In 2014 Jill Maden returns to Australia to finish the trip she started in 2010 (as described in Excess Baggage). She rides a Postie Bike from Brisbane to Adelaide via the epic Birdsville Track. Then, on a Honda CB125e, she rides across the vast Nullarbor Desert to Perth, and onwards to Darwin. With a minuscule budget, badly injured hands and a top speed of just 80 km/h, she slowly makes her way through Australia's immense landscape. Hampered by gale force winds, dust storms, torturous heat and near-death experiences, Jill begins to wonder if she has bitten off more than she can chew. Written with humour, honesty and eloquence, this is not just the tale of a woman's foolhardy attempt to ride around Australia on tiny, low-powered motorcycles, but a unique insight into the country's exquisite natural beauty, its historical development and the warmth and generosity of its people.
Slow Rider : Australia on a Postie Bike and a 125 cc Motorbike
Description
Author Description
Jill Maden first started riding motorcycles in 2004 after her friend's husband took her down the Great Ocean Road in Australia on the back of his Triumph Sprint. She enjoyed the experience so much she decided to learn how to ride a motorbike. In 2006 she and a friend rode their bikes over to Finland and back. This was the start of a series of motorcycle adventures and in 2010 she rode a giant Suzuki SV650 solo across Australia, from south to north. Her first book, "Excess Baggage" tells the story of this trip. In 2014 she returned to Australia, this time on bikes no bigger than 125 cc and rode from Brisbane to Adelaide via the epic Birdsville Track, before crossing the Nullarbor Desert to Perth and onwards to Darwin (as told in her second book "Slow Rider"). When not travelling or riding motorcycles, Jill runs industrial heritage tours around Glasgow.