The Longest Ride: My Ten-Year 500,000 Mile Motorcycle Journey

by Emilio Scotto

For his eighth birthday, Emilio Scotto received a World Atlas. Promptly he announced his plan to make a route that would pass through all the countries of the world, a route he named BLUE ROAD ONE. When, some years later, he found himself astride a black 1100 Honda Gold Wing motorcycle, Blue Road One beckoned, and Scotto set off on a journey that would last more than a decade, take him virtually everywhere in the world, and land him in the Guinness Book of World Records. This is his story, a thrill ride that begins in his native Argentina, crosses Panama in the tumultuous time of Noriega, Mexico in the midst of an earthquake, and finds him broke in L.A. where, in a chance meeting, Muhammad Ali gives him fifty dollars and a signed book. Breaching the Iron Curtain, crossing the Berlin Wall at Checkpoint Charlie, being blessed by the Pope, set upon by cannibals in Sierra Leone, fleeing Somalia on a freighter, Scotto’s adventures would be unbelievable if they weren’t true. His tale of touring the world from Tunisia to Turkey, Petra to Afghanistan, Yugoslavia to Singapore, traveling miles enough to take him to the moon and back, is unlike any ever told. Come along, for the ride of a lifetime.

Genres: Travel, Motorcycle, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Motorcycling

224 pages, Hardcover

First published March 15, 2007

Reviews

[KennyO · Rating 3 out of 5]

I ride motorcycles so when I fantasize about being an adventurous traveler it's surely Emilio Scotto who's my model. His was an ambitious-beyond-reason tour of the world punctuated by events that had to be expected but could be only partly prepared for. Resourcefulness and resilience were condiciones sine quibus non.

The tale is well told in the first half of the book but, as has been pointed out elsewhere, his writing doesn't hold up nearly as well post-midstory. Still, the man took a heavy highway tourer wa-a-ay off road many times for astounding distances through seemingly impassable places. I'd have appreciated more attention to how he financed the trip(s) and how he planned them but that's just my interest, I suppose.

If you ride, it's worth reading.

[Alek Zayas-Dorchak · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's one thing you have to understand before reading this book: Emilio Scotto is a *rider*, not a *writer.*

The accounts of his adventures is a full five stars. Absolutely epic. His actual writing leaves very much to be desired. The last third of the book is replete with spelling errors that, quite frankly, shock me that they made it to print.

This is around the time that his young girlfriend/future wife met him in India for them to be married, which is honestly understandable. The wife who waited for him for 5 years--at one point not even hearing from him for 2 years--while he was explicitly writing about banging other women across multiple continents.

Choose the right one, I guess.

Having said all that, the adventures themselves are nothing short of extraordinary. What he may have lacked in forethought or common sense (taking a 1,200cc behemoth of a bike into third world? bringing your SCUBA tank along?) he makes up for with bravado, perseverance, and sheer luck.

[Sumit Shinde · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic example example of what happens when you hold onto your dreams. What an amazing journey this man went through a spanning 10 years on the road. The numbers looks goody goody but the journey was not. Hats off to Emilio for his perseverance to always move forward on the road even during tough times. Words are short to describe what this man did. A true nomad and hardcore traveler. He went back 6000kms from Russia to China just to get his visa stamped when he was stopped at Kazakhstan border. Must read for hardcore travelers.

[Sharon]

This book started out great, all I can say for this guy, is he must have had one very overworked guardian angel, he was very lucky in a lot of the situations he describes, to get out of it alive.

Mind you, the 2nd half of the book is a big disappointment. The author has detailed in great amounts, his adventures, in the 1st half, but in the 2nd half, the book just becomes a series of photo's with descriptions of what he is showing us. It is almost like, he just couldn't be bothered anymore telling us what was going on.

Therefore parts of the world that I'd love to know about his adventures in, (for instance my homeland), are practically ignored.

It ruined for me what could have been a great book.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this was tough to rate. I'm not finished the book, but I'm finished with it. The first half is amazing, there were times where my heart was literally racing. You are right there with this crazy adventurous man who is plowing through virgin rainforest on a Gold Wing!
Unfortunately (for me) the second half is primarily standard fare motorcycle travel journalism, which I don't really enjoy. I went down this road, saw this thing, here's a picture, etc. etc.
I rate it 4 stars for the first half. Would easily have been five if the intensity was mirrored in the second half.

[Time · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing journey around the world with someone lacking good sense. Highlights from his travelog that left me wanting to hear more about each stage. The last half of the book, was mostly pictures w/captions which left me wanting the deeper elaborations I'd grown accustomed to. All in all, a great tale.

[Jason McElroy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing more for the adventure and context than for the writing, but memorable nonetheless.

It has been claimed that some of the tales in this book were fabricated. I have no way of knowing, but it's a worthy read even if sensationalized.

[Alejandro Ojea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tiene capítulos escritos a la apurada o como relleno, otros estan muy bien relatados y te mantienen atrapado hasta terminarlos. Es un libro que realmente inspira a viajar.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

this man is the real thing

[OpenWater67 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A coffee table book, but who cares? It's brilliant..and true.

[AKovalenko Kovalenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

People are diifirent in every place of the world.