Featured Your Riding Gap

Similar to you, stopped riding around 23-4 as I needed a car and couldn’t afford both. Started riding again at 40 when kids had grown up and I had a little more money. Been back riding since 2000 now.

 

Stopped after 7 years or so at about 25 and resumed again at age 58 (2018). There were many, many occasions when I came close prior to that, but the catalyst in the end happened to be my son taking his CBT and buying a scooter!!!

 

Good choice of thread, it being the other side to what's your riding history.

Past my bike test aged 17.5 years old on a Suzuki 250 x7 (different world!) early in 1979. In 1980 I progressed on to a Honda CB400N until 1983 when I had to sell it for a car (Datsun 140J) in order to transport me, my possessions and my books and folders from home in Malvern to Uni in Canterbury for my Electronics degree. The car died the week I left Uni and I had to hire a car to get me to London, where I started my career in medical engineering with the NHS.

Then the usual happened, a car was more practical for holidays and breaks and public transport in London negates the need for daily transport. Marriage and children meant the usual restrictions on funds and our family's love of touring and camping again meant the car was more practical. Also SWMBO has absolutely no interest in motorised two wheels, so I gave up all hope of ever riding again.

Cut forward to 2019 grown children, a career change and an unexpectedly larger lumps sum for my NHS pension and I could afford a bike. Life and work had become incredibly stressful and bless her, SWMBO could see the mental health benefits of me going back to two wheels, so I was encouraged to buy a bike. How could I resist a beautiful yellow and silver Street Cup, it looked and sounded just like the Bonneville café racers I'd always dreamed of when I was 17 (just a lot more reliable).

Has my mental health improved? Its getting there and the bike is a large part of it, how could it not improve, I've got a truly generous and understanding wife, great kids and a Bonneville.

I just hope the weather this year enables many more miles than last "summer" did.

So glad I came back to bikes.

 

I started at 18. Until 20 (1991) I tried different bikes then family-business led to a no-bike interval. In 2011-2013 I used a 125 ccm scooter for some city cruising. Another break until 2018. Since then I am back to riding bikes. Till now I did 180.000 km in the last 6 years on my different bikes. Many more will follow.

 

No gaps for me. I've had a motorcycle of some shape and size in the garage/shed/back garden under a sheet since I was 10. So 55 years and counting.

 

Just coming back after a ten year gap (new family) last bike was a GS1150. Happened to be walking past Triumph West London saw a Lind equipped Bonny and fell in love. Six months of buttering up my wife it’s in the garage now.

 

A not too dissimilar story here. I took my first motorcycle ride on a public road (illegally) in 1965 and have ridden (usually legally!) a motorcycle at some point in every year since.

I've ridden all sorts of bikes on all kinds of roads - including taking a year out to wander around the US covering around 30,000 miles on motorcycles - and aim to continue to do so for as long as I can get insurance cover ...... and my leg over the saddle!

At almost 74, I'm now doing the most self-satisfying riding I've ever done as I'm a volunteer/rider with South West Blood Bikes - a way of "giving something back" via my abiding passion and devotion to two wheels and a motor!

 

Started riding in 1975 on the compulsory L plates, did my RAC/ACU training scheme and passed that and my official driving test in October that year. Moved up to an A65 Rocket, then a new Bonnie in 1978, sold it in 1980 and said no more bikes. In 1983 I bought a 1977 CB750 which I had till 1988 and sold on to a mate as it had not been used regularly for a couple of years. During those years I had a wife, daughter and then, a dog and I decided that we needed a car to get about and go on holidays so took and passed the car test and had just a car until 2010 when my partner (divorced now) who knew I loved bikes said why not get one as a project. I bought a CB500 to get going again, then a T300 Sprint (sold now, too heavy for me)and a T509 Speed Triple which I still have.
So 24 or so years away. It gets easier.

 

Becoming a motorcyclist was never going to be a parental issue for me as Dad rode bikes until he was 76, even during his war service as a dispatch rider. My first machine was an Ariel Leader in 63, a 250cc 2 stroke twin. Then onto the Thunderbird bought from Pride & Clarke in 66 for £99 10 shillings.

I stopped riding my Tbird in 70 when I moved out to the Channel Islands (35mph max speed limit). Thereafter marriage, sons and houses to buy all took precedence over motorcycling. My return to riding wasn’t until 01 when SWMBO suggested I might buy the Ducati you see below as her 30th wedding anniversary pressie to me.

Fast forward another 20 years when I could see that the day was coming when the riding crouch on the Duke was not going to be tolerable for extended trips. So something lighter, with a few electronic aids, a 50% increase in power and a more upright riding stance heralded the purchase of the Striple.

I have only ever owned four bikes and still have the three mentioned above. From the above timeline you will deduce that I’m no spring chicken but we have just booked our hotel for our third year in mid Wales where we will clock up close to a thousand miles in six days.

As Steve Parrish, team mate of Barry Sheene and renowned practical joker, says on the back cover of his autobiography “Don’t die wondering”.

 

Passed my test in 1967 and been riding since, although I have passed both the IAM advanced tests for bike and car to keep my skills up.

 

No gaps for me. I didn't start riding until I was 52 years old and am mightily trying to make up for lost time! One of my only regrets in life is that I didn't start riding earlier. Everything in its own time, I guess.

 

I did the IAM advanced riders test just after I retired, had lots of bad habits which I had to overcome, recommended as a good way to sharpen up and kick the bad habits.

 

I started riding at 21. My girlfriend back then gave me an ultimatum - Either her or the bike - Choose one! I tried my level best reasoning with her for almost 6 months. I thought if I give up my passion what else do I have to give up down the line. Finally I chose the bike and off went my GF. I continued riding and spent more time travelling long distances on the bike.

Few years later met a nice lady, got married and now with 2 children 9 & 12. I took a year break when the 1st one was born. My Mrs saw how miserable I was without a bike and forced me to get a bike . I am 48 now and only one year I was without a bike. There has been times I didn't get the chance to ride but always had a bike insured, Taxed and MOT'd ready to go.

Family and Friends comes 1st. All my time on the bike (whether working on it or riding it) has never been at the expense of family time. Everyone knows I am passionate about bikes and they are happy for me.

God bless you all

 

I started riding with an old Tiger Cub that was 2 years older than me when I was 16 years old back in 1970 and rode various bikes until 1980, then got sick of travelling to work in bitter cold conditions and got a car. I planned on going back to bikes in retirement but got diagnosed with Parkinson's disease at 65 and ended up on a trike instead. I've had some great rides on the trike in the last 5 years, but I think this could be my last year riding.

 

That is a really cool trike. Where was the photo taken?

Sincerely hoping you can cope with riding on 2+1 wheels for longer than this year. And if you can't then there's even more reason to hope for a glorious riding year.

 

If you end up with riding it should be a good decision for you. My father in law ended up with the age of 74. A few months earlier he bought his last bike, a TIGER 900 GT. One evening he called me and informed me about his decision. I congratulated him. He said that he had lost his good "feeling" from one day to the other. Therefore he sold his bike.

 

Sandsend, north of Whitby, a really beautiful place.