Customer Reviews:
 The Trip of a Lifetime November 12, 2000
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book is the next best thing to being there, all over the world. Another good one, with great, coffee-table sized photos though less text: 20 Years On Two Wheels, by Helge Peterson
 Jupiter's Travels interesting, but not always to the point October 6, 2000
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
As someone who managed to put 36000 miles on his BMW motorcycle in two years I was interested in the story of a man who took it beyond the "next level". I enjoyed the book, but thought that Ted did not always get to the point and got sidetracked in his thinking process. Ultimately it boils down to his style of writing and a matter of personal taste... I recommend the book, but keep in mind that there will be pages one has to just chew through...
 Pretty good read August 21, 2000
Good book with lots of adventures and mishaps including being in a couple of jails through no fault of his own. Found myself looking forward to getting home so I could read it. Pretty courageous guy.
You Need This Book! July 17, 2000
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Looks like a book about a guy riding a motorcycle around the world, doesn't it? Well, Jupiter's Travels is that and a whole lot more. It's an inspiring object lesson in turning a dream into reality. It's also a reminder that there are more good people than bad people in the world. Ted Simon's experience shows what wonderful things can happen when you finally realize you can't have a contingency plan for everything and that if you embrace risk and the unknown, you'll be the richer for it. I've ridden more than 200,000 miles on motorcycles, but I am in absolute awe of Mr. Simon. Now, at the age of 70, he's retracing his route - this time on a BMW. He broke a leg in a spill last summer in Africa and had to spend a couple of months in Nairobi recuperating. At last report, he was heading north through Colombia. The guy is a living legend and a helluva writer, too.
Not just about motorcycle travel March 13, 2000
12 out of 16 found this review helpful
I was thrilled by this book. All the way up until about the last 50 pages, anyway. This book is certainly not just a travel log of the author's exploits across the globe. Mr. Simon tries to give the reader an idea of what he was thinking all the way through his journey. I guess his thoughts were getting pretty weird as he neared the end of his journey. At one point in the book, he actually tells the reader that he thought he was God. I didn't buy this book to read about Mr. Simon's thought on God and all things divine. I wanted to hear about all of his adventures, the people he encounters, the challenges, his attempts to avoid highway robbers, or prison, or both. This book provides all those things with aplomb. Unfortunately for me anyway, it also includes what I think was unnecessary, unrelated, philosophy. A book like this should have a happy ending, and leave the reader bursting with desire to hit the road and get lost in the world. When I finished this book I felt sorry for the author and wished him good luck with all his problems. In short, the book was really good, but it would have been much better if the last 50 pages had been left out altogether.
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