Losing the edge!

Call it age, call it a degree of common sense creeping into my psyche rather late on or call it 'losing the edge', whatever it is came as quite a shock to me!

Fletch, he who is lucky enough to have me bringing up the rear is generous enough to allow me to ride pillion oft times, has another new bike (yes, it's a man thing, one is never enough) .
and this bank holiday weekend was a more than suitable time for 'test riding'

'Test riding' commenced on Friday evening and was completed late yesterday (nothing obsessive there I hear you think!) and what I discovered somewhat disappointingly about myself is that I have definitely lost my 'edge'.

A large proportion of my entire adult lifetime has been spent on two wheels held together by a significantly sized engine, I have always loved it, it's something that either gets under your skin or it doesn't.... but once it has it never goes.

In my long gone and not so distant past I was happy to take the risks, loved the rush that motorbike madness provided and was happy to travel at speeds well in excess of %$£*#% mph (nope, I don't dare be any more specific than thaT), grind a knee slider along the tarmac or go the distance on only the back wheel.....I hasten to add that my penchant has been for doing this stuff as a pillion not the rider, I am way to small to have any control over anything worth riding and so I concentrated on becoming the ideal, unnoticeable pillion. I loved the rush, I loved the excitement, maybe even the fear.

But all that has changed, age or common sense has taken over and while Fletch was 'testing' his new machine's capabilities with me parked on the back (as one must to some degree just the once) I found, much to my dismay that I was nervous, that images of what might happen should it all go horribly wrong filled a small corner of my mind and what used to give me a buzz didn't any longer have quite the same effect!

Perhaps it's age, perhaps it's a degree less stupidity or perhaps it's just that these days I'm used to the much more sensible/stay alive riding style that Fletch usually adopts.... but whatever it is I think my days of head down and ar*e up tearing up the tarmac are over, I have definitely lost my edge where all that's concerned...... and probably it's a good thing!