I’m a motorcyclist. Have been for coming up on twenty years now. It started as a means of commuting as we (back when I was married) couldn’t afford to run two cars. Prior to getting my first bike, and after our first son was born, I had to rely upon lifts to and from work either from colleagues or my wife. It wasn’t long before the riding bug bit me and the 125cc learner bike wasn’t enough! As luck would have it, some local criminals shared the same thought and kindly stole my 125 and the insurance payout was enough to get me my direct access course paid for and within a year of riding I was now able to ride any capacity bike.

A 650cc single followed. I still remember the surprise as I popped an accidental mini wheelie pulling away from a set of traffic lights a little exuberantly the first time! Unfortunately the bike needed lots of work to keep it on the road and was a bit of a lemon 🍋.

Next was an 800cc parallel twin. Brand spanking new. It was glorious. Lots of fancy tricks and even had a matching top case to hold my rucksack when going to work or storing my helmet and some shopping when volunteering to pop to the supermarket for the slightest thing 😁. I had two minor accidents on that bike (slipped on loose gravel at a traffic calming area, had a car switch lanes whilst queuing as I was pootling past them to stop at a set of traffic lights). No harm done, but the repairs were expensive. I’d also taken my first European trip with some new biker friends from a forum. And I now knew Wales a little better too!

The tour in Europe combined with Charlie & Ewans adventures had me yearning for more adventures of my own. Once the PCP term was over with the 800cc, I moved to my first 1200cc boxer twin … the GS. This was back when they were still air and oil cooled.

This turned out to be my first of two GS bikes as once I sold this one, after a short break from ownership, I bought a barely used liquid cooled 1200 GS. I had the means to kit this one out to suit my needs, unlike previous bikes, so added aux lights, hard luggage, crash bars and more. We travelled the south west of England, Wales and even did the NC500 and returned again to visit Scotland twice more! We also rode around Spain, did a trip to the French west coast and did many more local rides including a few work trips to London.

When it was finally time to part ways I thought about the type of riding I wanted to do going forward. No more commuting, no green lanes or off roading for me. Leisure riding, weekend trips away locally and the occasional Europe trip. This time around I opted for a fully ticked out R 1250 R complete with Option 719 accessories.

This week my younger son (soon to be 19) announced in the usual way a teenager does, that he is considering getting his A2 license! We will see if this comes to pass, but it would be very nice to do some joint rides together and with spring coming soon, it’ll be an ideal time.