When and why did you develop an interest in riding a motorcycle?
Family Tradition.
How old were you when you first rode a bike?
At 16 I started off road with an RAC/ACU training course and then took to the road at 17.
Of the bikes you’ve ever owned which was your favourite if you had one?
Triumph Tiger 1050 Sports, but my current Triumph Speed 400 is not bad.
If you were given the opportunity to own any bike on the market which would it be?
My current Triumph Speed 400 as with my age and other conditions it matches my capabilities.
What is your favourite motorcycle gadget?
TomTom satnav. It allows me to plan tours and I have used it in the UK, USA and New Zealand.
Where is your preferred place to ride in the UK?
This is very difficult, I enjoy riding in a lot of places, Lake District, Scotland and around Cornwall.
And Abroad?
New Zealand was probably the best, no straight roads and islands the same land mass as UK, but less than the population of London.
If you were offered the opportunity to go on an extended bike tour, who family members aside who would you choose as a riding companion?
Henry Cole. I had not thought about riding outside the UK and don’t think I could follow the likes of Longway Round, but I could do the rides that Henry did. Since then I have toured the Wild West and New Zealand.
How would you describe to a non-rider the attraction of riding a bike as opposed to driving a car?
You have complete control riding a bike, you are part of your surroundings not just passing through them, you have to concentrate on the ride so you have to clear your mind of everything else.
When do you intend to give up riding ?
I have tried to give up, but lasted only 18 months. My intention is to ride as long as possible and get smaller bikes as the years and my condition demand. I think I will end up on a Honda Cub.
Describe your scariest moment on your bike
Fortunately I have never had an accident that I could not walk or ride away from. The scariest was back in my 20s when I had a specially prepared Reed Titan 350 Honda (you couldn’t get race reps from manufactures) that had previously won its class at the Truxton 500. I was also a bit of a speeder at the time, to outrun the police; I was doing 140mph on the A10 Cambridge Road and started to break for the roundabout with the A406, must have count a manhole and the bike ended up on its side, I managed to separate myself from the bike and we continued all the way across the roundabout (up on to the grass and down the other side) finally resting against the chain link fencing of the garage. Fortunately again it was very early morning and there was no one on the roundabout or in the garage, so I picked the bike up and managed to ride it back to our garage.
