From the age of 16 I wanted to ride a motorbike, but I put it off for more than 30 years for all sorts of very sensible reasons (cost, danger, practicalities, higher priorities etc.) …
… and I’ll admit there was the issue that Mrs Baldwin threatened to divorce me if I succumbed to temptation.
But we have been married for a long time now and the kids are getting older …
And lately, the desire to tick the motorcycle thing off my mental bucket list was strong. My thought process was that I either took the plunge, or accepted that I was never going to do it. I have binned plenty of my dreams/fantasies over the years but this was one that I didn’t want to consign to the skip.
So, on the 17th August, I entered and ultimately passed my CBT. Passing was not a forgone conclusion and there were a number of occasions when I thought I might not “qualify”. Fortunately, it all started to come together for me when out on the road later in the day. In the end, I achieved enough to get my certificate but was all too aware that getting it didn’t exactly make me Barry Sheene. What I would need was a lot more practice.
So, on Sunday 26th, I bought myself a motorbike.
The old-boy-buying-a-motorbike story has of course resulted in me being accused of having a mid-life crisis (that accusation initially levelled by Mrs Baldwin on Facebook) and I have had to acknowledge that there is some truth in it. My mid-life standing is of course without doubt, the “crisis” element is worthy of some reflection.
For me, it was never about rediscovering my lost youth or making myself more attractive to women (though both outcomes would be okay too). My issue was simply time – it going by at pace and even beginning to run out, at least in terms of learning and then having the time to graduate up the motorcycle hierarchy of licences and engine CCs. As a mid-lifer, I know that I am not invincible and can’t take it for granted that my health and physical fitness (such as it is) will accompany me into my fifties and beyond.
Mastering my little red 125 Yamaha has become the latest challenge for me.
My first, and frankly Herculean comfort-zone-slasher, was driving it back the 72 miles from the outskirts of High Wycombe in what felt like monsoon conditions. The bloody rain was torrential.
The Moto GP at Silverstone got cancelled because the weather was so bad. But it didn’t stop me!
Not perhaps the brightest introduction to the world of two-wheeled motoring. Brave … maybe. Stupid … most probably. I was riding a new bike through places I had never been with no maps or satnav to guide me.
By the time I got home, I was soaked through to the skin and shivering. I kid you not, my boots were full of water and my leathers (jacket and gloves) leaked so much black dye into my arms/hands that it looked like I had sleeve tattoos. But …
… at least my first solo motorcycle trip didn’t see me crash it.
I have since added another 150 miles to the odometer and am a lot more competent/confident than I was on the 26th. Fortunately, the Yamaha is not fast and it takes a while to get to not fast too. Being very conscious of my inexperience, I also ride it sensibly, for sure a damn sight more carefully than I drive my car anyway (or would have ridden a motorbike in my youth). I don’t try to look cool either, obvious ‘L’ plates, a plain white helmet and a high vis vest accompany me on every trip. Be safe, be seen is my mantra …
And crisis or not, that’s so middle aged!
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… and I’ll admit there was the issue that Mrs Baldwin threatened to divorce me if I succumbed to temptation.
But we have been married for a long time now and the kids are getting older …
And lately, the desire to tick the motorcycle thing off my mental bucket list was strong. My thought process was that I either took the plunge, or accepted that I was never going to do it. I have binned plenty of my dreams/fantasies over the years but this was one that I didn’t want to consign to the skip.
So, on the 17th August, I entered and ultimately passed my CBT. Passing was not a forgone conclusion and there were a number of occasions when I thought I might not “qualify”. Fortunately, it all started to come together for me when out on the road later in the day. In the end, I achieved enough to get my certificate but was all too aware that getting it didn’t exactly make me Barry Sheene. What I would need was a lot more practice.
So, on Sunday 26th, I bought myself a motorbike.
The old-boy-buying-a-motorbike story has of course resulted in me being accused of having a mid-life crisis (that accusation initially levelled by Mrs Baldwin on Facebook) and I have had to acknowledge that there is some truth in it. My mid-life standing is of course without doubt, the “crisis” element is worthy of some reflection.
For me, it was never about rediscovering my lost youth or making myself more attractive to women (though both outcomes would be okay too). My issue was simply time – it going by at pace and even beginning to run out, at least in terms of learning and then having the time to graduate up the motorcycle hierarchy of licences and engine CCs. As a mid-lifer, I know that I am not invincible and can’t take it for granted that my health and physical fitness (such as it is) will accompany me into my fifties and beyond.
Mastering my little red 125 Yamaha has become the latest challenge for me.
My first, and frankly Herculean comfort-zone-slasher, was driving it back the 72 miles from the outskirts of High Wycombe in what felt like monsoon conditions. The bloody rain was torrential.
The Moto GP at Silverstone got cancelled because the weather was so bad. But it didn’t stop me!
Not perhaps the brightest introduction to the world of two-wheeled motoring. Brave … maybe. Stupid … most probably. I was riding a new bike through places I had never been with no maps or satnav to guide me.
By the time I got home, I was soaked through to the skin and shivering. I kid you not, my boots were full of water and my leathers (jacket and gloves) leaked so much black dye into my arms/hands that it looked like I had sleeve tattoos. But …
… at least my first solo motorcycle trip didn’t see me crash it.
I have since added another 150 miles to the odometer and am a lot more competent/confident than I was on the 26th. Fortunately, the Yamaha is not fast and it takes a while to get to not fast too. Being very conscious of my inexperience, I also ride it sensibly, for sure a damn sight more carefully than I drive my car anyway (or would have ridden a motorbike in my youth). I don’t try to look cool either, obvious ‘L’ plates, a plain white helmet and a high vis vest accompany me on every trip. Be safe, be seen is my mantra …
And crisis or not, that’s so middle aged!
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