“Wild Spirit” by Helen Lloyd – book review

The title of this book lets you know exactly what to expect when you start turning the pages. Helen Lloyd is the embodiment of an adventure rider, a solo traveller who loves the challenges of extreme travel. She first burst onto the scene with Desert snow, a book about a bicycle tour through West Africa. Next came her dark book A Siberian winter fairytaleagain about extreme cycling, but this time through Siberia in the middle of winter! Island Serow Sagaanother great read – but in this book she switched to motorcycling. One of the things I liked about this book is that although she rides a 223cc, Yamaha Serowher mentality is still that of a light bike rider. This attitude allows her to approach problems from a refreshing perspective and consider possibilities that more experienced riders, especially on a larger bike, might dismiss.

And now to this review. Her latest book, Wild Spirit, covers another incredible journey, this time through South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt. An extremely honest story that captivated me so much that I read it in one sitting.

Wild Spirit begins so wonderfully and so vividly that after just a few lines I was with her. From then on she had me racing along country lanes, fighting through soft sand, running out of water and laughing with the locals as if I were standing next to her and experiencing what she was doing.

Although Helen is a smart planner who studies the known dates and possibilities before jumping into something, she fully understands the value of serendipity. Throughout this read, she shares the decision-making process in an interesting and light way without over-exaggerating her arguments. She masterfully weaves history into her storytelling and combines it with the amazing stories of the people she meets along the way. There is a respectful appreciation of life’s possibilities and the goodness of the path. At the same time, she made me grin at crazy moments, like the vervet monkey fights.

Wild Spirit is very different from her first three books. This time, Helen rides with her partner, Kieran. He is a more experienced motorcyclist but has never ridden cross country as hard as Helen usually does. Helen, on the other hand, is a new motorcyclist with virtually no experience on dirt roads and is not used to traveling with others for long periods of time. A central thread is the journey their relationship takes. Helen’s experiences have taught her what makes her happy in life. Yet there is an inner conflict. She is determined to experience life’s possibilities. It’s interesting to see the lengths the duo were willing to go to learn how to make their relationship work despite the challenges and constant demands of traveling off the beaten track. Couples interested in riding cross country together should read this book. Such a brave and honest writing style could have easily backfired. But it didn’t.

Every now and then the author challenges the reader with surprising statements that don’t go down well at first and at least sometimes make me pause. But a few pages later, these comments fit together and make sense. She is sometimes blunt, but at other times she has the diplomatic skills of a well-disposed, highly successful professional.

Helen Lloyd has a spirited and free-spirited personality and she doesn’t hide it. These aspects are evident throughout the book and make the narrative bluntly honest, sometimes even refreshing. I was fascinated by her thirst for discovery, her curiosity, her powers of observation and her keen intuition. This insatiable desire to explore the world off the beaten track, with the confidence that no matter what happens, she can do anything, is a good example for many to follow.

Within Wild Spirit Helen shows the reader why the unknown is not to be feared, but respected, explored and enjoyed. The book could have been much thicker. It left me wanting more.

Editor: Take on the creative work

Price: 15,99 €

ISBN number: 978-0-9576606-6-3

AS IN: B0CFBCWPWL

Available from Amazon as paperback and Ignite