Have you ever had the experience of looking back at something you've done and marveling at how you got to where you are? Perhaps even pondering how (and maybe why) you even started, and thinking over the trials, tribulations, and triumphs you experienced along the way?
In a way, that's what round-the-world moto traveler Noraly Schoenmaker's new book, Free Ride, imparts to those who read it. Viewers familiar with her YouTube channel, Itchy Boots, will likely make up a large number of the folks who pre-order this book, and maybe who even read it at first.
But although it centers on her first experiences taking on motorcycling in places like India and Qatar, it's not only a book by a motorcyclist, and written expressly for other motorcyclists. It's also a love letter to finding yourself through travel, to healing previously broken parts of yourself by getting out of your comfort zone, trying new things, and meeting new—and mostly incredibly kind—people.
There's a Japanese art form called kintsugi, which uses molten gold to piece together broken pieces of ceramic. You may have seen this before, regardless of whether you know the name of this art form or not. The premise here is that although it's been broken, and it now looks different than it once did, it can be put back together and become something else. Different, sure; but nonetheless beautiful.
Maybe even more beautiful than ever before, depending on your perspective.
Although I, like many riders, have been watching Itchy Boots' adventures for years now, there's a lot in these pages that I didn't know. The story that Schoenmaker tells in Free Ride takes it all the way back to the beginning, when a series of major life changes (both personal and professional; I won't spoil it for you, because you should really just read it in her own words) basically left her with two options: Either basically start her life over in her home country (the Netherlands), or go try to make her dreams come true and travel around the world on a motorcycle.
Schoenmaker wasn't rich, but she did have some money saved up. Faced with a major fork in her life's road, should she continue to hold onto that money, or should she instead invest it in making her dreams come true?
By now, you probably know which path she chose. But back when it all started, the way forward was anything but a sure thing. There was plenty of trial and error involved, as well as learning and adapting along the way.
Sometimes, though, the hardest thing about any major project (or life change) is just getting started. Having the faith in yourself to take the leap, and then also having the tenacity to make it happen and keep going, despite whatever obstacles you might face. Not for nothing, but Schoenmaker finally started to spill these words out of her memory and onto the page while she was recovering from injuries sustained in 2024, during a trip to Africa on her Honda CRF300L Rally.
To lay it out in broad strokes and not give away too much, the basic set of choices went something like this. Like many students, young Noraly had spent time happily hiking and backpacking to various destinations in southeast Asia and elsewhere, enjoying a bit of carefree time before she fully began her adult life. She stayed in hostels; she learned how kind people can be; she made new friends along the way; and above all, she felt like she learned a lot about people, places, cultures, and the world outside what she knew.
And she loved it.
So, when some major life changes happened that made her re-evaluate who she was, what she valued, and what she was even doing, she thought back to those happy times of exploration. She'd trained as a geologist, and she had massive interest in architecture and history. Along the way, she'd also learned to ride a motorcycle; albeit, on streets more than anything, not off-road. But she was confident she could learn if she just put her mind to it, and obtained some good training.
If you only know Noraly as the Itchy Boots of 2025, then you might think that her skills and tenacity are next-level. And you'd probably be right. But the cool thing about Free Ride is that, since it tells the story from the beginning, Schoenmaker gives us glimpses of just how much has changed since she first started out.
She relates this through tales of wrestling her first bike, Basanti, across terrain that she felt she was in way over her head riding. Later on, when she has an opportunity, she talks about taking off-road training on a heavier (but much more powerful) CCM, which she credits with helping her start to build the off-road foundations she now uses pretty much every day that she's out riding.
Those familiar with her more recent videos will most likely notice that she seems to have a particular combination of knowledge, confidence, curiosity, and the right gear and tools to see her through most situations. But like anyone else, it didn't start perfectly. These are all things that she built up through trial and error, learning what worked (and what didn't) along the way.
Heavy, bulky leather gear that worked well when she was riding the streets at home was one thing, but was that same gear right for traversing in the hot and humid climes of India? It wasn't, so she switched to mesh. Little by little, she learned what gear worked well for where and how she was traveling, and she worked it into her repertoire.
It's super interesting to get a deep dive into how she started this multi-year journey, because it's a potent reminder that you, too, can go out and do cool things. And you're allowed to not get it right the first try. Remember, it's never too late to change your boots!
Noraly Schoenmaker's first book, Free Ride, will be released everywhere books and e-books are sold in the US on June 3, 2025. You can pre-order it through her publisher's website here if you're interested.
