★★★★★

By Derek Mansfield

DerekMansfield.com

Publisher: Shuvvy Press Ltd.

ISBN: 978-0-9564305-5-7

Paperback: $14.00 U.S., signed and shipped

As a true adventure rider, you’ve prepared your motorcycle with loving care, and loaded it fully for an epic ride. You ferry across the Channel from England to France (Dunkirk), then ride eastward, vectoring into Eastern Europe. Early on, you’re riding “long narrow straights through deep green forest, curves and sweepers past lakes and rivers sparkling in sunshine.” Suddenly, the road becomes ripped up outside a small village in a rural area. The skies open, releasing a torrent of rain, and your engine hiccups, dies, and will not re-start.

You neither speak nor understand the local language. With only an erratic GPS, you do not know your present position, and you can’t read the Cyrillic alphabet road signs. A few cars pass by, not stopping but covering you and your bike with road spray. What now, intrepid adventure motorcycle rider? This vignette details only one of many intriguing situations Derek Mansfield shares in Notes from the Road Vol. IV. Mansfield rode solo from London to the Ukraine, through Baltic and Balkan nations. His vivid descriptions of the sights, sounds, tastes and smells encountered give the reader an experience akin to riding along on the journey.

And what a journey! Mansfield explores war-torn areas littered with land mines, experiencing societies in political turmoil. Yet, Mansfield finds beauty, freedom and fellowship within the chaos, as perhaps only a lone motorcyclist might. The history and the current political situation of the Balkans and the Baltic states remain complex, fluid, and difficult to grasp. Mansfield gives a readable and plausible summary of the who, what, and how of this international crucible. His account carries the authentic ring of someone who has “been there, done that.”



The writing flows gently, like riding a smooth road in clear weather. Seasoned with self-deprecating humor and ironic wit, the book is good company—written by someone focused on the ride and the experience, not on his own ego. Traveling as a lone motorcyclist, Mansfield advances a premise: He is more approachable to the local residents when riding alone than if he was riding with companions (also my experience, in my own, far less ambitious travels.) He gets close to the people in whose lands he rides. The book discloses his experiences with his hosts and hostesses (more hostesses than hosts, it seems), and accounts of colorful, memorable feasts, parties, and musical entertainment liven up the narrative.

Which countries, exactly, comprise this journey? Mansfield doesn’t say, but prints an unlabeled outline map on the first page of every border-crossing chapter. Knowledge of eastern European geography, or access to an atlas or Internet maps, will reveal the locations. Labeling the countries appears unnecessary, in my view, because the tangible reality of the lands and peoples encountered stands alone, regardless of arbitrary national boundaries.

What bike did Mansfield ride? A Moto Guzzi Stelvio, brave soul! Hard to find parts and service for this marque, but with initiative, perseverance, and the kindness of strangers, both the author and his bike made it successfully through the trip. Mansfield returned to his loving family, enriched by his travels. In my view, the reader will be enriched as well. By his count, Mansfield has had 19 careers, including nuclear submarine crewman. Fortunately for his readers, one of these careers is motorcycle travel book writer.

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