Imagine, if you will, that you are a sixtyish year old New Zealander. Your bestest mate is in his seventies and has been invited to a family get together in Arnhem, Holland. That's not a problem, you just get on a plane and 18 hours or so later you're there. Easy, right? Not if you're Des Molloy. No, Des and Dick decided that they'd ride there instead. On a 1965 Panther and a 1954 Norton. Bikes not exactly renowned for their reliability, even when new. Or their comfort. Or their suitability for off road, or even unmade road excursions.

Now I'm not going to spoil things by revealing the whole story. Because this is a book that you really should read. Don't get it from the library, buy it, because you'll want to read it again and again.

Inevitably a saga like this will be compared with Long Way Round. And if you're objective about it, The Last Hurrah will trump its big budget rival, hands down. I've nothing against Ewan and Charley and their adventures. Indeed, I think they've done a huge amount for biking and the way we're viewed by the public. But this book, and the DVD that goes with it, shows what two old men, armed with no more than a couple of old Brit bangers, a few phone calls and a huge dollop of attitude can achieve. No multi-vehicle support teams, no dedicated camera teams, no big budget film contracts. And it shows in the way the book is written. Again, Long Way Round, at least the book, showed Ewan and Charley to be human, witty and sensitive. Rather what you'd expect for a pair of luvvies, to be honest. Nice guys, passionate and committed but somehow sheltered from the reality of their task, at least most of the time. Des and Dirk, on the other hand, have no insulation from what goes on around them. Accident, injury, mechanical derangement, illness, anything could have happened to these guys and they would be pretty much on their own dealing with it.

But of course an epic journey could be as exciting a read as a trip to the shops if it's not written well. No such danger here - The Last Hurrah is a beautifully constructed piece of work. A little old fashioned, perhaps, in that its grammar is proper and it is remarkably light on jargon and cliches. It's written with humour, with passion and with care. It is supremely readable and manages to be both difficult to put down and easy to dip in and out of at will. That's quite an achievement.

There's a DVD which accompanies the book. It's a separate purchase but the scenery makes it worthwhile. Personally I prefer to read narration rather than hear it, but the DVD is nice to have when you simply can't picture what Des is describing in the book. It doesn't happen very often but overall it completes the set nicely.

So to cut a long story short (ho ho) this is one of the best biking books I've ever read. It would make a brilliant stocking filler at Christmas, and I'd utterly and totally recommend it if you have any soul and any interest in bikes, people and life in general. I loved it and I reckon you will too.

You can, and should, get the book and the DVD direct from Panther Publishing for £10.95 for the book, £9.95 for the DVD or just £19.95 for the pair, plus postage and VAT of course.

SB