What is a biker

                                                      "riding a push bike doesn't make you a biker"

The above is a very valid quote from a young lad I know on Facebook who is himself into bikes it was his response to a profile picture I posted of myself with the UBAKA patch which was provided by a good friend and UBAKA member.

He is 100% right in that riding a bicycle doesn't make you a biker, however due to health issues an electric bicycle is what I choose to ride these days.

This does not mean that I am not still a biker, for many years I rode motorcycles, I spent more time skidding down the tarmac on my rear than I did with it on the seats of the bikes I've owned and came to the conclusion it was safer for all if I didn't ride any more.

In the past Twenty years I have been an active member and affiliate member of many Motorcycle clubs, Out of Touch Mcc, NHMA (national association for bikers with disabilities), Captives national (affiliated member), Bedford MAG (motorcycle action group) and more recently I am getting involved with UBAKA (Urban Bikers Against Kid Abuse) a very worthy cause.

I have also been to many bike rallies over the years, endured the embarrassment of being a rally virgin, contributed in the embarrassment of other rally virgins, partied till the sun came up.

Yet to me none of these things are what truly make a person a biker, by all means they all contribute to it but the one thing that always stood out to me about the people I came into contact with all over the country on my travels was FAMILY, being a biker is about brother and sisterhood, Comradery and respect.

I know many bikers, like myself, that no longer ride, whether this be for financial reasons, health or other valid reasons this doesn't make them any less a biker than the woman speeding past on a Kawazaki Ninja or the ageing harley rider you see cruising along or even the young lad on his 125cc learner bike. 

Being a biker is a way of life, for quite a few years i was out of the biking scene I tried to be something I wasn't but getting back in touch with my first ever club ( Out Of Touch Mcc) and a lot of my old club friends, made me remember what it was all about, once a biker, always a biker there is no escaping it if it is in your blood.

I could go on all day about all the fantastic people I have met and the lessons they taught me, the experiences I would never have known about let alone felt if I had not come into contact with bikers in the first place but this post is more about what being a biker means to me.

Yes I may not ride a motorcycle any more, but I am still a biker through and through.

Love Honour and Respect