Joined
·
104 Posts
Hi guys, I'll try to keep this shortish. As I near my 60th Bday on Friday I reflect on motorcycling and possibly on how much longer I can continue to ride.
My sight is failing rapidly, I'm waiting on cornea transplants , caused by blunt force trauma in my work as a photojournalist. Yeah, blind photogs not much in demand so I retired very early, lucky that I could I guess..but enough of that, back to bikes..I've ridden since I was 7...that's 53 years! I've had bunches of bikes from pure joy motors to pure headaches! My first street bike was a 1954 BSA C11G 250 that dad brought home in three boxes with some comment like "You wanted a motorcycle..here you go! Cost me a fiver!". ($10.?) Then there were Ariel Golden Arrow, Norton Atlas, Triumph T110 (The Bathtub). Then I decided to try Speedway..in came the Weslake, Jawa and J.A.P...then came the crash....moving on came a host of Jap bikes, Honda Dream 250 (my first with a starter motor) Suzuki Super 6 (6 gear two banger) I even managed to do a couple of test laps at the IOM with one of those. My first Duc appeared in the early 70's a 250 bevel, wish I had it now! Some more cafe racers ..mainly Tritons (Triumph engines in a Norton Featherbed frame) a few clubman races around England. etc.
I managed to ride on 4 continents in 26 different countries.I even rode in China a few years ago..quite interesting I must say!
When I came to the States I got caught up in the world of Flatrack and managed to place 6th in the VDTRA championship (over 50s division)!
Now, I wonder what I have left..I look in my garage here at home..interesting ..a 1200 Suzuki Bandit with 150000 miles on it. A Kawi ex250..my girls bike. an ST3 my Italian beauty, and a 1979 Maico 490 dirtster, my spring project which will run in the Vintage dirt series. Quite a disparate collection.
As you age riding gets harder, trips that I used to do in one or two days now take three or four. Seems that as the bikes get faster I get slower.
So, in conclusion , I've ridden in snow, rain, blazing sun. I intend to ride as long as I can throw a leg over (said the same to the wife..she laughed), Hope to get the eyes fixed soon. and I'll be back..riding down for coffee at *$s, or buzzing across to Oklahoma City. But more than the bikes and places, the best thing about a life with motorcycles has been the people I've met and the friends Ive made , we are pretty much the same all over the world..we help others, we teach the youngsters (some even chose to learn from us) In general we are a good bunch of people..true adventurers, smiling from ear to ear behind our stuffy, sweaty helmets!
Hope to wave to you all on the road.
Thanks for listening to the ramblings of an oldster,..remember I'm faster in my stories than I ever was in real life!
Ride Safe , Ride Well.
Cheers
Derek
My sight is failing rapidly, I'm waiting on cornea transplants , caused by blunt force trauma in my work as a photojournalist. Yeah, blind photogs not much in demand so I retired very early, lucky that I could I guess..but enough of that, back to bikes..I've ridden since I was 7...that's 53 years! I've had bunches of bikes from pure joy motors to pure headaches! My first street bike was a 1954 BSA C11G 250 that dad brought home in three boxes with some comment like "You wanted a motorcycle..here you go! Cost me a fiver!". ($10.?) Then there were Ariel Golden Arrow, Norton Atlas, Triumph T110 (The Bathtub). Then I decided to try Speedway..in came the Weslake, Jawa and J.A.P...then came the crash....moving on came a host of Jap bikes, Honda Dream 250 (my first with a starter motor) Suzuki Super 6 (6 gear two banger) I even managed to do a couple of test laps at the IOM with one of those. My first Duc appeared in the early 70's a 250 bevel, wish I had it now! Some more cafe racers ..mainly Tritons (Triumph engines in a Norton Featherbed frame) a few clubman races around England. etc.
I managed to ride on 4 continents in 26 different countries.I even rode in China a few years ago..quite interesting I must say!
When I came to the States I got caught up in the world of Flatrack and managed to place 6th in the VDTRA championship (over 50s division)!
Now, I wonder what I have left..I look in my garage here at home..interesting ..a 1200 Suzuki Bandit with 150000 miles on it. A Kawi ex250..my girls bike. an ST3 my Italian beauty, and a 1979 Maico 490 dirtster, my spring project which will run in the Vintage dirt series. Quite a disparate collection.
As you age riding gets harder, trips that I used to do in one or two days now take three or four. Seems that as the bikes get faster I get slower.
So, in conclusion , I've ridden in snow, rain, blazing sun. I intend to ride as long as I can throw a leg over (said the same to the wife..she laughed), Hope to get the eyes fixed soon. and I'll be back..riding down for coffee at *$s, or buzzing across to Oklahoma City. But more than the bikes and places, the best thing about a life with motorcycles has been the people I've met and the friends Ive made , we are pretty much the same all over the world..we help others, we teach the youngsters (some even chose to learn from us) In general we are a good bunch of people..true adventurers, smiling from ear to ear behind our stuffy, sweaty helmets!
Hope to wave to you all on the road.
Thanks for listening to the ramblings of an oldster,..remember I'm faster in my stories than I ever was in real life!
Ride Safe , Ride Well.
Cheers
Derek
