Motorcycing, How I got started.

People often ask me how I got into motorcycling.   Well I was a bit of a late bloomer, I didnt even start thinking about motorcycles untill after I was married (29). The reason being is that my wife was mad keen on them, and because of that I got interested.

When I met her I was 27 and she was 21, She had sold her car and was riding a bike everywhere. Her mother was not impressed, but I must admit I found it rather cool.  We dated for a long time and  a couple of years later we got married, she still had the bike but also a car. Not long after we got married I decided I was keen to learn how to ride a bike. So off we went to a desearted carpark to give it ago.  I was not to know then, but it was the beginning of my love affair with riding bikes.

I learnt the basics pretty easily, and a in a fit of complete eagerness I went and brought a CBR 600, of course the fact I had no license, was of little interest to me, after all she had been riding for a few years and she still didn't have one, so I thought it carnt be all that bad!

Fast forwad a year, and she is pregnant with our first child, the CBR was sold, and we were bikeless, the first time since I had known her.  After our daughter was born, I relised I was still passionate about bikes, I recommended to here that we get a little 250, cause one day when the kids are older we will want to get some bikes, and have no licensses.

So off we went and brought a 250. I got my licnse about 9 months later, she got her's about 15 months later.

By this time our second child was born, I had started a business, and there seemed no time to ride bikes, hence the 250 got sold, and life  progressed on..

Five years later our second child had started school, feeling eager to get into some dort of hobbie and relising I needed her to do so also, I went and brought her a brand new ZX 636. It was a great bike, I got it delivered to here on a trailer with a big red ribbon on it.

Two weeks later it was over..........the marrige that is, she wanted some one else, and she wanted to be with him ,not me.   What followed was a very bitter and long divorce, after it was over I was homeless and bike less.

I moved into a two bedroom apartment, and I had my kids every second wednesday till sunday, but the weekend I didn't have the kids I was going nuts. Just nothing to do. My infrastructure of friends had broken down, and I felt very much the odd one out.

Remebering how much I loved the bike, I decided that I was going get back into it, and I did.   I brought a Triumph 955i, and as they say the rest is history.  I spent every weekend that I did not have the kids riding, meeting new people, and seeing the country from a new perspective. I have never looked back, nor will I.

I know that riding can be dangerous, but for me it saved my life............

After all that my x wife has become very anti bikes,  her new partner hates them and it has rubbed off on her.....oh well....not my problem any more