Red Tape and White Knuckles

Torn between the career paths of two illustrious relatives, Max Born, the Nobel Prize Winner in Physics and his granddaughter, Olivia Newton-John, Lois Pryce abandoned her interest in Quantum Theory at the age of 16, left school and spent the next couple of years as a carrot picker, painter and decorator and failing an audition as a kiss-o-gram before bowing to the inevitable and going into rock 'n roll. After various underpaid jobs in record shops and as a product manager in the Beeb, she decided to jack it all in and ride her trail bike from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. Her on-line diary of her journey became a cult hit and led to her first book, Lois on the Loose. When not on her bike she is at home on her houseboat with husband Austin.

"Lois Pryce knows what it takes to be a fun, fearless female. She rode solo from London to Cape Town, with the barest of essentials" Cosmopolitan "A natural storyteller, she brings the African landscape to life in this funny, fast-paced travelogue" Sainsbury's Magazine "A gutsy tale of one woman and her bike, told with vigour and honesty...she manages to make the journey an enjoyable experience and a solid read. There are the usual chaotic scenes of jumble in border towns, and heart-warming tales of help en route. But there are also some genuinely chilling episodes and these make the book, and perhaps the journey, all too authentic" Irish Times "Lois Pryce defied convention when she decided to travel from London to Cape Town by motorcycle. Red Tape and White Knuckles reads like a non-fiction chick-lit adventure as the pasty skinned, heatstroke prone Pryce deals with cultural differences, Africa's troublesome roads and the company of various travellers she meets along the way" Metro "I really enjoyed this book...every chapter is filled with adventure and anecdotes about the people and situations she encounters along the way. It's a mix of hair-raising incidents, humorous episodes and serious insight into the history and cultural differences she experiences across the African continent. A travelogue with a difference, this would be a great read for the armchair adventurer, someone planning an African expedition or anyone who simply enjoys a good story!" Candis