Mind, Body & Motorcycling

It’s the time of year to celebrate – but that can be particularly difficult for some people. RC regular Odgie shares his own personal perspective…

As we get older we seem to have no great dread of talking about our physical ailments – how many bikes do we see for sale in RC and other magazines due to ‘old age, dodgy knee, arthritis’ etc? It’s a fact that parts of our body wear out or break down, and that can affect our riding.

But what about our mental ailments? I talk about this a bit in the final part of the MaBSA series which will appear in RC238, because progress on the project was delayed somewhat by my having a breakdown during the course of it.

Readers of my book will already know I’m quite open about my mental illness, but it is a thing ‘us blokes’ tend not to talk about, particularly us rufty-tutfy bikers. Yet one in four people will suffer some sort of mental illness during their life, so it’s not exactly unusual. Yes, simply going for a good blast on the bike might cure mild symptoms, but sometimes even that is not enough.

So for anybody reading this who thinks they might be suffering from depression or anxiety in a more serious way, or even if you just aren’t feeling right but not sure why, please go and talk to somebody. GP, counselling service, even just open up to a close friend in the first instance.

It genuinely is nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed about, and yes, even people like me who appear to be so happy-go-lucky can be sufferers. Recognition is the very first stage in recovery, and you are not alone.

Phew, came across a bit all ‘public information’ then eh…? But if one person reading this gets any sort of benefit, that’s fine by me. Okay, back to motorcycles… 😉