Rating: 
Summary: Oh this is just great~!
Review: I have to put in my plug if you are only considering this book. If you love adventure stories about people who REALLY do "stuff" get this. I love stories from the heart about normal people who just one day decide to do a remarkable something with their life. You will remember his "journal-type" story forever. I read this over 10 years ago. I flash back all the time on Jupiters' journey, as it was physical but went deeply into into his purpose and sense of self. Gosh, I think he meant to take us all willing to go too, WITH him by writing this like a gift. I don't think he wrote this thinking "oh I better not talk about God becasue there might be non-belivers out there who won't like me anymore". I think he wrote this as it was nessary for someone like ME to KNOW someONE was talking RISKS somewhere out in the huge world even if I wasn't. Sit back and enjoy this ride! If you like this kind of thing and it not a motorbike fixtation only,- try; In Praise Of Older Women" too. It has no Motorbikes at all, (ha!) but is a deep real entertaining and sexy story of the remarkable life of one Man reaching his own vision of life, by bumbling thu a bunch of women. Now thats a journey too. And Its just cool. If I haven't lost you yet another to look at is Iron and Silk. And I think theres even a motorbike in that one, and a few Chinese proverbs to ponder.
Rating:
Summary: Stuck in a rut? Read this book
Review: I haven't even finished reading the book yet, actually Ted has only reached Cape Town. But his journey down the African continent has already left a deep impression on me.. how huge is the power of the human spirit.On page 178 he writes "I am learning as I make my way through my first continent that it is remarkably easy to do things and much more frightening to contemplate them." As I negotiate the various obstacles that I find blocking my own journey I hope these wise words burn long in my conscience. Fantastic reading!
Rating: 
Summary: Not just about motorcycle travel
Review: I was thrilled by this book. All the way up until about the last 50 pages, anyway. This book is certainly not just a travel log of the author's exploits across the globe. Mr. Simon tries to give the reader an idea of what he was thinking all the way through his journey. I guess his thoughts were getting pretty weird as he neared the end of his journey. At one point in the book, he actually tells the reader that he thought he was God. I didn't buy this book to read about Mr. Simon's thought on God and all things divine. I wanted to hear about all of his adventures, the people he encounters, the challenges, his attempts to avoid highway robbers, or prison, or both. This book provides all those things with aplomb. Unfortunately for me anyway, it also includes what I think was unnecessary, unrelated, philosophy. A book like this should have a happy ending, and leave the reader bursting with desire to hit the road and get lost in the world. When I finished this book I felt sorry for the author and wished him good luck with all his problems. In short, the book was really good, but it would have been much better if the last 50 pages had been left out altogether.
Rating:
Summary: inspiring
Review: I went to a slide show at Powell's Travel Bookstore where Ted Simon showed slides from his journey and talked a little about his experiences. I was fascinated and bought the book. It is amazing and inspiring, and just like the warning on the back of the book, I was tempted to give up college and buy a motorcycle. Then I remembered that I can barely drive a car...But this book is truly inspiring, although I had to keep reminding myself that the man who completed the journey was the same person that I had met at Powell's. I would recommend this book to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: I've always ranked this as the finest travelog about motorcycle touring ever written. I agree with all the positive comments by other reviewers, and don't have a quibble to make. I've read this book twice, and loved it both times. However, the best motorcycling touring book is "Mi Moto Fidel: Motorcycling Through Castro's Cuba," which I consider one of the best travel books ever written. It's a fascinating and sometimes hilarious, sometimes hair-raising story of a 7,000-mile journey and justifiably the winner of both the 2002 "Travel Book of the Year" and the North American Travel Journalist Association's Awards of Excellence "Grand Prize."
Rating:
Summary: A Million Thumbs Up!
Review: If you are a rider and you havent read this CLASSIC you should be ashamed of yourself! "Jupiters Travels" is REQUIRED READING! You will Not be Allowed to Ride Anymore if you dont read "Jupiters Travels". NO READ-NO RIDE!
Rating:
Summary: Light years ahead of his time!
Review: It still boggles the mind to think of the magnitude of what he accomplished, especially considering how far the technology of both bikes and accessories has come since Ted set out on his epic two-wheeled journey around the world. Nowadays you see folks riding big expensive dual-sport twins and triples from the likes of BMW and Triumph, sporting their exteme Kevlar/Gortex riding suits. But IMHO they dont seem to have the time or imagination to ride further than the nearest Mel's Drive-in. Seems to drive home the message that we, especially in the US have become so technology-obsessed that we are no longer capable of implementing a grand vision such as Ted did back in the 'stone-ages' of the '70s.
Rating:
Summary: Run Out and Buy This Book!
Review: JupiterÕs Travels stays with you long after you close the book. it is a classic travel narrative which belongs with the finest: ThesigerÕs Arabian Sands, NaipaulÕs An Area of Darkness, ChatwinÕs In Patagonia. Ted SimonÕs motto should be Carpe Diem. One day he decided to stop what he was doing to travel around the world on a Triumph motorcycle. The trip took him four years to complete. Ted shares with us his thoughts and feelings during the journey and his insights into many different cultures. What impresses me most, however, is TedÕs openness towards the people he meets and their different modes of life, and his honesty with himself and with us, his readers. Best of all, before our eyes, he grows and becomes a wiser person. He changes and so do we!
Rating:
Summary: Run Out and Buy This Book!
Review: JupiterÕs Travels stays with you long after you close the book. it is a classic travel narrative which belongs with the finest: ThesigerÕs Arabian Sands, NaipaulÕs An Area of Darkness, ChatwinÕs In Patagonia. Ted SimonÕs motto should be Carpe Diem. One day he decided to stop what he was doing to travel around the world on a Triumph motorcycle. The trip took him four years to complete. Ted shares with us his thoughts and feelings during the journey and his insights into many different cultures. What impresses me most, however, is TedÕs openness towards the people he meets and their different modes of life, and his honesty with himself and with us, his readers. Best of all, before our eyes, he grows and becomes a wiser person. He changes and so do we!
Rating: 
Summary: Wake me up!
Review: Kept waiting for the book to get better but ran out of pages before it did. I felt Simon left out too much and was just riding to put on miles. Would agree with an earlier reviewer that there was too much (fuzzy) philosophy. I also thought the material was too dated and could have been updated somewhat. I was disappointed probably because I expected much more judging by the other reviews.
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