Just enjoy!

Gerry Stratford’s feedback aired some interesting facts – and not about Findus Crispy Pancakes or Showaddywaddy.

Could we be witnessing an uptake in those with more than just a taste for the simpler and less complicated things in life, as in a classic or modern retro? I am not just alluding to those born in the Swinging Sixties or before (including I, ahem) when love and Green Shield Stamps made the world go round, but also those waving a fairly recent test pass? Could adventure bikes even be about to catch a sniffle or two?

I consider myself fortunate to enjoy both. Last year my 1250 GSA hardly rocked off its centre-stand. The ancient folding key to my old R100RS was always first. Is it just the ride that matters?

‘The ride’ has many meanings, depending on the rider and age. Said GSA has presence like a cold granite rock face, while the RS an intimacy that the GSA cannot match. Once rolling, the GSA

will wipe its rubber and grin all over the RS. But the RS gets there in its own way, with a more mature kind of soulful satisfaction. 1970s machines knew little in terms of safety aids. Yet, back then, each of us was guided by the greatest riding aid: the human brain. The human brain (accompanied by shoulder checks) were commonplace in keeping us safe, all long before the sight of ABS, radar cruise control, blind spot detection, traction control and 6-way axis IMUS.

Modern safety aids are brilliant. They only have to do their job once, saving our skin for the return journey to a loved one. But they add weight and are expensive. Also do they not come with the potential to make us lazy?

None of us are getting any younger. So, it’s important we grab sun, rain, and the bars at every opportunity. We have never been so fortunate as to have our motorcycling cake and to be able to eat it. Whether that be in a bubble of nostalgia and Castrol R, or just loping along with radar cruise engaged, music, and the destination in our minds. Regardless of what slice of cake you take with your coffee or cuppa – safe riding.

Bertie says: “Thanks for this Jonathan – yours was a most entertaining letter. Sorry we had to crop it a little. And you’re right – whatever spins our crank, let’s just enjoy them all.”