A bit of background.....

Hello!

This is me in the helmet - excruciating, isn't it? The photo was taken when I was 5, which coincided with the start of my motorcycling career. Dad owned a James 2 stroke which he used to take me for short runs round the UK Northamptonshire village I grew up in.

I've just turned 62, although my long-suffering wife Jennie says (on numerous occasions) that I struggle to get past 5 in terms of maturity. Wives are known for skipping the niceties! From that young and innocent age, I've been hooked on bikes.

The real trigger for this life-long obsession came about in my early teens, regularly going with a few school mates to the local coffee bar which was a hang-out for the local bikers on their British Iron - mainly Triumphs, Nortons and BSA's. We thought that they were absolute gods when they put a record on the juke box and tried to do a lap of town before the music finished. In turn, they undoubtedly thought that we were complete jerks, turning up on our pushbikes with apehanger bars with tassels hanging out of the bar-ends - talk about embarrassing!

Anyway, grab some popcorn and read on for a light-hearted account of my riding experiences....