‘A bit of silliness is good for your mental health’

This time last year, I had my ‘Mystic Bunce’ hat on, trying to predict the trends in the classic market for 2021. I’m not sure how well I did, but this year I’m going to try another approach by trying to encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and enjoy a new classic experience. So here are three new year suggestions for 2022. Get to know your bike better. You’ll be surprised at how rewarding this can be. Take on a job you wouldn’t usually do yourself. That could be anything from a really deep down clean to a full engine rebuild. Focus on the process not the result. Don’t rush it. Do some research, take advice, get the right tools and enjoy learning about how your bike works. Get the original hard-copy factory documentation in the form of handbooks and manuals Understand and prepare for the tasks ahead before you start. The pride of selfmaintaining and knowing all is well with your machine is a very personal pleasure. Ride somewhere new on your old bike. Don’t just head for the same old bikers’ meet or a circular route you can ride with your eyes closed. Choose a destination beyond your normal rides. Pick a beautiful landscape or an overnight stay, an event or even a classic track day or long-distance trial as the focus. You’ll enjoy the planning as much as the riding. Putting tools together and maps (leave the phone in your pocket for emergencies, though) make it feel special. And get a copy of the Rudge Book of the Road to appreciate how much we’ve forgotten the excitement of the journey itself. It’s a great read. Try a smaller bike – in addition to or instead of your regular classic. As we get older, bigger bikes can become burdensome and it’s easy to forget how much fun our first bikes were. They’re the machines that got us into this in the first place, after all. Riding the wheels off a small-capacity twostroke, for instance, can put a big grin on your face like you haven’t seen since your teens. And it feels good! A bit of silliness is good for your mental health, so indulge yourself and enjoy the simple pleasure of thrashing around on a lightweight classic. There are loads more new experiences out there, too. I’m sure you can come up with a few of your own. But whatever you decide, make sure 2022 is the year you recapture all the fun of riding, admiring, working on and generally enjoying old bikes. You won’t regret it.