Bikers' Bookshelf

‘An exhilarating story of freedom and constraint, told with a confident and unwavering verve. This is a journey driven by boundless curiosity, and by the desire for connection – across borders, across languages, across time’ MALACHY TALLACK

When Esa Aldegheri and her husband left their home in Orkney, Esa didn’t know that their eighteen-month motorbike adventure would take them through twenty international frontiers – between Europe and the Middle East, through Pakistan, China and India – many of which are now impassable.

Charting a story of shrinking and expanding liberties and horizons, of motherhood, womanhood, xenophobia and changing geopolitical situations, Free to Go examines the challenges of navigating a world where many assume that women ride pillion, both on a motorbike and within relationships. Part around-the-world adventure, part-literary exploration of womanhood, Free to Go is about the journeys that shape and transform us.

 It is a story about travelling from Orkney to New Zealand (in 2005) on a motorbike shared with a willing companion, interwoven with a parallel tale of diminished liberties linked to the author’s experiences of motherhood, Brexit and pandemic restrictions.

In terms of lessons learned on her travels, Esa says a big one would be: “Don’t let people tell you what you can and cannot do – especially as a woman.

“I also learned that if I was afraid of doing something like driving a motorbike, to try and push through the fear. Do that and you’ll feel amazing. Maybe you’ll try it and find you can’t do it but that’s ok.

“I’ve got a fairly settled life now – a job, kids and a house. If I get restless I go for a run, a swim or climb a tree and then I’m ok.”

More on this author and book can be found here.