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Summer 2024 Update

Things have been a bit quiet with Beginner Biker Adventures recently, as you may have seen on my occasional Insta, I’ve had to pause things to deal with family. Last summer out of the blue, my Dad was diagnosed with stage-4 oesophageal cancer and a pretty crap prognosis.

Cue 12 months of the family rallying around to provide care and support my Dad, through palliative chemo with its ups and downs. It was a tough battle with only one endpoint. But that didn’t stop my Dad from fighting, out of sheer stubbornness, tenacity and refusal to give up – an attitude he lived by. I count our blessing that at the very end, he was comfortable, in no pain and with his family by his side. These moments stay with you.

We all miss my Dad terribly and are still adjusting to life with the gap left behind. To repeat a quote from his funeral from a song that meant a lot to him:

Breathe, breathe in the air.
Don’t be afraid to care.
Leave but don’t leave me.
Look around and choose your own ground.

Long you live and high you fly
And smiles you’ll give and tears you’ll cry
And all you touch and all you see
Is all your life will ever be.

– Breathe, Pink Floyd (Waters, Gilmour, Wright)

Take it easy folks, take care of those close to you, and make the most of every day. Life is short and who knows what tomorrow may bring. I’ll be back soon, after a good measure of riding and motorcycle therapy. Ride safe!

Donate to Cancer Research UK here.

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We’re in such a hurry most of the time…

“We’re in such a hurry most of the time we never get much chance to talk. The result is a kind of endless day-to-day shallowness, a monotony that leaves a person wondering years later where all the time went and sorry that it’s all gone. ”

Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values

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Random Encounters Video – Scotland Style

Random encounters when out riding in Scotland are quite different to what I used to encounter in London. Check out this short video of some of my recent daily observations from riding around Scotland.

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Have you bumped into anything wild on your riding adventures, do comment below, I’d love to hear more.

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Lost in Scotland

Don’t worry, we’re still here! I’m afraid we haven’t had the chance to produce much new content for this blog or my YouTube channel lately. Mainly due to our recent house move, getting settled in, my day job and other stuff.

The house move in early October was a bit stressful (aren’t all house moves?) Things weren’t finalised to the very last second and due to awkward demands of our buyers, we had to stay with family for a week between houses. Nonetheless, we’re now mostly settled in, we’ve unpacked most of our boxes, kids are settled into their new school and we’ve even managed to get out on the bikes a little! The new house is amazing, in a lovely area, the neighbours are great, there’s so much more space and we have a huge double garage which feels like absolute luxury after our old middle-of-terrace tiny house in London.

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Big Changes Ahead – Relocation Plans

As you may know, if you’ve been following this blog closely, we have been planning to relocate out of London, but last week things just got real. Our house went on the market and we accepted an offer a few days later! After months of planning and preparation, the madness is in full swing.

A frantic dash up to Scotland followed to view as many houses as we could, whereupon we found a decent place in Stirling that ticked most of our boxes. There’s always some compromises to be made, but our top priority requirements were met; location, good nearby school, size, home office, big garage etc. Our offer was accepted (phew!) and now we have the nail-biting wait to get all the finances and solicitors gubbins lined up for the next couple of months. Fingers crossed everything goes smoothly with no hiccups, these things can (and do) go tits up, so I’m not counting my chickens just yet. But it’s a good start to a huge and exciting change of lifestyle.

So, apologies for the slight lack of content recently, preparing our house for sale has taken up a lot of time and things will likely be in a state of turmoil for a little while yet. But watch this space, for news on our big Scottish adventure!

 

Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.

James Dean

“put out the lights on the Age of Reason.”

– Here Comes the War, New Model Army

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You’re not a proper biker until…

Long Haul Biker GearThink you’re a proper biker? Think you know your motorcycles inside and out? Reckon you’ve ridden everywhere there is to ride? Are you really a proper biker who has done all there is to do on a bike? Well, let’s see if you’ve done all of these!

You’re not a proper biker until you have:

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Happy 4th July!

“You got a helmet?”
“Oh, I’ve got a helmet! I got a beauty!”

 

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Good Morning 2017!

Brand Hatch track day
Brand Hatch track day

Well, 2016 was quite a year; so many great musicians and celebs dying; the whole Brexit fiasco, Big Mother Theresa May in power and not to mention despicable Trump being elected. It’s difficult to look back and take stock of the good stuff that happened. But, my wife finally finished her PhD, my best mate from college got married,  I popped my track day cherry and even managed a whole year without falling off!

As for new year’s resolutions and forthcoming plans, here’s just a few:

  • More track days. It was great last year at Brands Hatch, definitely want to do more.
  • Off road riding. Something I’ve never done, but definitely want to do.
  • Do more videos. Haven’t had chance to do many lately, but I have some ideas I want to realise.
  • Help my wife get through her IAM. She starts this month, so look out for some reports on her progress.

Many thanks for all the support and following us in the past, I wish you all a great new year of biking!