Customer Reviews

Riding Man

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a totally compelling read. I admit, I'm not the biggest fan of motorcycles myself but a friend recommended it and said it was just a great story. He was right. This guy (the author, Mark Gardiner) is gutsy, funny, sensitive and smart. His narrative is self revealing and very endearing. One of the things I loved about the book is that I felt like he was talking directly to me the whole time.

I found myself amazed at the tenacity of the author for going for his lifelong dream to race in the world's most dangerous motorcycle race and inspired by his humble and realistic view of himself as just a regular guy. I don't know if he is, how many regular guys give up a successful career to do something like this? There were passages that made me cry and some that made me laugh out loud. I learned a lot about a sport that I barely understood prior to reading this and more about the people who love it. Mostly I appreciated the author's philosophy -- to do your best and to embrace the process without being attached to results. This book could well turn out to be a classic along the lines of "Zen and the Art of Archery" or "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", both of which are quoted at key points.

Basically, I fell in love with the book and this author when I read itRiding Man

I'm not done with the book yet and it's already making me re-evaluate how I live life. Making me itch to do something more than just work to live/ride. I too have a passion for motorcycles, and racing. The TT and it's heroes(Mike the Bike, Joey, McCallen, DJ) always like real people who do extra-ordinary things. Mark is one of them, to me. I'd love to see a follow up book of his sketches of the course.

I have to admit, I race motorcycles. So, right off the bat I was interested in this book. However, once I got to actually reading it, I found that it is a very well written story. It doesn't just cover his racing. He also talks about his job, a little about his family, and a lot about the culture on the Isle of Man. His writing style is funny and insightful. He's just a fairly average guy who chases his dream.

Even if you aren't very interested in motorcycles, I highly reccomend this book.

I concur with the first review, this is an amazing book about a guy who understands that he is pursuing a crazy dream, and he makes the reader understand why, and walks the reader through the staggering difficulties. There is a DVD of this story, which I am going to get.

A couple months back someone tipped me off that there'd be a `literary event' at Portland's Ducati / Aprilia store, Moto Corsa. Apparently some guy had sold all his possessions to fulfill a lifetime ambition to ride in the Isle of Man TT and he was going to read from his new book about the adventure.

That guy was Mark Gardiner, known to many in the motorcycling community as a regular contributor to motorcycling publications, but not to me, so I came to the event with few preconceptions. As intense as the TT must be, his reading could be nothing if not a personal account and after all, who doesn't enjoy the narration of a good old fashioned hare-brained scheme ?

Gardiner is Canadian and shows a natural affinity for that curious British amalgam: eccentricity, shoestring projects, support of the underdog and the unshakable belief that it will eventually stop raining. It's no surprise, then, that his `bookish' childhood draws him to a kid's encyclopaedia where he homes in on a map of Britain with a motorcycle emblem indicating the Isle of Man.

Fast forward forty years to the year 2000 and the author is in England to scope out the Isle. There's drama in London with a sister diagnosed with cancer. She lives near Upper Street, coincidentally the scene of one my own two wheeled dramas when I worked in the area. If there's any central theme to `Riding Man', it's the exhortation to realize your dreams now or risk the regret of missed opportunity. One suspects his sibling's misfortune spurred as well as saddened him.

By profession Gardiner is an advertising creative director and copy writer. His way with words is what makes his book so readable and appealing. True to `ad man' form, he sets out his storyboard early on, explaining that the sequence of the chapters is thematic rather than chronological. I am routinely confused by things which are described out of order, but in this book, it was never a problem. Recall, for example, the images and thoughts that course through one's mind even during a one hour solo ride - any order ? any logic ? - probably not. So it is here: motorcycle history mixed in with corvine superstition, Zen reflection, beer nights with strangers and friends in old Manx pubs, lonely, critical and self-critical moments out on a road that giants of short circuit racing once rejected as too dangerous an imposition on their season's agenda.

Followers of the sport will not be disappointed. There are familiar names that even a motorcycle racing dunce like me would know: Geoff Duke, Giacomo Agostini, Mike Hailwood and Soichiro Honda who made the machines Hailwood rode to success. There are dozens more; many no longer with us as their legend and legacy begin with a fatal crash on a bridge or corner somewhere with an exotic name: Cronk-Y-Voddy, Creg-ny-Baa, Ballacraine and so on.

A lifelong interest in the TT has made Gardiner somewhat of an authority on the subject which certainly ups his street cred when on the Island and soliciting the support of local motorcycle businesses and craftsmen. His amateur racing credentials help here too, along with the readiness of the course authorities to welcome international competitors and encourage their participation. Near to the end of his qualification to race in the final event, Gardiner agonizes over the possibility that he is being cut more slack than others because of his newcomer / foreigner status and journalistic connections. He need not have worried, he made the grade regardless.

In 2002 Gardiner goes to the Island with a plan to film the proceedings and to write a book about the experience - nothing ignoble about that. It's a credit to him that he did it with so little money in racing terms and he readily expresses his gratitude to the friends and businesses that made it possible. The DVD is professionally produced, but not too slick to lose the personal touch and is definitely worth watching.

Arguably `Riding Man' has it all: a dreamlike quality, good anecdotal (and factual) information about the history and players in the TT, an excellent grasp of the magical nature of the venue whether he's talking about fairies under bridges or the sights, sounds and smells of the pits or the open road. I've never set foot on the Isle of Man but I've ridden closer than I'd like to many a dry stone wall in the very similar terrain and weather of northern England. Failing that, Gardiner's book will take you there in your armchair and perhaps encourage you to re-examine your inner journey or, just for once, get out of that chair and do something...

The story of one mans personal quest. I don't think you have to be a motorcyclist to enjoy this book but it probably makes it better. The author essentially chucks his existing life to participate in one motorcycle race which is not only unique in the world but probably the worlds most challenging sporting event of any kind. His comparison to climbing Mt. Everest is easily understood. A must read for anyone who is a fan of or is involved in motorcycle roadracing.

This was a great follow up to One Man's Island the documentary that Mark Gardiner did.

This is perhaps the best motorcycle racing book I have read. We can only hope that he continues to write and that we can find whatever he comes up with.
Gives the true feeling of sweaty leathers and tools in your hand. Speed too.

The most compelling book I have EVER read, once started I COULD NOT put it down, it is not just a book for motorcyclists, IT IS a great human interest story, an inspiration for the "average guy" (or gal) to "keep chasing the dream !"
This book has a real "feel good" factor about it.Riding Man

I really enjoyed this. The author prefaces the book by saying that the writing style might be confusing (since it is not chronological) and the reader is welcome to jump ahead to the actual qualifying and race sections but DON'T DO THAT. This book is much better read as a complete work and the background information adds so much to the story that missing it would make the book one dimensional.