In 2015, we reviewed a remarkable book by Melissa Holbrook Pierson—The Perfect Vehicle – What It is About Motorcycles. It was the first book about motorcycling we reviewed that was written by a woman—and it was a revelation. Not only was the subject matter a fresh take on motorcycle literature, but the writing was of a quality on a higher, unique level. We made a mental note to review more of her work.
Pierson’s more recent book, The Man Who Would Stop at Nothing — Long Distance Motorcycling’s Endless Road, is once again a fresh and surprising take on a rarely covered topic in motorcycle literature, and it is written with her unique style that is at once personal, witty, and poignant.
While the book covers multiple subjects, two define The Man Who Would Stop at Nothing.
One is the story of John Charles Ryan, a larger-than-life extreme long-distance endurance rider. Pierson’s coverage of Ryan’s jaw-dropping long-distance rides illustrates the workings of a man driven to go farther and farther aboard a motorcycle in a set amount of time than human endurance, common sense, and even incredible luck would seem to allow. However, it’s more complicated than that.
Ryan has to deal with a personal obstacle every hour of every day that can cause him harm whether riding or not. He contends with physical challenges to his body’s well-being posed by Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes. This means that time-saving strategies on a long ride, such as putting off or skipping meals, can adversely affect blood sugars, causing hypoglycemia and its physical effects, including severe fatigue and even loss of consciousness. Similarly, not monitoring blood sugar levels or skipping insulin doses can cause serious immediate and long-term problems.
Despite such challenges, Ryan rode more than 200,000 miles in a year—more than 550 miles per day, including Christmas and New Year’s Day. He started with the Iron Butt Association’s Bun Burner Gold award. It requires 1,500 miles to be ridden in 24 hours, which he over-achieved by covering 1,600 miles in 22 hours and 30 minutes.
Later, Ryan earned the Bun Burner Gold Trifecta. That calls for 9,000 miles across the country—New Jersey to Arizona and back—in three days. In 2009, Ryan chased another extreme endurance ride record. He completed the Ultimate Coast to Coast challenge, riding from Deadhorse, Alaska, to Key West, Florida, a distance of 5,645 miles in 86 hours and 31 minutes—a moving average speed of 72 mph!
To help accomplish these mind-blowing extreme long-distance rides, he rode a Yamaha FJR1300 fitted out with an outlandish bespoke 13-gallon gas tank!
Note to readers: Many of the books we feature in Riders Library may be out of print and difficult to find. That could be half the fun. Although the Internet should make the search relatively easy, none of the books currently scheduled for eventual retro-review for the Rider’s Library section were found with the help of the Internet. They all were found at bookstores (new and used), antique shops, motorcycle shops, yard sales, and so on.
As remarkable as Ryan’s long-distance endurance accomplishments and those of other riders she covers are, Pierson also takes us inside her personal life. She relates the effect on her of the end of her marriage and her long separation from motorcycling.
Fortunately, the story is also of her re-emergence into that happy place that motorcycling meant for her. That reunion included a BMW K 75 and completing her own Iron Butt long-distance endurance test.
In the process, she discovers things about what makes these long-distance endurance riders tick, as well as about herself. She comes to several conclusions, really. It turns out that not every rider does long-distance endurance rides, or rides at all, for the same reasons. One of the key questions that comes up on both subjects is, “Why take the risk?”
Pierson boils it down to this: “A lot of people think it insane, our riding long distances for no other reason than a voice—heard in the head, or in the gut—that tells us to. Then again, sitting in front of the TV eating Cheetos is insane, too.”
On the question of risk, Pierson draws some wisdom from none other than Helen Keller: “Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold.”
The Man Would Stop at Nothing—Long Distance Motorcycling’s Endless Road Fast Facts
- Author: Melissa Holbrook Pierson
- Published: 2011
- Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co.
- ISBN: 978-0-393-07904-3 (hardcover)
