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| Mike's great-grandfather on his 500cc DKW, no Goretex in those days! |
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The lady on the second bike from right is Mike's
great-grandmother, photo taken ca 1949 |
Why does anyone like motorcycling. I guess that question has different answers depending on who you ask. With Mike it's probably in the genes. He recently posted a photo of his great-grandmother posing before his mums bike. Which had all sort of replies and even resulted in more photos being un-earthed and mailed to us! Which inspired me to write this post. It seems that motorcycling is more 'in' our family than any of us realised! Mike's great-granddad from his mother's side had a DKW 500 2-stroke twin. His grandfather from his fathers' side has racing experience in the 50cc 2-stroke class with a Demm. He even managed to get in the newspaper with that when he crashed it into a car and ended up in hospital in the process. The article was called 'Mum's fear!' Later he also bought a DKW Norton 16H and went to work for years on a CZ. He ended up in hospital for the second time, years later, when his Honda 750 went in a speed wobble.
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| … and the same lady in 2014! |
His dad, that's me, started riding at 11 years of age and managed to do a full and totally unplanned summer-sault one year later… on an off-road racetrack. Luckily I was wearing a helmet… as I literally landed on my head. My first road bike was a Honda 350-4. While still on a learner plate I 'progressed' to a Honda 750!
His mum, Jeanette, started riding at 22 years of age on a 350 Moto Guzzi. We've had a whole collection of bikes over the years, ranging from the worst Bonneville ever made ('71) to an MZ 250 with sidecar. When Mike's neck was deemed strong enough for a helmet, he found a spot in the Royal Enfield with Velorex sidecar. At 3 years of age he went on his first long motorcycle trip… is it in the genes? More 'chucked in with a spoon' I'd say. I guess it must be embedded in his brain :-)
Mike's own motorcycling experience started when he was 12, with a Yamaha 125 off-road bike when we were living at an Australian Outback station. His first road bike came at 16 years of age and is the same one he is now on a trip around the world on!
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| Mike's first road bike, he just passed his license test and only months before starting his trip around the world… on the same bike! |
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| His first road miles started on gravel, on the driveway of our shack/house in Tasmania |
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| The MOST test, part of the motorcycle license in Tasmania, Mike is nearest to the camera |
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| Pre-world trip 'testing' in Tasmania. Jeanette's Bonnie SE proved useless on gravel due to the 17" wheel and was traded-in for a T100. |
