After 28 years in the automotive industry, latterly as managing director of Jaguar Italy, Tim Watson decided to do what thousands of middle-aged men only dream of... he left his job, bought a Harley Davidson (that he could barely ride), got married for a second time and hit the road, in his case to discover small town America.
There & Back Again To See How Far It Is tells the tale of Tim’s adventures, from a face off with a rattle snake in the Mojave desert to inadvertently riding with motorcycle outlaws in California. This short jaunt with the fearsome Vagos motorcycle club ended with cries of ‘Asshole’ which Tim took as rejection of his membership application.
The book opens with the author “pretending I wasn’t having a mid-life crisis” and heading for the nearest Harley dealership. There he broke the rules he knew only too well after decades in the automotive industry and bought the first bike he saw. As he hit the highway he realised there was also the small matter of learning to ride this gleaming new machine after more than 20 years far from the saddle.
Once he had mastered this, at least to a degree, and with no particular plan or route in mind, Tim set out and ended up covering 8000 miles across eight states over a six month period.
Each chapter of this humorous and honest account is peppered with nail-biting adventures that quicken the heart and ‘only in America’ anecdotes that warm the soul. Inexperienced, and some might say ill-prepared, Tim found himself with an empty fuel tank in the middle of the desert, being eyed by hungry vultures. He was rescued from this particular predicament by his new bride who rode on – and back – with a fuel can. On gentler days he took in the views, culture and oddities of small town America, such as the man doing 5mph through the desert on a lawn mower.
Tim was determined to discover the ‘real America’ avoiding the bright lights of America’s most famous sites and cities, with a couple of notable exceptions. Who could resist the temptation of riding a Harley over San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge?
There & Back Again To See How Far It Is offers the distinct viewpoint of an Englishman who is out of his comfort zone both culturally and mechanically but determined to make something of his mid-life crisis. It is accompanied by stunning photographs taken by Tim’s wife, Anne, to sum up a trip that most can only dream of – or read about.
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