Dreaming of Jupiter

by Ted Simon

Ted Simon is the author of the classic travel book JUPITER'S TRAVELS. It documents his four-year journey round the world by motorbike, travelling through Europe, Africa, South and North America, and Asia. A number one bestseller in the late 1970s, it is still regarded as one of the greatest motorcycle books - indeed, one of the greatest travel books - ever written. In 2001, at the age of 69, Ted Simon decided to retrace his journey, and DREAMING OF JUPITER is the result. It took him two and a half years - during which time he revisited all the countries he had travelled through in the 1970s. He found much had changed, and he reflects upon the increased poverty, political upheavals, environmental issues and indeed the changes in himself. But ultimately, DREAMING OF JUPITER is a hugely inspiring read with a positive message at its heart - that even at the age of 70 you can still set off on an adventure, and be surprised and excited by what life throws at you along the way.

Genres: Travel, Motorcycle, Nonfiction, Motorcycling, Adventure, Biography, Audiobook

448 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Mark Gowan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dreaming of Jupiter is Ted Simon's return to the route that he took in 1973, a route that took him around the world. His book, Jupiter's Travels, is the iconic motorcycle travel book that has inspired other motorcycle enthusiasts including myself, to explore the world on two wheels. This book is his return to that route years later, an older and perhaps changed man.

Hesitant to buy Simon's book, I bought it out of respect for the man an the adventurer. Somehow, though, I knew what I would find; and I wasn't wrong.

"You can never go back." is a phrase that has rang true for me and I would believe for Ted Simon as well. Maybe a good alternative title? For anyone paying attention, or old enough to remember, the world has changed drastically. Yes, it has changed for the better but with the progress we have made there is also the costs. The world has gotten smaller and yet there are too many of us on this planet. There have been advances in what Simon calls "Unfinished Countries", and those advances have come at the cost of environmental and aesthetic destruction. As Simon writes, "It seems that there is no idea so good that it can't be trashed for money."

As a result of this and perhaps Simon's age, Dreaming of Jupiter is bitter sweet, a sad book in ways. And in other ways it is a truthful account of where we are at as a species. No matter what the reader takes from Simon's revisit, Dreaming of Jupiter is much more than a book about motorcycle travel. I'm not sure, but it seemed that Simon was surprised at what he found! This in itself was surprising. But his courage to revisit and experience the world "as it is" is a testament to Mr. Simon.

The book was written when Simon was nearing or had turned seventy, and it reads as such. Descriptive sadness about places that no longer exist, smattered with a few people that he knew or thought he knew, and his travels through a changed and dying landscape. Simon sums up the book with a melancholy thought:

"It is, to my mind, the overwhelming tragedy of our time that as individuals we a capable of making great changes in our lives, while as a species we stumble wide-eyed and irrevocably towards disaster."

Dreaming of Jupiter is simply that: a dream.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simon's follow-up to his ground breaking book Jupiter’s travels about his four year-long around the world trip on a temperamental Triumph motorcycle. This trip ostensible taken to see the jaundiced view of the world he had on the first trip was accurate no surprise 30 years on the world has only become more crowded and consumed by poverty. That he had the guts to make this trip is pretty amazing – despite the number of years that have passed since the first book was released this trip bears many of the same hallmarks – he falls in love along the way and drags his mate along with him with predictable results (a problem that short circuited his first trip and left him happily stranded in California where he’s lived during the intervening years); his motorcycle skills which were non-existent at the outset of the first trip are barely improved this time, perhaps even gotten worse with age. All that considered, that he made such a trip at the age of 70 is astounding and makes for good adventure reading.

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's something inspiring about a 70-year old man taking off to travel around the world for the second time in his life. As the reader, it inspires me to plan my own travels and gives me hope that time hasn't run out and that there's always time to accomplish your dreams. Unfortunately, Dreaming of Jupiter only maintains a blurb of what's possible and doesn't equate to the excitement of discovery that the first novel was able to achieve.

