Free Ride: Heartbreak, Courage, and the 20,000-Mile Motorcycle Journey That Changed My Life
Noraly Schoenmaker
Jun 2025 · Simon and Schuster
4.7star
14 reviewsreport
Ebook
288
Pages
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About this ebook
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
By the YouTube sensation with nearly three million followers, the inspiring account of a young woman who, in a moment of personal crisis, embarked on an epic, transcontinental motorcycle ride—and along the way found a new sense of purpose.
Noraly Schoenmaker was a thirtysomething geologist living in the Netherlands when she learned that her live-in partner had been having a long-term affair. In desperate need of a new beginning, she decided to quit her job and jet off to India. But her plans were dashed when she fell quickly and helplessly in love: with a motorcycle. Behind the handlebars, she felt alive and free—nimble enough to trace the narrowest paths, powerful enough to travel the longest of roads.
First, she set off toward the Pacific, through the jungles of Myanmar and Thailand, then into Malaysia. Rather than satisfy her appetite for the open road, this ride only piqued it. She shipped her bike to Oman, at the base of the Arabian Peninsula, and embarked on a journey through Iran, across Tajikistan along its border with Afghanistan, over the snowy peaks of Central Asia, and into Europe, all the way back home to the Netherlands. She covered remote and utterly unfamiliar territory, broke down on impossibly steep mountains, and pushed too many miles along empty roads, farther and farther from civilization. But through her travels, she discovered the true beauty of the world, the kindness of its people, the simplicity of its open spaces, and a new and unshakable belief in her capabilities.
Free Ride is an inspiring story of self-discovery and renewal. Filled with unforgettable figures, hilarious disasters, and powerful human connections, it shows you what happens when you open your heart and let the world in.
By the YouTube sensation with nearly three million followers, the inspiring account of a young woman who, in a moment of personal crisis, embarked on an epic, transcontinental motorcycle ride—and along the way found a new sense of purpose.
Noraly Schoenmaker was a thirtysomething geologist living in the Netherlands when she learned that her live-in partner had been having a long-term affair. In desperate need of a new beginning, she decided to quit her job and jet off to India. But her plans were dashed when she fell quickly and helplessly in love: with a motorcycle. Behind the handlebars, she felt alive and free—nimble enough to trace the narrowest paths, powerful enough to travel the longest of roads.
First, she set off toward the Pacific, through the jungles of Myanmar and Thailand, then into Malaysia. Rather than satisfy her appetite for the open road, this ride only piqued it. She shipped her bike to Oman, at the base of the Arabian Peninsula, and embarked on a journey through Iran, across Tajikistan along its border with Afghanistan, over the snowy peaks of Central Asia, and into Europe, all the way back home to the Netherlands. She covered remote and utterly unfamiliar territory, broke down on impossibly steep mountains, and pushed too many miles along empty roads, farther and farther from civilization. But through her travels, she discovered the true beauty of the world, the kindness of its people, the simplicity of its open spaces, and a new and unshakable belief in her capabilities.
Free Ride is an inspiring story of self-discovery and renewal. Filled with unforgettable figures, hilarious disasters, and powerful human connections, it shows you what happens when you open your heart and let the world in.
Ratings and reviews
4.7
14 reviews
Jerry Glazman
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July 1, 2025
Once again Noraly excels at what she is doing. I've watched her videos that covered this journey but they never conveyed the emotions or the insight or the power of this book. Thank you.
Rikard Willman
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July 20, 2025
trevlig och underhållande, följer även Noraly på youtube. inspirerande och önska jag skulle kunna göra en liknande resa. sälja allt vi äger och ge oss ut på världs tur.
Ken M Pitts
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July 19, 2025
love this book free ride loud plpe save my life
About the author
Noraly Schoenmaker is the creator of Itchy Boots, a YouTube channel with more than two million loyal subscribers. A motorcycling obsessive, her journeys have taken her the length of the American continent, from Argentina to Alaska; from the northernmost point of Europe to the southernmost point of Africa; and to some of the least traveled regions of the globe. Trained as a biologist and geologist, she is based in the Netherlands.
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