FROM THE FRONT
Haven’t there been a lot of issues of Realclassic? And yes, this is a rhetorical question. I’ve been reading through some old copies for reasons which I’ve already forgotten and found myself sifting through a stack of memories from a very long time ago. This is our two hundredth and forty-first issue. There are twelve months in a year. You are as capable as I of simple arithmetic, I’m sure.
Twenty years is a remarkable length of time. Even more remarkable is that we’re proud to have retained several readers who were with us from the very first issue – which had a Triumph Thunderbird on the cover. And so…
Ignoring all the debate about what constitutes a ‘real’ classic – as ever, feel free to share your own thoughts with us! – back when we started out our main definition of the term was something like ‘real old bikes being ridden in the real world’. Something like that. No mention of the age of the bikes, nor their riders, nor even their country of origin. We had honestly never imagined that two decades later some folk would still proudly announce that they have no interest in anything built after – say – 1967, or built in India, or with knobbly tyres, or painted purple. Or anything really, it sometimes appears, rather to my amusement.
I just ride what I enjoy riding, which is how it’s been since I could afford to buy bikes I actually wanted to ride, rather than just the cheapest old horrors I could acquire for a dull thruppence and get going somehow. I was very good with sohc Honda CB125 singles, for a while. Had a neighbour who worked at Vauxhall in Ellesmere Port who could fit bushes to the worn out camshaft pillars in their heads… I digress.
Another unusual feature which has been with us for ever and ever has been our wish to use as many stories written by riders writing about their own bikes. Those are still my own favourite tales, you might be surprised to learn. A sub-group pf stories was about riders writing about actually riding their bikes, not just tales of acquisition, restoration and showing off. We had an occasional series called ‘Thirty Miles An Hour’, or just ‘30mph’, which is easier and shorter, but nothing to do with speed limits. Some of those tales were glorious – as I’ve been reminding myself over the last couple of days.
The idea was simple, as the best ideas often are. Simply take your favourite bike (very old, old, not so old, not old at all) on a favourite route and describe the experience. Tell us about the bike, why you like it in particular, why you chose the route (any recommended cafés?) and why you like that in particular, too. Stop at scenic locations and take a few (BIG) photos, then tell us all where, when, why and how you chose those particular spots. Rain or (more likely) shine. Anywhere at all, not just in the UK.
I really do enjoy riding stories and would like to see more of them in our magazine. And it would also be truly fascinating to observe which bikes you choose to ride and your reasons why. So this is an invitation. Thirty miles (or so, it’s not important) in an hour (the same; approximately is good) on a favourite or particularly interesting bike. If I can, I’ll start the ball rolling soon – an hour’s ride from RCHQ can take in the coastline and some moors. Hmmm…
Ride safely
Frank Westworth Frank@realclassic.net