Today March 8th, 2020 is the fourth anniversary of my motorcycle accident in Western Australia. An accident that was so bad I had to be airlifted 1000 miles to the nearest hospital and would take the best part of a year to recover from. The crash also terminated a once in a lifetime motorcycle adventure and wrote off my brand-new modified Kawasaki KLR650. It was also my daughters 22nd birthday. I remember the day vividly - who wouldn't? Fast forward four years, my daughter is married, I am as fit as I will ever be, and I am the proud owner of three motorcycles; one of which is a 2014 Kawasaki KLR650; a replacement for the one I buried in Western Australia. The weather forecast last night indicated that it was going to be a perfect day for a motorcycle ride. It started at 2am with the clocks going forward one hour. When I left home at 8:30 am it was just 3 degrees C, but you could feel the sun warming everything up almost by the minute. First stop was Bikes and Breakfast at Clifton, Virginia just 8 miles away where around 60+ other people took advantage of the beautiful sunny day. A quick cup of hot coffee to warm me up, a walk around to view the bikes and a number of conversations later, I had to leave Clifton to meet up with another bunch of likeminded people in Aldie, Virginia some 20 miles away. This was not just a meet up but a ride. The plan was to do some off road, dirt track riding. It was a spur of the moment thing for me, and it seemed like the perfect day to ride the KLR650. Whilst riding the unsealed roads and dirt tracks, I was reflecting on what had happened on the same day four years previously. It made me feel really grateful for everything I have in my life. My wife, my family, my friends, my work and of course my triplet of bikes and all my motorcyle buddies. It is only whilst riding my motorcycle that I can have these thoughts. Every time I ride, I always count my blessings, its very satisfying.
