what interests you about biking?

[Noise]

I love feeling the vibrations through my arse!

Bollocks wrong forum.

I just love the freedom of not having any distractions, no radio, no clock, no phone, no wife. Just me the bike and the road

[DirtyDT]

some good ones there - I'm older than you lot (I'm pretty sure because I am fairly old)...........

There are some really old blokes on the forum Ian. I'm sure some lie about their age as they look as though they are close to 3 figures but swear that they are in their late 40's/50's (yeh, right!). I won't mention any names but they know who they are..................................

[iandouglas]

There are some really old blokes on the forum Ian. I'm sure some lie about their age as they look as though they are close to 3 figures but swear that they are in their late 40's/50's (yeh, right!). I won't mention any names but they know who they are..................................

oh good - not alone then, thanks for letting me know

[DirtyDT]

It could be an interesting demographic. Age and gender of the people on the forum. It could tie in with this thread. We tend to communicate with similar people here who share a common interest. Some people are just starting out on bikes and what interests them in biking could be very different to what interests, for example, a born again biker. Some people (I am guessing a lot of us) have had bikes on and off for many years. Once it gets into your blood you are doomed........doomed I say!

I fall into the category of the "on and off" biker. Had bikes when circumstances allowed, and often when they did not. I had a full car licence at 17 but brought a bike instead (250 learner rule was still in place then). No history of bike ownership in my family but I guy I worked with had a Suzi GT250 and let me ride it. I actually brought it off him and that was my second bike (an N plate I think - the ramair model). I could easily manage socially without a bike. My car is almost new (had its first service yesterday). My normal work base is only 15 miles away and a decent drive. I can park at work. I wouldn't have to keep work clothes, shoes etc in either of the hospital sites I work at. I wouldn't have to turn up at some meetings wearing my bike trousers and boots carrying a lid and other junk. If i needed to pick something up on my travels i wouldn't have to mess about with kit and where i was going to store the stuff on the rest of the ride. But really, that is missing the point! I rode in this morning, a little cold and damp in the air but much better than sitting in the car listening to Chris Evans on radio 2 or a little ska/Stax on my mp3 dongle thing. I don't have to sit behind idiots who drive at 30 on a national speed limit single lane road. Or behind slow moving tractors and farm vehicles. I can just get on and ride as my mood takes me. Sometimes flowing, sometimes rapid and sometimes mellow. I can nod at other bikers and wonder where they go during the winter. I can pull into a bike bay at work and see the die hard bikers and the ones who only come out in the summer and can't manage to park their bikes prettily. I don't need more than one bike, assuming I even need one.

It has never been about just a cheap form of transport to me - and thinking biking is a cheap option is a flawed argument anyway. If I calculated the additional cost of the bike and any "savings" I made in running costs, a bike would never be an option.

All that said, biking has gripped me for getting on for 40 years. It is an addiction that I will only give up if I have no other alternatives.

End of ramble. Just waiting for someone to cut the crusts of my lunchtime sandwich and liquidise it for me.

[mike1949]

I started about 25 years ago when my sister-in-law had an old puch moped, she said if you come and pick it up you can have it. That was it, after that I was hooked.

For about about 7-8 years I was quite happy riding small bikes on the old "grandfathers licence" but around 1995 that all stopped so I had to take a bike test. I done me a favour really because then I progressed up to my current bike which i've had for about six years.

Incidently, I was the very last person to take a test in the old testing station at Chippenham, as I was being questioned on the highway code the removal men were gutting the place.

[iandouglas]

on the question of 'what interests you about biking' I'm getting the impression that a few of you have the same underlying motivation as me - escapism, a break from the daily grind, responsibilities, work, jobs that need doing maybe.

we all need a break, a change of scene, a little while to ourselves, fresh air, a different set of circumstances, bit of a thrill...that kind of thing. Even if it's commuting there is at least a short uplifting buzz rather than the otherwise dull..

[jimmy]

I'm 49 and have had a full licence since I was 17. I have never been without a working bike (well 3 years ago the crank broke on my 79Bonnie, and it took me 3 months to get another bike on the road). I dont do as much mileage on the bikes as I used to tho, although when out on the bike I still get the same buzz as I did as a fresh faced ute

[paul-666]

It costs me 10 quid to go 250 miles, It gives me freedom from the norm, as normal is boring !

