$19.95
Hamilton Mack Laing’s Riding the Continent is the story, told by the writer and naturalist himself, of his 1915 motorcycle journey across the United States. With a foreword by Laing’s biographer Richard Mackie. Edited and with a foreword by motorcycle travel writer Trevor Marc Hughes.
Description
Riding the Continent
Hamilton Mack Laing was an illustrious early British Columbia writer and naturalist, but few know him as how he described himself in his mid-thirties: a motorcycle-naturalist. In 1915, he made one of the first transcontinental journeys, riding across the United States from Brooklyn to Oakland. His previously unpublished manuscript of this journey, hidden away for nearly a century, is available now for the first time. Riding the Continent tells the story of a pioneering motorcyclist and independently thinking naturalist on a most unusual road trip. Laing’s tale explores the beauty of North America’s bird life, describes the sights, scenery and people he encountered, and takes us along for the ride on a 1915 Harley-Davidson he named Barking Betsy. Also included are a foreword by Laing biographer and B.C. historian Richard Mackie and an afterword by editor and motorcycle travel writer Trevor Marc Hughes, along with dozens of photos.