From Sunday Times bestseller Miles Morland comes a brilliant, life-affirming and audacious travel memoir.

Having never ridden a motorbike at night, in rain, or on motorways, not knowing the difference between a carburettor and a spark plug, Miles Morland set out to ride across newly post-communist Europe to Istanbul. Somehow, he survived gales in France, rioting miners in Romania, homicidal truck drivers, and floods in Turkey. Since then, he has ridden the equivalent of twice round the world across five continents. He still doesn't know what a carburettor is.

This isn't a book about biking. It's a story of idiot optimism, fearless discovery, and the freedom most of us can only dream about during our commute to work. Recklessly heading across Patagonia, the Andes, Japan, India, Australia's Nullarbor, and every other unlikely place, Miles's utter disregard for practical preparation and unfailing belief that things will work out somehow get him home safe.

The Hopeless Biker is about letting go, going it alone, and trusting you'll survive to discover what's on the other side of the mountain.

'I don't know if Miles is brilliant or mad to do what he has done, possibly both but he had a lot of fun along the way and so did I.' Giles Foden, author of the Last King of Scotland.