A book of travel, yes, but infinitely more than that. Ted Simon was a writer first and a motorcycle rider second. Do not confuse this book with a mere description of places visited and how to keep a bike running. Jupiter's Travels includes some of the most insightful writing about carrying on through one's life; now hurtling, now crawling, but always with his senses fully operating and his mind delightfully able to capture and describe penetrating glimpses.

Ted Simon reflects on the many ways of dealing with the variable textures of humanity, the testing of one's mettle while admitting to shortcomings, and in doing so this the book involves a greater metaphorical value, something that few so-called travel writers ever attain. Ted Simon's resourcefulness, his strategies, and his often intuitive approach to living on the road for four years will provide any reader, and particularly a prospective long-term traveler, with a book that will be remembered and perhaps even consulted in retrospect. When the boat is late and the sky is dark, when the customs people are being intransigent and the alleys seem full of bandits, when the dust becomes so thick that you can chew it -- you will find yourself wondering: how would Ted Simon deal with a time like this?

Jupiter's Travels
By Ted Simon
Jupitalia Productions: ISBN: 0965478505