Winter...

Ugh... It's that time of the year when it gets cold - well it's about 10-15C during the day, and I guess for many that's almost hot. It's just what you're used to and I guess that no matter what, very few of us never complain about the weather. It's a natural human trait.

Still continues

Well, I found myself in a spot today.

I live near the sea and a lot of people like to do rock fishing. In the last day or so, five people have been washed off the rocks near here. All part of the same group - the whole group actually. Two couples and one son of one couple.

Then I found myself talking about this to my sister-in-law. Her partner is an avid fisherman. He loves the sport. He will tell me that rock fishing is safe as long as you take care and have an understanding of where you are fishing. I think he's wrong and that rock fishing should be banned.

The more I thought about it, the more I saw a link between rock fishing, what my sister-in-laws partner says, and what I said in regard to speeding and the young man named Gerard who was killed while driving wrecklessly in his car last week.

Do I have double standards? Well I did what I did on the road 30 years ago. I don't now. I don't agree with street racing now. Only that I did it and wasn't killed.

I think my standards are safe.

And it continues

The beginnings come and go at some point - I don't know when but there is a change from something being a beginning to some other part - the middle maybe - the golden years - who knows what you may want to call it.

I was flicking through some bike magazine all those years ago, when I came across a full page advertisement for a Norton Commando 850. I don't know what it was, but I knew I had to have one. I couldn't afford anything new at that time so I would just have to wait.

Sometime much later, I was driving to work and I passed by this motorbike shop as I did every other day. I gave it the usual quick glance that was as long as the traffic would allow, and low and behold, there was a big black Norton 850 in from of the shop for sale. I'm surprised I didn't have an accident right there and then. I did go back to the shop as soon as I could. It turned out that the shop was selling the bike on behalf of some guy who needed money to pay his fines. I asked how much it was, and to my amazement, it was a price I could afford.

I became the owner of a 1973 Norton Commando 850 that would change my life forever.

Beginnings Continued

It's easy to be diverted... but anyway, I met a guy who was to become a friend from the beginning to the present, and hopefully long into the future. He taught me a lot about riding, one way or another, and we rode a lot together in those days. We did what a lot of young guys do, we broke the law - speeding, street racing - all on our bikes. The cars we had were never good enough to do anything serious, but our bikes could always go well. We spent a lot of time on piece of road called locally 'The Mountain'. If you were a local and had 'local knowledge' you were unbeatable. The only person worthy of challenge was another local.

Nowadays people, mostly young men, come to this piece of road from long distances. They come for the same reasons my old mate and I did. The problems arise quickly and stupidly. Only a few nights ago, a young man of 22 was killed on this road along with his mate sitting next to him. They were in a Mazda MX5 and this young man was driving. They hit a truck head-on. The car ended up no higher than it's wheels and the injuries they received were horrific. His young girlfriend following, was at the scence moments after the accident. What the sight of it all has done to her is unknown. The young man was named Gerard. He lived quite some distance away and was sadly known to my family. The police have said it was all Gerard's fault. Driving too fast and on the wrong side of the road. The same thing my old friend and I did every other day.

Unfortunately, this is the legacy we have left others.

Beginnings

I've just finished reading a book by Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond called 'As You Do'. It's a terrific read with lots of anecdotes about the Top Gear stunts, It also has the details of what happened when Hammond went to do what was probably the last interview with Evel Knievel before he died.

Knievel had a piece of stonework done, at his own expense, that he wanted placed in the town of Butte, Montana. He was prepared to have it placed in the town at his own expense. On the stone it said "Words to live for. Faith. Health. Education. Love. Work. Honorability. Dream. Amen". No other words would be added - no reference to Evel himself. Hammond asked Evel what the most important word was that was there. Evel said "Dreams, follow your dreams".

And I guess that's what all this is about... living your dreams.

Beginnings

I suppose rolling round began a long while ago. It had a pause in the middle started up again.

So, in the beginning I really wanted to drive a car. When I was in my teens everybody else was doing it and so I wanted to as well. My father didn't share the idea that he should be the one to teach me how to drive. I thought up a good trick, tell him that if I didn't I'd buy a motorcycle and ride that. I didn't need anyone to ride with me while I learned, so that seemed to be the ideal threat. He had to do it.

But he fall for the con I was trying to do. He said "OK, buy a bike, but they're too dangerous". I didn't want one, but I had no choice. So way back in 1973, I had to go out on Christmas Eve and buy my first bike. It cost $270 and wasn't the prettiest kid on the block. All I had to do was to learn to ride it. I'd never touched one before.

It was delivered to my house on the back of a truck that same day. It was the only way I had to get it home. Within an hour, I while he though nobody was around, I saw my father begin to clean this old bike. I'll never forget that scene.

Plans are underway for a trip by trike to London.