Pimlico Pilot RIP

A good friend Martin, aka Pimlico Pilot, passed away on Thursday after a bike accident on the A29. Don’t know the details and I am not really wanting to know to be honest. Whether he was 100% the victim of a car driver's mistake or whether his riding was in some way a factor, neither case will bring him back. On a personal level I was hoping to ride with him on Thursday, but the cold snap, a load of stuff to do before my holiday (from where I am posting) and being knackered after my Ireland tour and various late nights out meant I gave it a miss. You do beat yourself up with the "what ifs"…riding in pairs sometimes spurs you on / sometimes holds you back – either way I am thankful neither I nor any other biker witnessed the crash – not sure how any of us could deal with that.

Martin was new to biking and it’s fair to say he took to it like a duck to water. He started on a 125, soon graduated to a 600cc Yamaha before following the Triumph route with him the proud owner of a Sprint and a Daytona. I think Triumph suited him, the traditional British bike for a traditional British gent. Martin took his riding seriously and opted for as much training as he could get, having private lessons, California Superbike track days and successfully completing his IAM training. He was a reflective rider and would often share his knowledge picked up “when I was at the Superbike day” or “My IAM instructor told me”. He did this primarily because he wanted to share his knowledge and skills and he was aware of own riding limitations, happily observing there were more competent riders with a “way of my league” type comment sometimes heard.

On a personal level, what I liked about Martin was how he put everything into his biking. He dedicated much time / money into his bikes / training and riding gear and was very angry whenever he saw a bare armed or legged rider. He was also quick to make his observations known to poor drivers, a trait I share despite knowing it’s not always the most sensible thing to do!

Martin was an incredibly generous man, and he would go out of his way to help you. I could quote many examples but the one that is clearest in my mind was his walking a quarter of a mile in sand to help (he was fully kitted) on a boiling hot day after my bike had got stuck during a Rob inspired bit of "off roading". Laughing after noticing that I had simply left the bike in gear (hence why it wouldn’t start) he then carried my helmet and gloves back the full quarter mile – as I had finally got some momentum up and wasn’t about to stop if at all possible.

To say Martin packed a lot into his year’s biking would be an understatement. As well as countless weekend runs, he also led quite a few weekday lunchtime pootles for those of us lucky enough to be able to go. He loved posting up about those, knowing it would make people jealous, but also I am sure, hoping more people would be able to make the next one. He managed to complete four continental trips in one summer, which must be a record. As well as the Bruges day trip, he did an Alps trips with Rob and Paul, Mo's week long Milau trip with 10 or so riders (we did manage to lose a few but that wasn’t Martin’s fault!) and the Pyrenees trip with Rob and myself.

I roomed with Martin a few times on the Milau trip and I can still hear him whinging about my snoring! He was definitely an old lady, but a good natured one for sure. He was appalled at my queue jumping / car park barrier skipping and autoroute toll skipping and was a stickler for doing things properly. That said, I know he enjoyed his time with us all, even though it is fair to say he was a little bit “better bred” than some of us! He confided to me that he was an “honourable man” on one rideout and I discovered he was actually a baron – it seemed his dad had done something and he inherited his dad’s title! But irrespective of his poshness (and he was posh) I never found him condescending in the slightest. Precise, for sure, opinionated, aren’t we all, but condescending, nope. Once we were on two wheels, we are all equal and I think he liked that side of riding.

Abiding memories…his laughter, such as when he was trying to convince me and Rob that the finger starters we were turning our noses up were in fact something special, or his suggesting that motorbike thermals under football shirts just wasn’t on at dinner in a fine restaurant! The thing is, despite all his protestations that we were letting the side down, he loved it all really.

I’ll finish off with a confession. I don’t like posh people, never have. Especially when they look down their nose at you. But the thing is I did like Martin, a posh bloke, privately educated, a pilot, a baron, a man of taste…yet also a biker, and a down to earth one at that.

So thankyou Martin for the fun and games, the tips and the laughter. I am missing you already and don’t mind admitting there were a few tears when I heard the news. RIP fella and ride free.