BREAKING THE LIMIT: One Woman's Motorcycle Journey Through North America

Between finishing graduate school and starting a new job, Canadian-born but American-bred Larsen decided it was time for a major motorcycle expedition. She wasn't trying to "find herself"—at 31, she figured she knew herself. Nor was she one of those infamous " 'biker babes,' 'fender bunnies,' or 'biker chicks,' " out looking for guys. She just wanted to see more of America. For Larsen, who fell in love with motorcycles when she was 15, motorcycle touring is the perfect way to experience both scenery and people: she smells the fields, she feels the storms, she meets the curious. Departing from New Jersey in June 2000, Larsen drove her Harley-Davidson 1200 Sportster clear across the continent to Washington State, then north through British Columbia and Alaska—and back. While there was one emotional high point in the trip (meeting her father's family in Canada) and one mildly low point (breaking up with her already uninterested boyfriend over the phone), Larsen is not given to wild mood swings—she mainly describes road conditions, landscape, her campgrounds and her limited contact with people along the way. Buried in the daily details, however, are some inviting questions about the travel experience: why do so many tourists wander into risky situations believing themselves immune to disaster? And why do we believe our chosen mode of travel is more authentic than someone else's, just because it's more arduous? Agent, Virginia Barber. (July 7)