Back in 1997 Melissa Holbrook Pierson wrote, what went on to be a hugely successful novel, The Perfect Vehicle: What It Is About Motorcycles.
For those of us who ride bikes in any of the classes they’re used in be it cruising on an annual holiday, beating the traffic, racing or trackdays, trail riding or just a Sunday morning spin we know exactly what it is. In this story Holbrook Pierson articulates it perfectly. She certainly does a better job of it than any of us ever could!
Strictly speaking, motorcycles don’t make a lot of sense. Indeed, it could be said that the only way that they continue to exist is because of our love for them.
Her story intertwines her Moto Guzzi obsession, a true labour of love, the role of women in the two wheeled world as well as our history and that of the machines which we continue to ride.
If you’ve yet to read this book then you’re missing out on a lot, since her story is incredibly well told. She manages to explain the risks, the vulnerability, the danger of motorcycling along with the thrills and the rewards of living life in our world.
Talking about the history of racing, the first bikes, the first riders and how they, not so much overcame the dangers, but rather integrated them into the sport. This blend made for a more emotional involvement in riding and as she argues, is what continues to attract us as riders. An involvement that was never going to present itself in other modes of transport.
Again, Holbrook Pierson presents this emotive part of the story with more grounded, practical, explanations of the technology that makes them work.
If you ride a motorcycle then you should, by now, have read her memoir. The great news is that whether you have, or have yet to, the story has now been adapted into a play called ‘The Perfect Vehicle’ by Audrey Deveraux.
It’s directed by Anthony Fox, and the play stars Jessy Danner and Ruairi Nicholl. It opens on the 24th of March at the New Theatre in Dublin.
We’ll be there!