In Dreaming of Jupiter, Ted Simon finds himself pulled to travel around the world once again after finding himself unattached romantically and (what seems to be) estranged from his son. The ease at which one can leave family behind for three years takes a certain aloof personality. Buoyed by a small group of friends that give him a motorcycle and commit to filming a documentary of his travels, Ted sets off to recapture the magic and rediscover the world by roughly following the same path that he did 30 years earlier.

Except that there's no magic within these pages. The documentary film crew only gets mentioned a couple of times and serves only as a small distraction to fill more pages. I didn't find Ted making any new and interesting connections with people. In the moments when he was able to reconnect with someone from his former trip, Ted makes it a point to state what an amazing effect his original journey had on that individual. It comes off arrogant at times.

He mostly zips through locations around the world, commenting on how things have changed and expresses his disappointment in how much the world has changed for the worse. Ted spends far too much time recounting inconvenient travel hiccups and uncooperative people. His short time traveling with Malu offers nothing more than a change of pace that includes some slight drama where one can predict the couple's demise.

In his previous book, towards the last quarter, I got the impression he really wanted to return home, and because of that it reads like he speeds through Australia, Southeast Asia, India and home. The pacing is better in this book and I feel he gives more equal time to his destinations. But it was long, and uninspiring to me. After completing the book, instead of wanted to go out and travel the world, I found I'd rather stay home and go onto my next book.

[Sil Azevedo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not know Ted Simon until I came across this book on Audible. Now all I know is Ted Simon. Not knowing that this is a follow up book to his original Jupiter's Travels, I was too invested by the time I realized my mistake, so I carried on with it and plan to listen to the first book next. Ted is an inspiring guy. What is there not to like about a guy who just decides to go around the world in a motorcycle without being a rider or even owning a motorcycle, and then goes ahead and does it? And then, at age 70, decides to do it again and, you guessed, does it! Ted's narrative is clean and clear. He sticks to the facts and his honest feelings about each situation. The book feels like you are traveling the world on the back of Ted's bike. He is a smart guy, a cultured man and a fine writer, but he chooses not to show off. It's just Ted, the bike, the road and you. Some have complained that he's a bit more pessimistic on this second book, and he is pretty open about it himself. He's an aging guy retracing the route that he first experienced as a middle-age man in fine shape. There is a certain nostalgia for sure, and the realization of his much more limited physical abilities. But the courage that drove him to the road in the first place is still there, maybe tempered by time and experience, and possibly even stronger as it takes a different kind of boldness to undertake a challenge like this at 70 than at 45. I loved the book, love the author and am about to embark on Jupiter's travels now.

[Gregory Pappas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ted has been an inspiration to me. I've taken motorcycle journeys and written about it. I've read Jupiter's Travels a number times and also Riding High. I was listening to an interview with Ted where he discussed the topic of travel writing and his personal investment in the book. He noted that what often goes overlooked is the tremendous amount of effort that went into the quality of the writing of Jupiter's Travels. I couldn't agree more. I teach high school English and literature is my love. Ted Simon is a fantastic wordsmith, and for that reason bought this book.

I found this book to be a somewhat bland in comparison with his earlier novels, which is why I gave it this rating. While his first book was told through eyes wide open, this book revealed a man constantly searching for what once was. Unfortunately, he never found it, which continued to set a negative tone throughout the book. Instead of the inspired wonder-filled words of his first publications, we're reminded, again and again, that the 1970s was a much more magical time than now, and that that time is lost forever.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, that was a fun journey.

In the previous book, he skipped over large parts of his journey around the world, which was apparently covered somewhat in a follow-up book, which I never got. This one, however, seems to go back over some of that ground, and we get to find out how much the world had changed in the quarter-century since the previous trip.

He doesn’t seem to have the impression that the world has changed for the better, but that might just be one side effect of getting older. I certainly salute him for undertaking such a journey at 70 years of age.

Definitely worth my time.

[JanV · Rating 4 out of 5]

How can you make the decision to do the whole going on once again! I would say: Once is enough. A four year trip with -apart from the longer stays- not knowing how your night rest will look like, with some scary -shorter or longer- moments (being jailed!) even knowing there is back up and support, but the constant uncertaincy of what to expect. Then it must the gypsy in you. Having some company will ease some of the lonelyness but also assures you of the unavoidable farewells.. This book is again about what goes on in the mind of such a person.

