Rating: 
Summary: Encouragement to RIDE
Review: Although I'm not a motorcycle enthusiast, when a friend gave me Crossing America, I read it from cover to cover, twice. The freedom, joy, and sense of accomplishment conveyed by the author have encouraged me to look at motorcyclists in a different way. I even find myself giving someone obviously on a long-distance trip, a thumbs up as I go by! While the preparation and planning are very well covered (I imagine), I particularly enjoyed the musings and philosophical thread woven throughout the book.
Rating:
Summary: Encouragement to RIDE
Review: Although I'm not a motorcycle enthusiast, when a friend gave me Crossing America, I read it from cover to cover, twice. The freedom, joy, and sense of accomplishment conveyed by the author have encouraged me to look at motorcyclists in a different way. I even find myself giving someone obviously on a long-distance trip, a thumbs up as I go by! While the preparation and planning are very well covered (I imagine), I particularly enjoyed the musings and philosophical thread woven throughout the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Great for Beginners
Review: As you travel across country with Dick Peck he relates to you many good tips on planning your trip, safety, riding tips and ways to make your trip more enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Crossing America: You Can Ride Across the U.S.
Review: Crossing America is a great book for a guy like me who is just getting to the point of going farther than a tank of gas away from home. All of my family is back east, like the authors, and I am thinking about riding back to see them. This book gave me the practical checklists and really helpful insights for traveling across the U.S. I like to read books like The Adventure Motorcycling Handbook, but that is not the kind of riding I am going to be doing. Crossing America answered the questions I had about touring here in the States.
I found the six sections in each chapter easy to follow and refer back to. It is simple to find exactly the information you're intersted in, without having to read the book cover-to-cover. The index is very well done and makes things even easier to find.
If you are thinking about getting out for a few days or a couple weeks this summer read this book first.
Rating:
Summary: Great for planning your 1st long distance motorcycle trip
Review: Ever take a long vacation by car, traveling from state to state, isolated from the world by four-doors, closed windows, an air conditioner pushing regurgitated air in your face - with "boredom & tedium" long since considered non-paying passengers? Then, as you enter some small town, just off the interstate, looking for some benign place to eat, you come to a traffic light - and you hear it approaching from behind you. Somewhere, between the playing of the CD, the barking of "Spot, the Wonder Dog" in the back seat, and "...Are we there yet?" - a bike rolls to a gentle stop in the lane next to you. You look over to see a rider with luggage & saddlebags - he takes a moment to stretch his arms & legs and gives you a knowing smile that says, "Ya' know, this is the only way to see America". And for a fleeting moment your mind drifts and you wonder, secretly, what it must be like to see America by motorcycle... Dick Peck's book, "Crossing America", is nothing if not unbridled enthusiasm and emotion at crossing America on two wheels. Dick gives the reader a day-by-day journal of his personal trek from California to the Southeastern U.S. and back. If you ever wondered what it would be like to make a cross-country trip by motorcycle, "Crossing America" will give you a very real sense of what it's like - both the "good" and the "not so good". Notwithstanding the fact that Dick's enthusiasm is incredibly contagious, he also provides a wealth of information for the rider who may be somewhat apprehensive making that first cross-country trek - information on where to begin, what to pack, what to expect, and he assures us that, in the end, the rewards are very much worth the effort. Each chapter in "Crossing America" documents one leg of his journey. Additionally, each chapter includes one, or more "informational sections". These provide the reader with information and/or lessons Dick learned on his trip, or felt strongly enough to include - thus, the reader learns from the author's experience. Included are such topics as, "pre-trip preparation", "equipment", "riding techniques", "organization" & "post-ride thoughts". So, if you find yourself stuck in your car and ever wondered what it would be like, or, if you own your own bike and have yet to make that first cross country trip, "Crossing America" is definitely worth reading. If you are a seasoned long-distance biker then this is probably not the book for you, but for the rest of us who have yet to make that first trip.....
Rating:
Summary: crossing america: Dick Peck
Review: It's a hope every man, young and old, shares. Dick did it and tells you how to fulfill your middle age dream, safely, and maintain you personal direction and family support. This is more than a 'Harley cycling across america for dummies' book. The 'how to' part makes the adventure both possible and safe. the travelogue shows the joy and euphoria that makes the adventure great.
Rating:
Summary: One Way to Survive the Never-Ending Northeast Winter
Review: Living in New York, I must frequently resort to a good read -- as opposed to a good ride -- as a poor, but climatically necessary, substitute for getting on my Harley and being in the wind.
Rarely have I read a better constructed or more enjoyable book on the topic of riding than this one. It captures all the passion of riding and adds a welcome element of practical and extrememly helpful hints and suggestions for the long ride.
The book is moving, motivational, instructive and all around extraordinary. Thanks to Dick Peck for the ride. It's the best journey I've ever taken from my armchair!
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Sorry--crossing the USA via interstates and Super 8 motels is not my idea of an adventure. The author seems overly concerned with scratching the paint on his bike. The endless references to "genuine" H-D accesories, e.g. bike cover, gaiters, jacket, is tedious. Advice is obvious and superficial. Much better books for the motorcycle traveler are available. On how to ride, see "Proficient Motorcycling", for adventure touring see "Adventure Motorcycling Handbook".
Rating:
Summary: An easy way to cross America
Review: This is an excellent book for people interested in riding a motorcycle across the United States. Peck uses the framework of his own ride in December 2001, to give tips and information on how anyone else could manage a similar trip. The book is divided into chapters with clever subheadings giving riders pointers on how to prepare for a trip, deal with equipment, riding techniques and how to get the most out of the experience. Among topics covered (and noted in the index for easy finding)are lists of what to take,ways to eat on the road, managing traffic on the Interstates and reflections about the riding experience. I enjoyed reading this book. It's friendly, packed with information and I came away confident I, too, could ride a motorcycle across the United States!
Rating:
Summary: Don't Leave Home Without It
Review: This is the indispensable guide for the cyclist. Save yourself hundreds of hours and lots of disappointment by utilizing it to plan every aspect of your trip...
|
