Cycle World Book Review

CYCLE WORLD BOOK REVIEW

On The Perimeter

On The Perimeter, by Hazel Kolb and Bill Stermer, Maverick Publishing Co., PO. Box 777, New London, Mo. 63459, $10.95.

Constant readers will notice something different here. Book reviews always have pictures of the book, yet here instead of a picture is an illustration, and by Bill Neale, who does our contents page illustrations and very nicely, too.

What gives? Mostly, it's because we like Hazel Kolb. She’s the cycling grandma. She rode her Harley 80 around the perimeter of the contiguous states in 80 days, and was interviewed by newspapers, radio and television, culminating in an appearance on the Tonight

show. Hazel is a warm, open person. She did all us bikers lots of good.

Heady stuff, this being famous. People listened to her account and suggested she write a book. Hazel enlisted the help of Bill Stermer, a qualified and capable writer even if he does work for C****, and wrote her autobiography.

She has been learning since that what Joan Baez called the Star-Maker Machinery is a fact of life. Television consumes raw material, be it plots or people. And what’s of interest to the audience for 10 minutes may not be of further interest to them, or to television.

Thus, no publishing companies came forward with fat advances for the book. Hazel is a widow, with property. (She says she isn’t rich, and that a new bike every year is her only indulgence.) She decided to publish the book herself, and has done so. Book stores order from the big outfits, thus this book is available only by mail order.

There’s a partial conflict here. This is Hazel Kolb's story. Her personal story, amazingly frank as the news release says, and yes, there are details about her three marriages, etc. This isn't a motorcycling book; Hazel explains things we, the people who are likely to read it, already know. The pleasures of riding are described with a deft touch. But we know that.

I suspect the people who don’k know, won't even see the book much less read it: As for the non-biking part, well, it’s one woman’s story and probably not that unusual.

It probably meant more for Hazel Kolb to write this book, than it will for the rest of us to read it. This isn't great literature, nor unique insights. But we do like Hazel Kolb. While we can't urge everybody to buy the book, we do hope she gets her investment back.

Allan Girdler