Well finally it was time to begin the next epic adventure by motorcycle and hence this new chapter in my career as a rider,competitor, dealer,collector,preserver & parader one that will cover over 60000kms of which at least 25000 should be in the saddle.

A is for Armidale. Armidale in New South Wales is unique to not only me but also is the birthplace of my interest in motorcycling both professionally and privately.

Armidale is the highest city in Australia so brings some chilling highlights to a riders daily routine.

Armidale is also the city where I was first introduced to the world of motorcycles namely by my late father who himself had been a motorcycle rider (yes a Harley Davidson & sidecar) well before he met my mother a horse woman.

My first owned motorcycles were a 1963 Honda C102E, electric start 50cc Step Thru scooter, which I still own and the other was at a different end of the spectrum as it was a 500cc BSA that took both legs and a leaning post for me to manage to start. Once underway it was fine and would roar around our small farm as a Agricultural bike. It was also the start of a desire to use a different type of motorcycle to the norm for many of my rides and hence a growing passion to collect and preserve unique machines so that others in years to come will have the opportunity not only to see the machines of the past but actually hear and see them in operation be that at parade laps, club rideouts or by invitation. My agricultural bikes included the non traditionals such as a Yamaha RZ500 V4 & a Kawasaki Z900 neither an ideal Agbike but preserved by "ëarning their bread"

Readers from the past rides will recall the Suzuki RG500 square 4 that took me to The Isle of Man in 2011 to do a fast lap of the Mountain Course for the 100th anniversary year.

Others may have read about the MV Agusta F3 that was taken back home to Varese in Italy, then appeared at the North West 200 in Northern Ireland in what has become traditionally a washed out meeting. later it arrived at the historic GP track at Assen as well as a fast lap at Nururbring.

Last year 2017 was a ab lib solo effort to the United Staes & Canada to "Take the Indian Home". My Indian Scout travelled to all the "homes" of The Indian Motorcycle Company by a visit to Gilroy, California, Spirit Lake, Kings Mountain & on July 23,2017 it arrived in Springfield MA the traditional Indian home to attend Indian Day.

Close followers will be saying but was not their a very large and long trip to many of the old eastern Bloc countries of Europe in 2015?

Yes the reason I briefly bypassed that trip was to sync it into this trip. In 2015 I took my Triumph Sprint ST as my ride and this particular bike was reunited with its original owners Greg & Kerrie Lane in Europe where they had previously taken it as well as to the United States so a much travelled and loved motorcycle is back in Europe awaiting my arrival in Greece then onto Glisey France and again a happy reunion with the Lane's.