[Toby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Apart from the ending I enjoyed Jupiter's Travels immensely. This book is even better perhaps because it harks back to the first book or perhaps because the author had a different slant to take and more time. Anyway, couldn't put it down and did not want it to end. Could have had a bit more detail about the bike and equipment but really this is all about the people and culture he meets and there it shines. Beautifully written. It really does, as he says in the epilogue, make you want to leap onto you bike and ride off. Highly recommended to all bikers and people who love meeting new people.

[Jared · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, but it didn’t quite live up to the first one for me. The pacing and storytelling weren’t as strong, and some of the magic of discovery felt less vivid this time around.

That said, what stood out most and what I deeply admired was that at 69 years old Ted Simon got back on a motorcycle to circle the world one more time. That alone is inspiring, and it gives the book a sense of wisdom and perspective that only comes with age and experience.

A worthy read, especially if you loved Jupiter’s Travels, but just a touch less gripping.

[Piisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never read the first book so I can't compare. However, it did take me till about Egypt to get into the travel mode. Until then the book seemed a bit flat. Around the world on a motorbike through some 400 pages, I suppose this is the only sort of traveling we can do for some time now. I enjoyed it. I must say, though, the joannalumleys of this world make everything seem so simple when they have someone else to deal with all border formalities 😉

[Carl Murr · Rating 5 out of 5]

rather sweet travel story by a septuagenarian, to do this as a young chap would be a task but to carry out this journey at his age, to document, compare, shows a strength and somewhat detachment of the guy that comes out in leaps.

This is a book that follows the same path Ted travelled many years previously. there's a sense of depression when the striking differences between the two travels unwinds but all in all a terrific read.

[Kevin Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s not more of the same - i.e. Jupiter’s Travels part two - more of a reflection on the nature of change, of the world’s change. Whilst still being a book about going round the world on a motorcycle, of course.
Still, compulsory reading if you tour on two wheels.

By the way, I just realised that I’d like an extra star to give it, compared to other books I’ve rated - or it could just be that I enjoy reading too much and am commonly overly generous with my allocation of stars…

[Tannermharris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as Jupiter’s Travels

Ted Simon is a pretty good writer. I enjoy reading his analysis and philosophical projections after being exposed to so many different people and cultures. His second book, however, contained too many long narrative travel logs. It was still a good read though.

[Wayne Jordaan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book fascinating, because it is such a fascinating angle on the "back then" type story. Ted Simon's account of his mostly retraced motorcycle ride round the world is a good read, is testimony to that which many have concluded, which is that changes is inevitable, but not necessarily good.

[Andrew Garne · Rating 1 out of 5]

A poor follow up

After enjoying Jupiter's travels I thought I would enjoy this too. To be fair I enjoyed bits of it but I think Ted has turned into a bitter and old fashioned misogynist. If he didn't lose his temper so much he would have enjoyed more. It was a struggle to reach the end for him and for me.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simon is the best motorcycle trip writer. I'm envious of his writing. I might have been too young to fully appreciate this one. His first, which I read a few years ago, was terrific. I appreciated the insights he shares throughout this trip of a book though. Wonderful read.

[Speranta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first man I speak of when I tell non-riders about the drive for the road. Mostly because he had no driving license before the first trip, and now because he found the will to enjoy life regardless of age, or what other people would consider unnecessary danger.

[Tomi Hyytiä · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good but not as good as the first one.

[David Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read overall. Did not enjoy it as much as the first book.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, not just for motorbike enthusiasts, alsoa great social history of times past during the travels

[dai phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book as good as the first one

Brilliantly written makes you feel as if you are along for the ride if you haven't read Jupiter's travels I would advise reading it first

[Del Hess · Rating 5 out of 5]

an epic motorcycle travel book, and epic travel book, an epic read.

[Ruben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty introspective trip on how the world has changed since his first round-the-world.

