Every last one of us wrestles with our own mysteries and basic life questions. Is there a God? Why can’t I understand my wife? Will sex still be possible for me in old age? For how long can I keep on motorcycling, and what if anything will change as I get older?
Way back in 1967 at the age of sixteen years, I was literally thrown out of my parents’ home simply for buying a 650c.c. AJS motorcycle. I was informed by pater that I would kill myself. I didn’t disagree, and as a big part of me lived for speed I expected to die very young and was quite comfortable with the notion.
When raw speed is truly in your blood it takes hold and is as essential as breathing air, going to the toilet, and life’s other essentials. Only those truly affected will likely understand that notion.
(In the olden days speedsters sometimes held several driving licences as securing a licence under a different name(s) was quite easy – simply make up a name and date of birth, pass your driving test again, and receive an additional driving licence which did not even bear a photograph. That way one could bear multiple endorsements without suffering disqualification. Of course I did not do it, but as a former lawyer I came across several motorists who did. But with tightened licensing procedures in the U.K. such is essentially no longer possible).
Anyway I survived and went on essentially driving most everywhere flat out until in about 1993 my Kawasaki ZZ R-1100 was stolen by professional thieves operating in Leicester. The very night my bike was taken five other bikers’ superbikes were also lifted from their garages without even a scratched door.
But I continued driving as some would say ‘like a maniac’ in very high performance cars until around 2010 when a business partner’s theft forced the sale of literally everything I owned bar the clothes on my back, and a vehicle valued at no more than £250.
As a much younger biker I occasionally wondered, nay worried, about old age particularly as I regularly witnessed older bikers selling their bikes with a statement like ‘now far too big for me.’
So, taking up biking again at age 67 years with a ZZ R-1100 (again) has anything changed? Indeed it has, and I’m pleased to report for the better.
The basics: a motorcycle will only go as fast as you let it. So having great horsepower is never a burden unless one suffers from spasms in the right hand.
Next, a bike’s weight is of little consequence for any healthy biker of any age or weight. Every motorcycle can easily be placed on its main stand largely by everyone simply via correct technique. The main physical exceptions being that a frail biker might for example need to drive into his garage instead of pushing a very heavy bike uphill. And lifting a dropped heavy bike does require a little strength, but again such is essentially technique.
So, what has improved?
I now enjoy speed far more safely as at high speed I feel that I’m riding 70 m.p.h. faster than I am. My sense of danger has finally (thank God) found a healthy frame. So, I’m driving more slowly yet still getting the same speed thrill of old.
How has this occurred? Frankly I don’t know. Some writers say that watching crashed bikers die helps (but it didn’t with me), others write that it gradually comes with maturity, but again largely it didn’t with me. I guess that with me it was so hard to financially re-build that I valued my conveyances much more and protected them better.
One way or another over the last seven years my motoring has become much more enjoyable as blistering speed has changed from being a life essential to something to possibly enjoy again one day on a track open day.
Life changes, and what can appear to be a worse scenario can in fact be just the opposite. Ride until the day before you die, or longer!
I love short stories but the title is misleading. I was expecting torrid description of pillaging bike gangs followed by an orgy of sexual frenzy in exultant celebration of a successful raiding party. Ivan, you'll never make the best seller list by being liberal with the content of your blog titles. I am sure an educated man as yourself, you claim to be a solicitor, can produce a body of work worth reading without resorting to cheap tricks to entice the gullible, and yes, I have read you other posts or tried to before nodding off with boredom. I chose this post as a way to ridicule you in a humorous fashion. You sad man.
Of course he reads the comments, he's an attention seeker:) He's just being pretentious about it - exactly like the content of his posts. Or the first few lines anyway, I can never get further than that....
Nick, as you say the definition of a forum is to inspire debate or interest ( forgive my paraphrasing ), posting a load of old cobblers certainly wont do that. I am probably almost as guilty for posting drivel but I have mostly tried to give people a giggle. The content of Ivans posts are more suited to a blog rather than a forum as he seems intent on talking at people rather than with. Claiming not to read his own posts but deleting his profile begs the question, "why lie?"
I wouldn't go so far as to use the term 'lying'... We had a brief PM discussion on the value and spirit of forum debate, where I hopefully encouraged a different approach in future. The decision to delete the account was taken by him in response...I didn't take any further action, although I left options open if there was no change.... .
His posts on other sites would suggest this is the way he does things, so I guess he felt unable to adjust....
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