THE BEST LAID PLANS OF MICE AND MEN, EH?
Last issue Isaid Iwasn't going to ride due to the Covid-19 chaos, didn't I? Well, I managed seven weeks (the longest I've not ridden, unless I've been physically incapable, since 1983 actually), and I'm still not really riding, but the other Saturday Idid weaken...
Two things were weird about the experience. Firstly, Iremember reading what Steve Myatt wrote in the mag many, many years ago about the similarity of a biker getting dressed ready to go out on their bike to a knight from England's medieval past putting on his armour prior to going into battle, but I didn't really see it meself. Is'pose it's cos, not having any other form of transport for so long, putting on bike gear of a morning was something Ijust did pretty much every day without really thinking about it too much, if at all. It was such a commonplace experience that it didn't strike me as anything out of the ordinary. The other Saturday, though, when I decided to break me own curfew, and went upstairs to get me kit on, I remembered, for some unknown reason (other than the fact that I have a mind full of useless bike-related trivia), his words, and they kind o' struck a chord. Yeah, I know that me putting on a pair of Kevlar long-johns, Knox knee armour, and high-top armoured bike trainers, and then pulling on me battered old bike jacket, carefully making sure there aren't any gaps where cold air can get it, sliding my neck-tube down over me bonce to prevent draughts, adjusting the fit of my helmet so that it sits just so, doing up the double D-ring of the strap, and pulling in my gloves, doesn't really resemble in any way, shape or form the ritual a knight'd go through to put on the armour that'd keep him alive in battle, but I can now see Steve's point - there's an element of dressing for battle in putting on bike gear, a kind of psychological, and physical obviously, preparation for dealing with a potentially lifethreatening thing that you're about to go and do. Istill think it's a bit too introspective, a bit too navel-gazey, but I do get it now. Perhaps I've been spending too much time on me own...
The second thing that was odd was the ride itself... well, actually not the ride itself, but the effect it had on me. The ride itself, y'see, was pretty dull - just a six-mile trot up to a local town to go to the baker did need bread, but that was kind o' an excuse) during which Idoubt Iwent over about 60mph, and didn't really lean around bends 'cos there aren't any to speak of on that road, but it was the feeling I had when Iarrived. I'd been a bit irritable, a bit grouchy, a bit out of sorts for a couple of days beforehand, and Ididn't really know why, but after just six miles on the bike, as Istood in the sociallydistancing queue in the centre of the small town, Ididn't feel like that any more - not at all. No, my mind was calm, Iwas content, and Ifound, even though there was no one I knew there to smile at, that my face'd settled into a look of happy serenity. It was only six feckin' miles, ferrchrisakes - how come Iwas so chilled? I've long thought, and indeed talked about in the past, that bikes are a kind of drug, probably the most addictive one there is, and this, to me, was just another confirmation - prior to the ride I'd been, I suppose, like a junkie who really needed a fix and, once I'd had it, just like with junkies, the world was a better place.
Like Isaid I'm still not really riding 'cos I've not been out since then, other than to do the article, and video, for the longterm Katana feature this issue, and at the moment I don't feel any need to. Wonder how long it'll be before I need my next fix though?
If you were looking to take your bike to one of our BSH Custom Champs rounds this year, but can't because, obviously, like the majority of bike events this summer, they've been cancelled due to the corona-lurgy, then simply surf on over to either the BSH Facebook Page or Group, and post a pie of it in the thread there.
We're running the Champs virtually this year but, apart from that, everything stays the same - the winners of each round (well, month - we're doing it month by month this time) will get put into a final, judged by a panel of esteemed custom bike luminaries, and the ones picked from that'll be the stars of our Custom Heroes display at Motorcycle Live! at the NEC in November with trophies, and prize money, and nights in posh hotels, an' that.
This means that, without ever leaving your garage, you could win one of the most exclusive custom shows in the world, and your bike can potentially be voted one of the best there is. And you thought this bastard virus'd taken all the joy out of the summer, eh?
See you next issue!