Free Ride

Heartbreak, Courage, and the 20,000-Mile Motorcycle Journey That Changed My Life

De: Noraly Schoenmaker

Narrado por: Imani Jade Powers

By the YouTube sensation with two and a half 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.

©2025 Noraly Schoenmaker (P)2025 Simon & Schuster Audio

Raw Emotion Behind the Scenes

The book was a lot like watching a season, but with a lot more detail. It was fascinating to hear about each leg of the journey and the raw emotion behind each of those adventures. The writing is fantastic and the narrator is very talented. I hope you will write another book.

Stay Itchy

Well done! No wasted motion or fluff. Thanks for the glimpse into your humanity. Stay Itchy!

Should this be a series?

This was so good to listen to. But barely covers season 1. I would love to read about more seasons of Noraly’s adventures.

A must read for motorcycle lovers

I have been waiting for the English version of Free Ride. It is well written and makes you want to ride into different countries

From personal pain to adventure

Her story is honest and open. A story of motorcycle travel therapy. Something I’ve experienced myself.

Good story, needed different narrator.

The whole entire book I wished Noraly was narrating it. We travel along with her in her YouTube videos and I wanted to hear the book in her voice and her accent. She would have correctly pronounced all of the mispronounced words and place names in the book that really bothered me. I loved her story, but the narrator really detracted from it. I had such a hard time getting into the story and a lot of the time I was paying attention to the narrator’s voice instead of what was happening. I hope that if she writes another book she will narrate it. My recommendation for others is to buy the actual book and read it yourself instead of listening to it.

Good book!

I really enjoyed listening to this book almost as much as I enjoy watching the Itchy Boots channel. The story was interesting and the writing was excellent. Narration, too, was excellent though I couldn't help wishing it had been read by the author. 😀

Based on the scope of the story I foresee more books forthcoming. I would definitely be interested.

In the meantime, God speed.

Stoking my own adventures

What an amazing tale of tenacity, courage, and how good humans (by and large) are. I loved this book. It was exactly what I needed right now.

great listen for a YouTube fan

I liked getting more back story from Noraly than we get from YouTube. Also, hearing about Noraly's thoughts and emotions which she rarely discusses in the videos was a pleasure to hear about.

I've always heard that there is a fine line between bravery and insanity. I'm still on the fence about which side of that line Noraly falls! In watching her videos I never fully realized how ill-prepared she was for her big adventure. It was inspirational to here her story of how she just did it! she did what many people dream of, but no one actually goes through with for all sorts of excuses.

Bravo Noraly!

Optimistic view of humanity

In a world dominated by negative news coverage and zenophobia, Noraly's optimistic and heart warming narrative is nourishment for the soul.