I have always had petrol in the veins and at times, diesel.
I was lucky to be born into a home full of petrol as my Dad was involved
heavily in the motor trade on a technical level and in his earlier years, in
motorsport. Unfortunately, he passed at Christmas 93 but his passion was passed
onto me. I have been involved for a long time in the Italian car scene in both
modern and classics. I’ve served my time as a mechanic with Fiat, Alfa and
Lancia.

Well I suppose you may ask when and where did the bikes come
from, but I am a typical midlife biker as I got my learner permit a few weeks
before the big 4-0 and completed my IBT a fortnight after the big birthday. The
interest in bikes came from two very good friends, Cormac and Freddie who I
would have tinkered at the bikes with, but I’d never rode one before. They gave
me advice on what to go for and a project cb500 came home. A few jobs and a bit
of cleaning, she was on the road and I never looked back.

There have been a few more bikes added, a cbx750 as my
classic, an FJ1200 for some touring in the future and for my Italian itch a
little Ducati Monster. How I got involved with the Shed here in Mountrath
starts a few months previous when I met Tom and John in junction 14 while we
all headed up to the Bike for Jade run. We stayed in contact and at the start
of 2019 they told me about the new premises they had secured. It needed work
but I wanted to get involved and it didn’t feel a bit like work as the laughs
that were had and the everlasting friendships that were made will stay with me.

Bike life to me has been about the machines and working on
them as while rebuilding them I have made a new family. They talk about the
biker family but until you experience it, you don’t realise the quality of a
biker family. A biker will always pull over and check you are ok if you are
pulled up even if they are not on their bike.

What the shed means to me;
It is a place to work on bikes and to share knowledge and, also to learn as every day is a school day. The social side is so important as the characters that come in and out are just the best in the world. You also have that caring side as everyone will check everyone got home safe which might seem like a small thing but it does mean a lot as we are the most vulnerable road users out there and just a second can change so much.

To sum it up for me bike life is something I am so grateful
to have found and something I don’t think I could live without. I myself along
with the team look forward to meeting ye all on the road, in the shed or out at
the rallies.