[Matthew Duncan]

freedom..........

i did read somewhere that sir William Wallace never rode a horse . . he had a yamaha

[obriens65]

I'm 47, have never owned a car licence and never wanted one.

I ride all year round pretty much every day (but not in the snow, I'm not insane).

Why do I love bikes? Couldn't tell you, it's not a thing that can be put into words.

[iandouglas]

I'm 47, have never owned a car licence and never wanted one.

I ride all year round pretty much every day (but not in the snow, I'm not insane).

Why do I love bikes? Couldn't tell you, it's not a thing that can be put into words.

like it

photo taken from my seat outside a cafe in Hungerford today

[wild foamy]

fuckin hell Iain, should have called in for a cuppa!, i live at the top of hungerford high street

[mucker1983]

For me has always been a child hood dream and finally thanks to the help of a couple of car accidents in close succession i feel now is the time.

[mucker1983]

For me has always been a child hood dream and finally thanks to the help of a couple of car accidents in close succession i feel now is the time.

[iandouglas]

fuckin hell Iain, should have called in for a cuppa!, i live at the top of hungerford high street

see the classic cars in the main section today? Also a military bike of some sort, WW2.

I went down to a place between Southampton and Salisbury to buy a second hand part - replacement shocker

[iandouglas]

For me has always been a child hood dream and finally thanks to the help of a couple of car accidents in close succession i feel now is the time.

Well, dare I mention it, how about IAM training to help ensure that you don't have a bike accident, I'm training with them, Ok it isn't much fun going 'back to school' as it were but definitely feel the benefit already

[welshwan]

does that have any effect on insurance? if it does i may consider some extra training

[huff_diggler]

Was a 40'th birthday present from my missus, all the lessons and test, it was something i knew I enjoyed as a lad, I had a dt50 aswell as a couple of $hitters for the fields, so I went from cbt to full bike in around 3months, was the hardest thing to accumplish mod1 mod2 theory test etc, bag o nerves. Aswell as out riding the district with a headphone in my ear and my instructor barking like a junk yard dog every time I made a modest mistake, great fella by the name of glen at one way, firm, but patient.

But let me tell you it was well worth the hassle, there was some good times on my lessons, but I started in jan 2012, so I was also fecking cold and sometimes wet, but I was lucky really, weather was good for feb and march.

I really enjoy the elite status of bike rider, I'm not the best, but age experiences keep me having fun, but being careful too. Learning counter steering has been awesome, also big blue sky's and the smell of the countryside is another great thing. Love it.

[iandouglas]

does that have any effect on insurance? if it does i may consider some extra training

pretty marginal I think, there is an initial joining fee of around £130 then £20 pa thereafter, you get a magazine 9there have been some interesting free evening talks -good speakers, motorcycle authors and police specialists) - reckon its only worth 8-10 percent off insurance but I haven't passed so not sure. In my case the bloke next door but one was killed on his bike about 3 yrs ago now and I felt I ought to do something what with all the SMDSYs as well.

Was a 40'th birthday present from my missus, all the lessons and test, it was something i knew I enjoyed as a lad, I had a dt50 aswell as a couple of $hitters for the fields, so I went from cbt to full bike in around 3months, was the hardest thing to accumplish mod1 mod2 theory test etc, bag o nerves. Aswell as out riding the district with a headphone in my ear and my instructor barking like a junk yard dog every time I made a modest mistake, great fella by the name of glen at one way, firm, but patient.

But let me tell you it was well worth the hassle, there was some good times on my lessons, but I started in jan 2012, so I was also fecking cold and sometimes wet, but I was lucky really, weather was good for feb and march.

I really enjoy the elite status of bike rider, I'm not the best, but age experiences keep me having fun, but being careful too. Learning counter steering has been awesome, also big blue sky's and the smell of the countryside is another great thing. Love it.

You are talking about your original bike test here I think, IAM and ROSPA do advanced training, riding defensively I suppose which is largely derived from the way police train - there's no intercoms though as the tutors are all volunteers so you have to follow instructions by looking in your mirrors for the tutors signals behind - that takes a bit of getting used to.

[huff_diggler]

You are talking about your original bike test here I think,

thats right, I hadn't quoted the advanced rider comment, the thread reads " what interests you about biking, biking is my interest as I haven't been passed long