Head Check: What it Feels Like to Ride Motorcycles

"Head Check" is ostensibly about what it feels like to ride motorcycles. That's the byline after the colon, says so right there.But...Well, let's get this out of the way first. If you've been a long-time subscriber to "Motorcyclist," then you've read some or all these pieces already. There's value in purchasing the book, because reading them back-to-back is first a lot easier than sifting through the moldy stack of glossy print in the garage, and also because it helps you build up a more topographical, three-dimensional feel for Jack Lewis and his writing.So does this book capture what it feels like to ride? Yeah. But not really. I think this book captures *why* it's important to ride, and how things can happen to a person, to a family, to people. Riding is a solution sometimes. It's not a description of swooping into corners while holding a line, or technical digressions into Keith Code-like analyses of "what it feels like to ride well" with discussions of neurological implications about rapid eye-focus changes at corner entry points or whatever (what, you don't ride like that?). It's a book that is about people first, so anyone--regardless of whether they actually ride motorcycles or not, or even *like* motorcycles or not--can and probably should read this book.It's a series of life events, from returning home from war to loss of loved ones, the starts and stops of relationships, children, and more, all intertwined with riding. So sometimes riding a motorcycle is the *only* solution. It's a way of life, and for Jack and those around him, it's even a tradition.Jack's writing has a unique voice. It's gravelly-voiced (although I have no idea if he himself is...my suspicion is he talks in high-pitched squeaks to better echo-locate his surroundings as his vision deteriorates) (my inner Gresh told me to write that). Okay, in all seriousness, sometimes he gets a little lyrical and flowery. But when he's talking about the important things in his life, you will get it right in the feels.Every. Time.One of my favorite things about this book is that you can follow Jack's writing as it and he change (and so do his motorcycles, almost--but definitely not--incidentally). It's a form of chronology; the Jack at the end of the book is not the same Jack at the beginning.I remember reading his first articles in publication and wondering what I thought about his writing. It felt full of emotion, but charged, somehow, and occasionally lacking resolution, as if allowing all that feeling actually out into the light would...scare the children. Make strangers cross the street. Pull ghosts from dark alleys. Who knows?Maybe all those things were true.But if there's one thing I've gotten from his books, it's that things can and do change, and so do people, and so does writing. If we're lucky, it's for the better. Ghosts fade, new people arrive, sorrows are paved over by life's dirty little busy details: diapers, puppies...and motorcycles and rides.In that regard, this book is a real winner. Maybe this isn't a collection of articles after all, but a drawn-out writing exercise, with chapters good enough to publish collected and served up together to form a kind of quilted master work.I just have to say, my favorite piece in this collection is the one about his trip to Boomershoot. It's a mechanically simple piece, about tradition, and about utility, and ultimately about your own worth by exercising your skills. It's something that is likely to ring true with any number of middle-aged schlubs like yours truly who sometimes struggle with place and purpose while watching the bloom fade and listening to the knees crackle. Plus, it just sounds like it was really fun, and now I want to try shooting at exploding targets, too.In the end, this may be the best way to get to know Jack Lewis and his family. Because if you read this book, you really do learn about them, and him. You will learn about riding, too, but in the sense that riding is difficult, dangerous, cathartic, and just like writing...it's important.I think this book makes just as fine a hand-me-down as any rifle, motorcycle, or other piece of good gear. And I think that says a lot.

I got this, because it was mentioned in the last book by Neil Pert of Rush- that was a good read.I was interested to see what he thought was interesting.It turns out it's a collection of articles by the author, written over many years, so it's my fault for not knowing the structure of the book.If you know the author & liked his articles, you'll probably love this book.

Opening Jack Lewis’ newest box of stories, “Head Check,” is like drooling over a selection of hand-nurtured chocolates.The first choice is risky, asking your taste buds to trust that the seeming delectable will not disappoint this time. A nibbleand ten later, you are licking your fingers and anticipating the next. And lucky you, you’ve got the whole book to yourself.Lewis has crafted stories that reward your senses…offering a variety of flavors, memories and emotions that encourageyou to linger over every bite. Sometimes a swirl of savory, sweet and a bit of salt entice you to turn another page. Othersbeckon with a whisper of coconut, a flirt of chili or a seduction of caramel.I learned to ride motorcycles in my 40’s, beginning with a couple of forgiving and well-loved Hondas, toned up my reflexeson mini-cycles and eventually celebrated life and love with a nimble and responsive VFR. The transformation of applyinggear and climbing onto a fuel-fed promise of whatcha-got-for-me-today was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.Motorcycle safety courses, curves in the Alps and listening to road veterans tell their NSTIW stories were my best lessonsto thrill and thrive in an environment where everyone and everything really is out to get you.Lewis invites you along on his adventures in living…at your own risk. His ability to survive direct hits to his body andpsyche fill this book and promise a collection to come. Humor, tenderness, humility, rage and heartache blend togetherfrom experiences as a wounded warrior now returned home, a rider on wheels eager to obey until they can’t and ahusband and father in a quest for sanity and forgiveness.Heart and magic on each page. And unlike a box of chocolates, “Head Check” will continue to treat you with its tales ofsurvival, revival and leaps of faith, along with the occasional head shake and tear or two. Rider or not, you will want more.

Given as a gift to my son who loves to take trips on his Adventure motorcycle. He told me he really likes the way this author writes. An example was that the author can convey a lot without being long winded. Short sentences packed with lots of info that keeps his interest.

Different style of writing but enjoyable. Rough around the edges .

I have been riding motorcycles for 55 years and the writers on the subject that truly capture my attention and hold it are few and far between. Jack Lewis is one of those rare people who can seize my interest and imagination and take me on a thoughtful and exciting journey. In ‘Head Check’ Jack manages to weave his life's adventures and a passion for motorcycles in a way that is rare in a world that seems to be ground down to mediocrity. It’s not just the thrill of speed, the close calls and the joy of the open road, it also weaves Jack’s insightful analysis of his life experiences that he draws upon to exercise the writer’s craft into his lifelong love affair with motorcycles. A touch of Kerouac, a taste of T E Lawrence and a lot of Jack Lewis. Thanks for the adventure.

I confess I had my reservations about this book, primarily due to the sycophantic if not downright hagiolatrous reviews on Amazon.com. But the premise intrigued me, so I gave it a try in the hope that at least it would be amusing. It was not. However, I did find it thought-provoking, but probably not for the reasons the author intended.Being roughly the same age as the author and growing up and spending a lot of time in the areas that he describes, it would be reasonable to expect that I would identify with the guy. Alas, too many years abroad seems to have changed me; I guess travel does expand the mind, as Mark Twain observed. On the other hand if, like the author, a large part of your travels consists of going to exotic places to shoot at people, then perhaps it might not.

A book about riding motorcycles by a non riding author says enough?

What he rides is more often a backdrop to a philosophical viewpoint about life. You might agree or disagree with him, but whichever, this guy can write.

This is a convenient omnibus of Jack Lewis motorcycle writing. Whilst most of the short stories have appeared elsewhere, there is still much pleasure to be had from reading tales of riding in US. It is enough to motivate me to take the MB off the charger and fire her up in this unseasonably warm Alsace winter.The series of short stories gives a perfect break over the winter and I am very pleased that I bought it as an early Christmas gift for myself.Keep up the good work--