Adventure Riding in the American West is a coffee-table book laid out in landscape format to capture the best panoramic views of the vast Western states where it was shot. With its hardcover and archival-quality paper, this four-pound, 200-page book can be ordered with the standard dust jacket featuring a beautiful shot in the deserts of Utah or, for an extra $10, with a special edition dust cover and a stunning view of the Colorado mountains.
By Keith Dowdle
All locations where the 231 high-resolution photos were shot are described in the captions, and the book features spectacular scenery of adventure riding in seven chapters, titled Deserts, Dunes, Mountains, Plains, Forest, Red Rocks—and even a Pavement chapter for those whose skills are not quite ready for rocks and sand. The book is the result of years of work from photographer and journalist Olivier De Vaulx, whose passion for adventure riding was solidified in 2017 after his first long-distance ADV tour from Mexico to Canada following the Continental Divide. Before becoming a full-time travel author, Olivier was a professional motocross/supercross photographer and journalist who forged relationships with several OEMs and motorcycle publications. The results of those relationships contribute significantly to the book, as virtually every modern adventure motorcycle on the market today is seen throughout the hundreds of awe-inspiring photos.
Lowdown | Adventure Riding in the American West
Standout Feature: Beautiful high-resolution photos and breathtaking scenery
List Price: $55 for standard cover, $65 for special edition cover, $30 for Digital Version
Truly awe-inspiring professional photography that makes you want to get out there and explore it yourself
Lots of current ADV machines from almost every brand are featured
Exact location of each photo is described
Exact location of each photo is described [There’s much debate in the Overland and ADV communities about sharing remote locations. I believe that part of the experience should be mapping, navigating, and discovering these beautiful destinations on your own. If anyone can Google the locations and go directly there just to get “likes,” we risk spoiling these unspoiled treasures for future generations.]
Reader Analysis | Adventure Riding in the American West
My first “ADV” machine was a used KLR250, simply because that’s all I could afford as a kid working in a motorcycle dealership. But that dealership also sold BMW GSs, and I’m dating myself here; in those days, it was the R80 GS, the OG of ADV machines. That era also saw the dawn of an event called the Paris-Dakar Rally, which was featured in the pages of this magazine. Those pictures of that bike from that race inspired my lifelong passion for adventure motorcycles.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but a picture can also spark enthusiasm and aspiration for something or someplace, or, in this case, both—a type of motorcycle and a place where you want to ride it. In his book Adventure Riding in the American West, Olivier De Vaulx captures what has always been the aspirational dream of virtually every ADV rider—riding a great motorcycle in a wild and beautiful environment. Beautiful pretty much sums up De Vaulx’s masterfully organized collection of photos taken over a 10-year period wherein he covered thousands of miles in some of the most inhospitable environments on earth.
His photos capture the beauty of these locations, and in some, like the photo in the Sand Dunes chapter on page 31, you can see the suffering conditions he must have endured to bring them to life. But something that I can personally attest to is that pain and suffering in cold, hot, or windy conditions often lead you to some of the most memorable and beautiful experiences life has to offer. If you’ve been riding for more than a day, chances are that you’ve been wet, you’ve been cold, and you’ve certainly been hot, but if you’re still riding, then you were likely rewarded with memories that are simply priceless, and you can’t wait to feel those emotions again.
And that’s what true adventure motorcycling is all about. But as time goes by, life gets in the way, and the memories fade—until you pick up a book like this, and they all come flooding back. I spent a lot of time in some places where De Vaulx shot these magnificent photos, and after scrolling through the pages of his new book, I can’t wait to get back out there because his pictures make you wanna take it all in, again and again. And that’s exactly what he was trying to achieve. Well done, sir.CN
For more information, visit https://devaulxphotography.com
Click here to read the Adventure Riding in the American West Book Review in the Cycle News Digital Edition Magazine.
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