Reviewed by C.R. Hurst for Readers' Favorite

Heading halfway across the country on an old-school chopper to celebrate his motorcycle club’s fifty-year annual run, author Dale Arenson recounts his nostalgic road trip through two-lane highways from Arizona to Oklahoma and back again in his latest book, Against the Wind: A Motorcycle Ride. During the trip, he encounters an America much like himself – no longer young but still holding fast to independence and freedom. Throughout the narrative, Arenson observes America’s decay and its beauty, as well as describing the day-to-day struggles of traveling by chopper in summer heat, rain, and wind. He meets family, friends, and fellow travelers, although he admits to often preferring his own company. He also tempts fate by allowing his small gas tank to run near empty despite his best intentions, making for a running joke throughout the book.

Although I haven’t ridden a motorcycle since I was a teenager, I nevertheless understand the love of them that Dale Arenson shares with his readers. Riding his motorcycle solo allows him to discover and rediscover his past but also to experience adventure and perhaps, most importantly for a writer, to indulge in freedom of mind. Some of my favorite parts are when he allows his imagination to wander from the road before him. He imagines riding in the Land of Oz to the Emerald City, traveling at the speed of light through hyperspace, and envisioning his chopper as his partner, much like a horse and its rider, “where I am part of her, she is a part of me, journeying through life together.” I came away from my reading of Against the Wind wishing them many more journeys together.