40 Years of Zen and Motorcycle Maintenance

More than 40 years ago, author Robert Pirsig and his son Chris set off on an iconic journey – a 17-day motorcycle trip from Minneapolis to San Francisco. The resulting book, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, became the most widely-sold philosophy book ever. Over 5 million copies have been snapped-up around the world in 27 different languages.

Toronto Star motorcycle and auto editor Mark Richardson celebrated the 40th anniversary of Pirsig’s great American road trip with an adventure of his own: He became a “Pirsig Pilgrim” and retraced the now-famous route on his 1985 Suzuki dirt bike. He covered 2700 miles and met some of the same people Pirsig met. Mark has just released his own chronicle of the journey, Zen and Now: On the Trail of Robert Pirsig and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. He joins us on Word of Mouth to discuss his trip and Pirsig’s legacy.