The life of a biker as never seen before
The stereotypical view of bikers and ‘gang culture’ is
turned on its head in this documentary, offering the insight into the life of
52 year old biker, John Bradley. This episode is one of the eleven-part series ‘A
Day In The Life’, on every Tuesday.
The father-of-two shows that biking is not all Hell’s Angels
and conflict, but a hobby to be enjoyed communally or alone. “I love getting up
early and going on a long ride out by myself. When the roads are empty and the
only company I have is the sound of my engine, that’s when I’m most content.”
Not to be mistaken for only going out alone, John adds “In the Summer I love
attending bike rallys and festivals: Stormin’ The Castle, The Wickerman
Festival and whatever else I have time for. The atmosphere is amazing and it’s
great to have a walk around admiring all of the bikes.”
The hour-long episode takes you to the North East where John
and his Harley Davidson become second nature to you. He is aware of the dangers
of biking and feels more motorists need to take looking for motorbikes on the
road more seriously, “It doesn’t take long to take a second look, especially at
junctions. The window panels can easily obstruct a driver’s view and bikers
shouldn’t have to have such a fear of carelessness.”
Despite the obvious dangers, the documentary shows the
excitement and addictive rush of adrenaline biking supplies. In fact, the
pleasure is so great one of John’s friends beat a more dangerous addiction by
taking up biking instead, “A man I met at Stormin’ The Castle last year told me
about his battle with drugs growing up, which had eventually led to heroin
abuse. His brother-in-law convinced him to take up biking and now he’s three
years clean. Cold turkey, just like that.”
More incredible stories are revealed within the episode as
well as a factual perspective on all involved in keeping and maintaining a
motorbike.
Although it’s not all fresh air and chrome for John, whose
wife Bernadette looks at biking a little differently, especially when their
daughters are involved. “I’ve known John since I was 18 and he had a motorbike
even then. I would never stop him doing something he enjoys but when he first
started taking the girls out on the back I would be on edge until they
returned. Luckily for me as they’ve gotten older they don’t go with him as
much, I’m just dreading the day one of them comes in and tells me they want
their own!”
Bikers or non-bikers, this is not a one worth missing. With
a full tank of petrol anything is possible.
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