
Free Ride
Heartbreak, Courage, and the 20,000-Mile Motorcycle Journey that Changed My Life
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Narrated by:
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Imani Jade Powers
About this listen
By the YouTube sensation with more than two million followers, the inspiring account of a woman in her thirties 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 thirty-something geologist living in the Netherlands when she learned that her live-in partner had been having a long-term affair. Suddenly without a place to stay, she decided to quit her job and jet off to India in search of a new beginning. 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.
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. Through her travels, she discovered the true beauty of the world - the kindness of its people, the simplicity of its open spaces, as well as her own inner strength.
In spirit of The Motorcycle Diaries and Wild, this 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 DK Audio
Imani Jade Powers is an actor, writer and singer who has narrated over 90 audiobooks. She has narrated romance, contemporary fiction, fantasy and YA. Including the likes of Ava Reid’s Lady Macbeth and Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s The Beautiful Ones. When she is not narrating she is acting specifically on Broadway in Harry Potter & The Cursed Child.
Noraly Schoenmaker is the creator of Itchy Boots, a YouTube channel with more than two million loyal subscribers. A motorcycling obsessive, her journeys have taken her the length of the American continent, from Argentina to Alaska; from the northernmost point of Europe to the southernmost point of Africa; and to some of the least travelled regions of the globe. Trained as a biologist and geologist, she is based in the Netherlands.
What listeners say about Free Ride
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Amazon Customer
- 27-06-2025
Lived it
Great story. Nice to hear the extra details you miss in the videos.
Wish the narrator hadn't been American though, should've been English or European.
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- Rob Emery
- 12-06-2025
Noraly's enthusiasm
Disliked that the audio book skipped chapters. The worst was a couple of minutes into the last chapter when Noraly decided to head home, the audio skipped to epilogue. I requested a new upload file and/or a refund, but it didn't seem possible on Audible. I'm disappointed for Noraly because her amazing story didn't come through Audible.
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- Anonymous User
- 09-07-2025
Description of how hard it is sometimes on a bike and reminding yourself this an adventure.
What an amazing adventure. I can't help but put myself in her shoes/itchyboots one day. I already have done a tour in India so hearing her version brought back so many emotions.
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- Anonymous User
- 17-07-2025
Love Noraly. Love bikes. Hated this narration.
As a long-time fan of Noraly’s incredible YouTube channel, “Itchy Boots’ I couldn’t wait to jump into Free Ride.
A travel memoir from one of the most fearless and fascinating bikers on the planet.? Yes please. I love bikes, I love bike travel stories, and I really wanted to love this audiobook.
But dear god, the narration.
What on earth happened here? The voice used for this audiobook sounds like a cross between a GPS unit on its last update and one of those awkward early AI voices . It’s an overly crisp, grating American accent that strips every bit of soul, humour, and grit from what is clearly a brilliant story. This narration? It had all the charisma of a satnav reading a shopping list.
I gave it four chapters. Four. I persevered, genuinely trying to tune out the lifeless drone and focus on the story. But by chapter five, I found myself yearning for the sweet relief of silence.
I’m off to buy the print version so I can read Noraly’s books because it deserves to be heard: Noraly, you’re a legend. But Audible, this was not the ride I signed for!
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- Paul
- 07-07-2025
Was thinking it was an adventure
Can help thinking I read and watch this before. Ted Simon maybe. Very disappointing. Don’t bother.
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