From the Stands to the Shale
It was inevitable really, that my brother and I's curiosity would take us one step further than our Dad and have a go at Speedway. The first time I ever rode a speedway bike was at King's Lynn under instruction from Peter Boast, but I didn't take racing really seriously until the mid-2000s. I bought a bike with my brother on eBay and we built a workshop in the garden to store all the tools, riding kit, bikes etc. It was sheer coincidence we met a chap called Matt who told us about a little training circuit that just re-opened called Lydd, based near Romney Marsh in Kent. My brother and I decided to check it out, we drove down and joined 4 other riders for some weekly tuition with track curator Malcolm Smith.
Slowly but surely the other riders dropped out, by the end of 2006 Martin and I had the track to ourselves every week. There wasn't even a safety fence at the time, it's with great pride that I tell people Malcolm credits the circuit's continued operation in the early stages to us turning up every week without fail. From Lydd, we joined clubs such as Southern Track Riders, Dragons and would regularly compete in individual competitions held at tracks like Sittingbourne (Old Gun Site) and Scunthorpe. Later, I would make appearances in second halves regularly, turning out for Lakeside, Stoke, Rye House and Sittingbourne.
It was 2012 when I finally completed my ambition of racing the East of England Showground, pulling on the Thundercats bib and riding the sweeping circuit will always be one of my fondest speedway memories. It was around the same time Martin and I started working with Russell Paines Ride'n'Slide, touring the country with Russell's artic filled with speedway bikes and riding gear for people to have a spin at their favourite venues. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the sport but in 2013 I decided it was time to call it a day. My partner and I found out we would be parents in 2014. Speedway is a massive financial commitment and it takes up a lot more time than most realise, even when riding in the minnows. Through the amateur speedway circuits, I made many great friends in Speedway. I do pop out for a spin down at Lydd now and again, but truth be told I'm happy watching these days, fewer bruises to nurture!
Time to have a breather
In truth, getting into Speedway so intimately was one of the factors that eventually wained my interest in the sport for a few years. You often hear people talking about the politics within Speedway, I won't go into specifics, but it did start to lose my faith in the sport's direction. I've never been one for Drama; when I'm watching Speedway, I will turn up, read my programme, watch the racing and get out of there straight after the final race. I was the same when racing, people in Speedway constantly have petty squabbles which, are generally about ridiculous things, but I managed to stay well out of all that! I would turn up, ride my bike, then go home, save the soap opera for BBC one at 8 pm. I'm naturally quite a shy person, so the social element to Speedway has never worried me too much, I would stop for the occasional drink on some of the longer excursions, but that was it. My involvement with the sport all but stopped in 2014 once I'd packed up racing shortly after my first daughter was born. At this time, my work scheduled in the facilities management trade prevented me from attending much Speedway and family commitments.
My Dad was still hungry as ever to consume and watch as much Speedway as possible throughout my lifetime. Speedway and Football have always been the most powerful bond and common ground between my Dad, brother and myself. Dad retired from work in the early 2010s, but unfortunately and somewhat cruelly, health issues limited his ability to travel to watch live Speedway. By 2017 he could only get to matches when somebody was available to take him. Being a reserved man, he wouldn't ask often. He was too polite and didn't want to intrude! In late 2019 when I finally started to get some free time back, I got chatting with Dad, and we talked about doing every track in the country as we did many years ago! I'm sure I don't need to explain what happened in early 2020. My Dad managed to attend the Ben Fund Bonanza at Scunthorpe and came down to Lydd to watch me in the Veterans Championship; otherwise, 2020 was a total write-off!