This story is based on a cross-country motorcycle trip the author made in 1968 with his older brother and two friends. The principal characters of The Trip, Tino, Sal, Gary, and Patrick, are based on the four young men who took a cross-country motorcycle trip in the summer of 1968-Tim (Patrick), Gerry (Gary), Tony (Sal), and Armando (Tino). The novel is a mix of fact and fiction. For example, The Trip's route is factual, but many of the events in the story are creations from the author's twisted mind.