Kind of a long post but bear with me.. its kind of hard for me to write it but i wanted to get it out. Yesterday was a hard day for me, three years ago i lost my brother after he came off his bike at quite some speed, He was my half brother but he was my brother. He built a bike which he called shadow, All our bikes have to have names and this bike was and is very special, nobody but him has ever ridden the bike purely because it was his bike, its been looked after since he passed away but yesterday was just the day when i decided and my real dad decided it was time to get the bike out of the shed and get it back on the road, dont really know why but it just felt right. Got it legal yesterday morning and decided to do something i havent done since he passed away, turn up to a get together in stafford, when i first started riding id go every monday night without fail with my brother but after he passed, it just never felt right so i stopped going, but i went last night, over the years ive lost quite a few friends and family, well theyre all family to me but it was one question i got off a friends girlfriend that just kind of hit me, she asked me why i still ride after ive lost friends and family, why i still ride now that ive got a kid of my own, why i still ride when ive got a girlfriend at home who loves me to pieces and i love her a hell of alot, why i still ride after all of the accidents ive had, why i refuse to stop riding after everything, i couldnt explain it, i couldnt even say anything, i didnt have an answer, but i kind of do now. i ride not because of the bikes, i ride because of the people that come with biking, ive met alot of special people over the past four years that ive been riding who arent just friends, but are family to me, there is no other feeling that could ever compare to riding a bike, knowing that the next ride could be my last is always on my mind and i think we would all be lying if we didnt all accept that harsh fact, every ride could be our very last, when im flying down the road i just forget about all my worries and stresses, i forget about everything, i ride because biking is my life. i already know that i will more than likely die on a bike and that if i do, ill die happy. i dont care what happens in life, i will always be on a bike, its all i know. it may sound gay to some but to those on here, anybody that rides i want to say that your all family, i know im a arsehole (arent we all) but were all family, slowly ive seen the biking community start to fall apart, its all become about money and having the fastest bike and having the latest gear etc and it seems that weve all forgotten what its really about, its about the people that surround us, take it easy out there, dont put yourself in unnecessary danger especially this time of year, leave some extra space between you and the guy in front, allow more time for braking, think twice about the overtake you want to do because you never know if your next ride will be your last. merry christmas guys and have a happy new year.
