Taking off on a multinational solo motorcycle adventure ride might be considered a little rash—maybe even crazy—particularly if a lot of planning and preparation didn’t go into it before departure. Looking back, Noraly Schoenmaker, the author of Free Ride—Heartbreak, Courage, and the 20,000-Mile Motorcycle Journey that Changed My Life, agrees.
In the spring of 2019, with her Royal Enfield Himalayan stranded on a hopelessly steep, slippery ascent on a mountain road in Iran, she said out loud in frustration, though there was no one there to answer, “Why am I doing this?”
Of course, she knew the answer, but it was deeply painful and personal. She didn’t need to hear herself say it aloud.
She wasn’t merely embarking on a change of scenery aboard her motorcycle or a long ride just to do something different. No, this journey was therapeutic, transcendent, and transformational. That Himalayan—which she christened Basanti, after the heroine of the 1975 Indian movie, Sholay—carried her to exotic locales over roads rough and smooth, through bitter cold and sweltering heat to a new career, a new way of life, and a new understanding of herself.
Schoenmaker’s odyssey helped her put the agony of betrayal, lost love, a broken marriage, and home in The Netherlands in the rear-view mirror. Her former job as a geologist for a Dutch international dredging company would be replaced by a career of her dreams as a travel writer/blogger/videographer on Itchy Boots, her YouTube channel.
Through facing adversity posed by the elements, technical issues, crashes, breakdowns, physical fatigue and more, she found the skills to solve the problems, the inner strength and tenacity to endure and overcome the challenges. She also experienced the goodness of people across the many nations who helped her, a total stranger and foreigner, no less, out of some tough situations.
A sign of the times we live in, she did experience some vicious threats—primarily online as a result of her YouTube videos. Though those posts bothered her, her grit prevailed, and she kept going.
Her reward for being unintimidated was the incredible panorama of the Hindu Kush mountains, crystalline rivers, and vivid, star-studded night skies over Tajikistan. Despite harrowing mountain roads that challenged her every riding skill, rain-sodden riding gear, frigid winds, and searing heat, she came to the realization that she loved every minute of it. She was born for this. Turning around and giving up was not only not an option, it was not even a consideration. In the crucible of this experience, everything had changed; she had changed.
As Schoenmaker transited the no man’s land between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, she realized it:
It was the vastness of the endless mountaintops, near and far, that inspired fear and filled me with a profound sense of freedom. I felt utterly alive in a way I never had before. Apparently, I had to fear losing my life before I could reach this state of being.
Her epic journey began in India, on to Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan (from a distance), Kyrgyzstan, and, initially, was planned to reach China and then back to India. However, having gone so far afield, she decided to forfeit the Carnet de Passage deposit paid in India for her Royal Enfield and head home to the Netherlands.
The road took her to Kazakhstan, where a batch of spare parts for the Himalayan awaited, having been ordered in advance. From there, it was a very long trip across the Steppes and into Russia, then into the rolling terrain of Georgia, Armenia, Turkey, Montenegro, Bosnia, Greece, Croatia, Austria, and home in the Netherlands.
She and her Royal Enfield Himalayan had traversed 25 countries and 22,370 miles in nine eventful months. While the Himalayan carried scars from the journey’s trials, those trials etched their truest marks on Schoenmaker.
The story in Free Ride is told with unflinching honesty, emotion, and humor. The vivid detail takes you along through the spectacular, seldom-seen parts of the world Schoenmaker traveled and puts you in her place as she encounters each challenge. You’ll ask yourself, “How would I handle this situation?”
Seeing family and friends in The Netherlands may seem like a happy ending, and it was the end of the book. However, it is not the completion of Schoenmaker’s adventure. Stay tuned for her motorcycle voyage on the Pan-American Highway from Tierra del Fuego, across the Darien Gap, and on to Fairbanks.
Free Ride goes on sale June 3, 2025.
Free Ride Fast Facts
Title: Free Ride—Heartbreak, Courage, and the 20,000-Mile Motorcycle Journey that Changed My Life
- Author: Noraly Schoenmaker
- Published: First printing 2024; English translation 2025.
- Format: 271 pages, paperback
- Publisher: Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster
- ISBN: 978-1-6680-9249-1 (print); 978-1-6680-9250-7 (e-book)
- Free Ride Price: $30
