★★★★☆

By Michèle Harrison

Amazon.com

Published by: Michèle Harrison

ASIM: B00QVFWRPO

I was drawn to the title—something about “All the Gear, No Idea” struck a familiar chord, this had to be a good read. Sure enough, with zero mechanical skills and a barely warm motorcycle license, the author begins her tale by flying to India, purchasing one of the most notoriously unreliable motorcycles ever made, then immediately riding off to circumnavigate a country that could conservatively be described as “not for the faint of heart” for anyone with a lifetime of overlanding experience let alone a novice rider.

Michèle’s handicaps provide a humorous and humble backdrop, but they’re not the only reason I’d read this book. Journeys are often both challenging and life changing in ways that are difficult to communicate. The world is rarely what we assume it is when we set off, and no matter what the supposed reason, the meaning can and usually does metamorphosize into something far grander as experiences accumulate. Every journey is its own tale. No two are the same.

Overlanding tales tend to be personal, and Michèle’s is no exception. As a fan of this genre, her book leaves me with the feeling that I’ve tagged along and shared big parts of her journey. To many westerners, India is indeed like another planet. And the author does an outstanding job describing how she made her way around, and how this wonderful country affected her over the year she spent there.

You also get a sense of the trepidation around what she describes as the hardest part—shutting down a cozy and predictable life only to trade it for, well, the opposite! It’s an impassioned topic of many ADV riders—the difficulty of that first step. And many procrastinating readers will benefit from what Michèle went through.

Another aspect I enjoyed was that although it’s a new book, it takes place in the late 1990s—a window into an era that slightly predates the tidal wave of ADV riding that was to come, providing a glimpse into an era slightly less traveled by Westerners.

All the Gear, No Idea is a well written, honest and engaging story that I don’t often encounter and would recommend to anyone. Especially if you love to read international motorcycling tales, put Michèle’s book on your list.

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