The BioSphere Pat Patrick Barclay, Nationality; South African Born; Durban, ‘53 model. Connotations; Half Irish, half Dutch, South African passport, Body in Bulgaria, Heart in Israel. Education; yes. Accolades; Merits; Distintshions; Bad speller. Accomplishments; Still alive. Moto1; TIGA (trust in G/D Always) Moto2; Try. Hobbies; Motorcycles, travel, music. Being married. Dave asked me, or was it rather insisted, that I add in a few lines about stuff, claiming his friendship was on the line. Actually I don’t think many can really call most people they know as friends; probably real friends are counted on one hand. Yea and normally they’re the ones who got the balls to tell you that you’re an idiot, or when you insist on doing some ridiculous acts of stupidity they’re the only ones who will give you a slap when you lying in your own bowl of dust or wallowing in self pity, on some high horse or whatever. Being a Triumph rider this puts one certainly into a category within the biker’s fraternity, which is in itself an exclusive level of which most societies generally disdain at best of times? In other words a Triumph rider is a bit of a pole cat even amongst bikers. Having owned about six Triumphs which may sound terribly impressive but in the mid ‘70s when most of the Triumphs were not much more than baskets cases, or even as you dragged some forlorn rusted Triumph Bonny out of a chicken run, you may notice a big smile on the house owners face as he gets this old rubbish scrap heap cleaned out of his back yard “for free”? Indeed when I first saw a Honda 750 in 1969, it sure was impressive: shiny, 4 cyls., discs, starter, 4 carbs, it sure impressed the socks off a small town boy, then living in Vryheid northern Natal at the time? My first bike I got on the road was a ’59 pre-unit Thunderbird, and after this a ’69 Bonny, this was at last something to take on the Hondas. There were but a very few Brits bikes around the JAPS had all but conquered the bike market, and the Brit bikes were destined for mocking, scorn, or scrap heap or so the Honda 4 owners thought. However when they looked in the rear view mirrors and some oil spitting, vibrating, twin cylinder push-rodder was hanging onto the slip stream… A BSA rocket 3 suddenly appeared amidst the fraternity of Durban bikers, down from Pietermaritzburg. It too was to be mocked, until of course the snarky smiles vanished when this howling 3 cylinder did not need the slip stream at all to keep up with the Hondas. Indeed at top end it was tapping off to let them catch up, and then it would roar off again pushrods and all, leaving the screaming Hondas rather perturbed. And when things got real personal, like up at the valley of a thousand hills (very twisty roads) the Honda boys had rather difficult times to get ahead of the nimble 650 Bonnies (not too difficult to outmaneuver a bike with a Morris minor motor in it) the Bonnies would run circles around the lumbering Honda’s. In Durban’s bike scrap yards you will find hundreds of bikes, I doubt if you will see any Triumphs, they are all at the classic bike clubs and more valuable today than when they were new. I have had a bunch of other bikes, bought and sold mainly; Yamaha’s, Ducati’s, a BMW, a Morini (yuk), Honda Goldwing, (block of flats) and some gorgeous Laverda’s. I suppose all bikes got their good points and bad, but if I ever were to have a tattoo it would be a Triumph logo. Oh, I had two of those 4 wheel things too, a Fiat 124, and a 1972 Ford, still got it, up on blocks back in SA, waiting. Took a trip across South America on a Triumph to Chile, and a trip up most of Africa on a Yamaha XT, traveled around parts of Israel on a BMW 900ss, (honey of a bike) and also a Motor Guzzi, (not to be underestimated at all.. super) and a bus trip from India to the Middle East. Traveled to a bunch of places here in Bulgaria on a Yamaha Tenere I bought, once took a wrong road and nearly ended up in Turkey. Life is good, definitely not easy, but put trust in G/D ..you won’t go wrong. G/D puts people into your life in the most amazing ways, like about 10 years ago on a flight stop-over here in Sofia I stopped to check out some CD’s in the icy cold city center, to take back to SA. A half frozen girl peered out of her hood at me and said “we don’t have much rock music” Who would have believed we would end up in Israel, Ireland and USA, married, yea a professional bachelor like me? Checking out a bikers Christian web chat, I send an email to some dude as he was going on about Triumphs? Yea and all back in 1995 I decided to take a trip up Africa to have a break from the self employed business consisting generally of a six working day week, from about 5.30 till 11 pm, and wondering why I was stressed so much? A years break from tax, from making the rich richer, the paperwork, driving a truck and eating on the go, a year away was the answer, only the year got extended somewhat. What else to say? G/D is good, friends are more dear than motorcycles? A good wife is not easy to find, better to wait for G/D to give the right one, you won’t be sorry. Look after your friends, they priceless. Times up see ya. Pat Previous | Next BioSphere Main