Most stories are journeys one way or another. Sometimes they contain several other stories within them,all entwined like strands in a rope.

This journey-the fi rst big ride for this couple-is one of those stories. It began in the north of England, swept briefly through Belgium,across France over the Pyrenees, southward through Spain to the Mediterranean shore in Andalucia before turning northwards again through western Spain into Portugal, through the heights of the Picos de Europa and so back to the south coast of Englandby ship and a final long chilly ride homewards.

This story, frequently humorous and occasionally poignant, is about him, about her and about them together. It is a story about how it all began, where they went, what they saw, who they met, what they learned and what had happened in the places they visited before they arrived.

It is a story of ups and downs-literal and fi gurative, wise choices, outright blunders and uncanny good fortune. It is, of course, a story about motorcycles and long distance motorcycling and about one motorbike in particular-a 1137cc sports tourer-asblack as a panther and as swift as the wind.

This book is less of a travel guide than a tale about travelling. Most of all it is an entertainment for everyone who enjoys riding motorbikes and those who like the idea of heading o for an adventure together with someone they love astride two wheels and an engine.

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