A New Chapter

One of my earliest memories was sitting on the tank of my dads Triumph Bonneville while he rode it around the flower beds of our front garden. At that young age the punchy exhaust note seemed deafening but I felt completely safe as dad piloted the bike around, me between his arms. I guess this was the start of my ingrained passion for bikes along with the many bike shows I later went with him to on that same bike, shown above. To others my dad might have seemed a rough, long haired, bearded scruffy biker but to me he was an inventor, teacher, best mate and story teller. I savored and loved every time down the shed with him, building up his Harley-Davidson, teaching me how to wield a spanner, and fixing those problems on my 125 and bandit that his many years on bikes had taught him and mistakes to avoid. I enjoyed every second as pillion on his Harley, Buell and Triumph, and the countless hours either at home or over Skype at Uni simply chatting about bike parts, what we'd been up to and what we thought was cool.

He lost a seven year battle with asbestos cancer on 26th September and passed away at home, with me by his side.

I hadn't felt like writing anything here since, or even a while before hence the scarcity of posts since August. I have been up to many things in the intervening time; fixing my bandit up, making it onto my second year at uni studying mechanical engineering, and of course sorting out the life dad left behind. However before he passed we made a deal that no matter what, I was going to finish my uni course, and he wanted me to finish a bike that would win something in a "proper" show. And so I will to the best I can.
So here the next chapter of my life begins...
nineteen, with just over a month until my end of year exams for my second year at uni, a large stable of mostly unfinished bikes, the worry of having to find work in order to live during holidays, and a lifetime of dads collecting and memories to organise.
This period has taught me how strong my family, especially my mum and grandad can be as well as the power of my mates to pull me up when I'm down and put a smile on my face. It's shown me who I am, and what I need to be. So here's to fighting against the odds, putting out some fine bikes over the coming years, nailing this degree and generally getting back on track and having a good time!