I bought my first bike in September 1965, shortly after my 16th birthday, I purchased {well me and my dad purchased} a Triumph Tiger Cub 200cc 1959, for the princely sum of £62.50.
I Passed my test at the second attempt in the October, that’s the one where the examiner walked around the route and the emergency stop was him jumping out from behind a tree. Not sure if he realised you could see him from a few hundred yards away, he had the biggest trilby hat I’ve ever seen. Despite that I ran over his toe, don’t ask.
Anyway, I rode that bike to death for a couple of years before moving on to a BSA B40 350cc which I kept for 4 years. After that I drifted away from biking for some reason, which of course I now regret.
I returned to my senses in 2014 and returned to biking inspired by my buddies who have ridden for years and they helped me out loads to begin with.
I purchased a Suzuki Bandit 600cc which I rode around on for 6 months before discovering my bike licence had lapsed. I fell foul of the digitisation of licences in 1976 when a lot of old paper license records were lost. So I had to pass my test again which I did in 2015.
I retired in 2017 and did as much riding as I could with my buddies, even got a trip to Ypres under my belt. Then in 2019 I signed on to IAM with the desire to improve my riding and the opportunity to do some group riding.
It was a bit of a baptism of fire, realising how much I needed to improve. Anyway, my training got underway and I remember my first full group ride out, mainly for the fact that it bonked down all day which made the riding hard. I have to admit I struggled a bit and at the end of the ride my observer told me I’d done pretty well for my first time and I’d ridden my Bandit like I’d stolen it. Thanks Lee.
A few months later I decided to change bike to a BMW r1200r. I had plans for 2020 to troll round Europe for 10 days as a present to myself for my 70th birthday. But covid put paid to that. But there’s always next year.
I finally passed my advanced test last April much to the relief of my wonderful observer Lee Spindler who I can’t thank enough. And I took up the position of associate controller as I wanted to give something back to the group and the wonderful people who are members of it and all the help and advice I’ve received.