Books: Bedlam and art of maintenance

By BARBARA HARRIS

Motorcycle Masala

By Peter Riordan

Hazard Press $24.95


He hates motorbikes and she rode a scooter 10 years ago. Hardly the sort of people you would imagine to embark on a 17,000km journey round India on a vintage 350 Enfield Bullet.

But after a terrifying bus trip to reach Kathmandu and hearing of an outbreak of pneumonic plague in the Indian city of Surat, keeping off public transport becomes a priority for New Zealanders Peter Riordan and Stephanie Dowse.

A motorbike buff they'd met in Tibet recommends an Enfield and, suddenly, touring India by bike seems an incredibly sane option.

After a test-run Dowse is sold and Riordan reluctantly persuaded. A ludicrous offer is made and accepted and they make sure the bike is given an overhaul.

But 15 minutes into their great Indian odyssey they break down. Frustrated they push the bike back to the garage for repairs.

Later that day they try again. It is a pattern that will be repeated many, many times on their journey.

This is a poor country and the roads even poorer. In fact they sound like the roads to hell. Convoys of bullying Ashok Leylands and Tata trucks thunder towards and behind them as they fight for their share of pot-holed highway.

It's chaotic and dangerous and noisy with trucks blasting their airhorns continuously. I read in horrid fascination as one lorry came close enough for Riordan and Dowse to hear the whirring of its fanbelt. The buses are no better. As one local puts it: "They charge [at] you like elephants."

In India 150 people are killed on the roads each day.

Overturned lorries are a common sight and the sheer concentration needed to avoid obstacles means the pair take turns at driving, an hour-on, an hour as passenger.

Sunday is a day to be truly thankful for because it is the truck drivers' day off. Small blessings in an otherwise rigorous drive that at times leaves them exasperated and bickering.

But they keep going and it says much for their toughness of character that they don't just dump the bike. And, besides visiting just about every Enfield garage along the way, they experience life in India as few have.

An hypnotic, adrenalin-charged story, it's easy to see why Riordan won a travel writing award for this his first book.