[Rob Mattimoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good book to read when you're on the road yourself - a brilliant follow-up to Jupiters Travels

[Sebastian1987 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Im Jahre 2000 fuhr Ted Simon, der Autor dieses Buches, im stolzen Alter von 70 Jahren zum zweiten Mal mit seinem Motorrad um die Welt. Dabei wählte er die Route wie schon 26 Jahre zuvor: durch Europa, Afrika, Amerika, Australien und Südasien. Nach zwei und halb Jahren findet seine Reise am Ausgangspunkt sein Ende. Auf eindrucksvolle Weise schildert Ted Simon seine Erlebnisse, die Schwierigkeiten und Schönheiten seiner Reise und läßt den Leser intensiv an seinen Gefühlen, Ängsten und Hochstimmungen teilhaben. Was ihm auf der Reise besonders auffällt ist der ernome Wandel der Welt in dieser vergleichsweisen kurzen Zeit. Diesen Wandel stellt Ted Simon persönlich eher als negativ dar: Geht es Südamerika oder Indien augenscheinlich besser, ist das arm-reich Gefälle in diesen Ländern schlimmer den je. Durch den gewaltigen Bevölkerungszuwachs der Erde verschwindet die unberührte Natur immer mehr, besonders schöne Plätze verkommen zu Touristenattraktionen. Unter dem Druck der Globalisierung verschwinden jahrhundertalte Kulturen, die Anonymität nimmt mit der Verstädterung weiter zu . Insgesamt ist dieses Buch ein lesenwerter Reisebericht, jedoch beschreibt der Autor sehr ausführlich die Beziehung zu seiner Freundin, die ihn zeitweise auf dem Rücksitz begleitet, was mich persönlich genervt hat.

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really didn't know what to make of this book all the way until the end. Like Blue Highways (William Least Heat Moon), Simon seemed to be looking for something without really letting us know what that really was. Of course he told us that he had already done this round-the-world thing before but now he was in his 70s. His age alone makes it a quite remarkable achievement. But he seemed always melancholy about what he would find-often old landmarks and favoured locations were gone. It wasn't clear what he expected.

The narrative of his trip tended to be on the boring side with a few interesting bits here and there. He is definitely on the neurotic side.

Having said that, I found his final chapter and Epilogue to be the most interesting bits. He summed up the experience in a few pages and I found his insights quite spot on. I had it at 2 stars until the end. I should also say that I have not read Jupiter 1 (yet) although I might have a go at it.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting book for anyone in a reflective mood but, like the author, I found it hard to see his second journey as anything other than an epilogue to Jupiter's Travels.
The highlights of this book are in the accounts of meeting up with old friends and chance acquaintances from his first trip. The way 30 years have changed places, travel and the traveller also makes good reading.
In many ways Ted Simon's biking achievements second time around are more impressive but the lustre in his writing and perhaps even his lust for travel and discovery are among the magical, missing ingredients that brought Jupiter's Travels to life.

[Michel Clasquin-Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a man of seventy to ride a motorcycle around the world is a remarkable achievement. But this book, superficially similar in style to Jupiter's Travels, the story of his first trip, lacks the light-heartedness, the humor of the earlier work. Frankly, it would have been a better trip, and a better book, if Simon had simply fired up the bike once more to see what he could see, without the constant pressure of deadlines and goals. Instead of experiencing each country for what it is, he is again and again searching for people he met on the last trip, or comparing places then and now.

[Barry Avis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Jupiters Travels a after a traumatic motorcycle accident and it helped me to come to terms with my recovery and looking forward to getting back on two wheels. I read this book several years later having never gone back to motorcycling and so I come to this its a completely different perspective. I see this book as more of a reflection of how the world has changed rather than a motorcycle journey. Still a great book, especially if you are thinking of travelling the world and order how easy it would be.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting read, to see the comparrisons in Ted Simon on his recent trip around the World, compared to 1973 when he first set out on his voyage by motorbike.
Differences were quite obvious, in his views toward this means and length of travel. He asks alot of questions of himself, that I would have liked to ask him. And also it is not too sentimental as you would imagine being it 30 years since he took the same route.