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I passed my test in 1968 on a 250cc BSA C15. Moving on to UMIST to study Mechanical Engineering (and brewery products and Indian cuisine), I was lured by motorcycling deviants into Velocette ownership, a curse that continues to this day. The odd excursion into pre-unit Triumphs and BSAs (favourite – a 500cc Shooting Star) was always followed by a return to the Naked Lady (the Velocette trade mark, for clarity.)
After Uni, jobless and learning of the existence of Hire Purchase, the MkII KSS went in part exchange for a BRG Norton Commando Fastback to allow efficient travel to earn a living picking grapes around France and working as a builder’s labourer around the UK. The Commando also took me to Nordkapp. And back.
Realising that this life was unsustainable and incompatible with joining any motorcycle club with the word “Professional” in its name, after two years of the itinerant life I returned to post-graduate study and subsequently joined the oil industry as a Petroleum Engineer, working on the exploration for and development of oil and gas fields around the world for the next 40 years.
I met Chris in 1976 in London and was forever smitten when she asked if she could help me cleaning, polishing and organising the parts of my Norton Mercury, which was in pieces at the time. It may also be relevant that I and my clutter were obstructing the staircase to her flat.
Chris and I moved to Hampshire and I commuted to London year-round on a Moto Guzzi 1000SP Spada for 3 years before, in 1981, we emigrated to Australia. The Guzzi was sold, the Norton came with us but was soon sold to allow purchase of an R65 for commuting and only a little bit of pleasure riding – three young children makes for a busy life and bringing them up in Australia was actually much more fun than riding a bike on my own would have been.
We moved to India in 1995 (500cc Enfield Bullet), back to the UK in 1999 (K1200RS BMW and Velocette Thruxton) then to China in 2006 (couldn’t/wouldn’t ride in Beijing). We kept a home and the bikes in the UK and after joining the PEMC in 2009, went on several club trips on our visits back to the UK. On semi-retiring in 2012, I added an R1200GS and had even more fun. And more again on full retirement in, I think, 2014.
Deciding to do something different (like get my hands dirty looking after chains) I sold the BMWs and bought an Aprilia Caponord Rally 1200 in 2017 and added an Aprilia RS660 in 2021. Heaven. Chris considers the Capo the comfiest of all the many bikes she’s pillioned on.
I’ve been organising PEMC turn-ups and rides for about 8 years and have just this year, 2023, organised my first PEMC European trip. As Editor of Lineswapper, I look forward to even more involvement with Club members and activities.