REMINISCING – MEMORIES OF THE DISREPUTABLE YEARS OF BIKING

I DON’T KNOW IF YOU REMEMBER ONE OF THE REAL CHARACTERS OF THE BIKE SCENE IN THE 1990S AND EARLY 2000S, MARK GEDDES AND HIS AMAZING V-MAX CUSTOM ‘GRIZZLY’?

MEand Mark became quite good mates, and for years he’d always said that, one day, he’d let me have a go on Grizz – something that was pretty much unheard of as, as those who knew him’d know, no-one got anywhere near his bike. I don’t remember which year it was, but at the very first BSH Piss-Up in the Peaks, held towards the end of September that year, he announced that the ‘Max was booked in for significant work that winter.

“Cool,” sez I, “no excuse to let me have a go on it then!”

He very nervously agreed, and I headed off to grab me Simpson and me gloves. As I climbed aboard his pride n’ joy, he gave me the full lecture, and a dire threat of what’d happen to me if I damaged it, which I completely ignored, and nailed it off out of the car park of the Bull i’th’Thorn and on to the A515.

A minute or two later I came back past the pub far, far in excess of the posted 60mph speed limit, revelling in the power of the big bore Yamaha engine and the massively improved handling of the top-of-the-range Ohlins forks and shocks. I caught, out of the corner of me eye, the sight of Mark standing looking very worried by the side of the road, and someone next to him talking, but didn’t take much notice as the road had a slight bend in it and I was going very (very!) fast.

A couple of minutes later I returned to the car park, absolutely buzzing ‘cos the bike was amazing, to find an absolutely apoplectically angry Mark waiting for me.

“You bastard!” he said, “why didn’t you tell me?”

“Wot?”

“You didn’t tell me about your medical problem!” He ranted, spitting slightly.

“What medical problem?” I asked, looking at him as if he was mad.

“Your f**king inner ear balance problem,” he shouted. “I know you’ve been to the doctor about it!”

“What?!? What f**king inner ear balance problem? I don’t have an inner ear balance problem, what are you on about?”

“That bloke told me you had an inner ear balance problem,” he screamed. “He said you’d been to the doctor about it!”

“Which bloke?” I asked.

“That one, that one over there!”

“What, Rick Hulse?” I said.

“What?” He said, “Ohh, f ****** k…”

Rick, at this point, was having to hold on to a wall for laughing so hard…