breezed through that and many other gorgeous sections of the West Coast. Maybe she saw so many beautiful places that it blended together after a while. Also, I've been to most of the countries she traverses and was looking forward to more vivid descriptions. I can imagine that a trip like this was exhausting. I'm sure it was a major chore to make notes at the end of every riding day.

Finally, I can't help mentioning that most readers will relish the karma-like comeuppance that befalls a particularly bitchy companion, Amalia. I will not reveal the end but greatly enjoyed how the story turned out. Diplomatically, Lois reserves judgement, at least in print.

I'm not a motorcycle enthusiast but still enjoyed this traveler's tale. I look forward to a follow-up after her recently completed journey through the length of Africa. More power to you, Lois! Where will you be on the loose next?

This is an easy to read account of a young woman from London that ships her 250cc dirt bike to Anchorage and proceeds to ride to the tip of South America. Unlike Ted Simons, she doesn't get bogged down in "meaning of life" issues. She is just enjoying the ride and making new friends.

I have since purchased extra copies to give to friends.

As a fellow female rider and XT225 owner, I anxiously awaited my advance-ordered book to arrive - and for good reason!!

It's not every day I read a book that makes me laugh out loud, feel the pure joy, frustration, anger, calm, loneliness, nod my head knowingly, AND make me think, "Wow, never would have thought to make THOSE arrangments." Actually, I dont think she ever felt anger, but I did FOR her at a few points in the book. LOL

Kudos to Lois for her fantastic journey and great writing style.

Though I enjoyed the book, I was left wanting more detail. It seemed rushed somehow but could all be due to a first time author. I am planning on reading her African adventure book and hope it is an improvement. I do have one minor issue with the book and that is that there is no information on what happened to her companion Amalia after they left her at the hospital. As unpleasant a character as she was (I would have dumped...err advised her to go her own way, after the first day), I really think it would have been nice to know that she got home safely and recovered.

Despite a really bad cover, this book is extremely good.

Very humorous and interesting. Well written.

If you like adventure, motorcycles and good humor you will love this book.

Very highly recommended.

If you like motorcycles or travel this is a sure win. There is no amazing plot or twisting subterfuge but Lois writes easily as if you are hearing the story first-hand instead of reading it in a book. Her humor is excellent and her observations are refreshingly blunt. If you are easily offended then this is not for you as she is far from PC, but for everyone else it's a fantastic journey that leaves you wanting more. Fortunately she's written a second book as well. Now I just have to find a copy of it...

If there were six stars to be awarded to a book, I would give Lois on the Loose all six. I've read a lot of books, blogs and trip reports about motorcycle travel because I dream of such a trip one day. This book was the best one of that genre that I've ever read. It was fun, it was was informative and it captured the nature of an adventure. If you are looking for a technical "How to do it guide" this isn't it. But if you are ready to settle in and ride with Lois through her various experiences and misadventures you are in for a great trip. She is a terrific writer. The book is a page turner. If Lois had turned around at the tip of South America and headed back to Alaska I would have stayed reading and riding right along with her. I've just ordered her next one, Red Tape and White Knuckles, and can't wait to set off again.

As a motorcyclist, I could easily relate to the incredible obstacles that Lois had to clear in order to complete her mission, a road trip from Alaska to the very tip of South America. The physical hardships, the interaction with Third World authorities, the environmental elements of each mile all contributed to an almost insurmountable list of extremely difficult conditions. But, she did it almost without fear and chronicled the highlights for the reader's enjoyment.

Lois is a brave woman. She left a job that barely challenged her to take on one of the greatest challenges of anyone's lifetime. Lois injects her dry British humor throughout with her often "tongue-in-cheek" dialogue of daily events. When she arrived in Alaska, she found that the men seemed to outnumber the women by a large number. Her utlimately take on it was that "the odds were good, but the goods were odd."

I would have liked to hear more as she wrapped many months of travel into 200+ pages, BUT I appreciated the fact that she didn't want to bore the reader with minutia.

Hats off to a woman who took on a project, fulfilled a dream, and achieved a goal.

You do not have to be a motorcyclist to enjoy "Lois on the Loose". You merely have to sit back and read about an exciting oddyssey.

I am a female motorcyclist and love reading books about women and traveling. I decided to get this book and absolutely LOVED IT! I haven't laughed that much with any book.