Speaker 1 Speaker 5

Man:  There’s nothing like getting on a motorbike, it’s wonderful. All my life, I’ve never travelled any other way. I was eleven years of age when I first started on my brother’s bike. I had my iicence in 1955 and when a company in Birmingham advertised for a test rider, I applied and got it. I had to ride all the bikes they made from 1957 through to 1978 which included hill climbs, reliability trials and speedway races. After the company closed down, I did trick riding with my brother. We called ourselves ’The Partners Dare’, but by then, of course, it was only a hobby.

Woman:  My mother bought me a bike as soon as I had my licence and she used to ride thousands of miles on the back in those days and then when I started side-car competitions, she used to come with me as the side-car partner. In those days we did a lot of races together -- just for fun. She was wonderful, the same weight as me, so the balance was marvellous, and she used to enjoy it. I don’t know what the rest of the family really thought about it, but my brothers are deeply admiring now, their wives won’t let them ride motorbikes, so they look lovingly at mine sometimes.