Bøger af Des Molloy

Des Molloy and Dick Huurdeman look like the sort of guys who should be sedately steering a sleigh in a Santa parade, not riding old single-banger British bikes half way across the world through some of the most difficult and remote terrain imaginable. Des's son Steve joined this intrepid pair as a cameraman and general factotum for the highs and lows of an incident-packed three-month trek from Beijing to Arnhem on 'Penelope', a 1965 Yorkshire-made 650cc Panther, and 'Dutch Courage', a 1954 Norton 600.Was this idiocy or odyssey? Decide for yourself as you read Des Molloy's account of their adventures and misadventures. You don't need to be a motorcycle maniac to enjoy this story which reads like a long yarn over afew beers at the pub.Prepare to be amused, excited, moved, entertained, and informed as you find out how much of this impossible dream became a reality for our unlikely trio.

An outrageous sortie on a pre-war BSA and two obscure, obsolete Yorkshire-made, single-cylinder Panther motorbikes. Poorly funded, with little planning, the ride depends on good luck, blind loyalty and terminal optimism. The struggle is managed with a youthful naivety. This is a recollection of a youth well-spent. Love and adventure are in the air with every chapter a precarious adventure."I was parched and scarcely able to breathe but I pushed and shoved and swore, screamed, yelled and cried and somehow I got Penelope up that bloody hill and struggled on until I could see the brick outpost over a sand dune. In the last 20 yards I bogged down again, and so leaving Penelope upright in the sand I staggered in, to the amazement of the soldiers. I beg for water"

In July 1968 a mentally insecure philosophy teacher began a motorcycle ride across the US with his not-yet 12-year-old son. His name was Robert Pirsig and the journey from St Paul across to San Francisco was immortalized in his subsequent best-selling book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. His focus on the metaphysics of quality and the deep philosophical musings have led the book to be referenced as required reading across a broad spectrum of university degrees ranging from Engineering through English to Sociology, Physics, Psychology and Philosophy.