NABD at The Ace

To the Ace Café at the weekend for the NABD day (National Association Of Bikers with a Disability).

For obvious reasons, trikes predominated. Ratty matt black post-apocalyptic trikes based on Reliant engines, kit-trikes based on VW Beatles, bonkers track-ready trikes based on Suzuki-Hayabussas or, my own favourite a V-12 Dodge engined trike.

All had some sort of adaptation to suit the personal needs of the rider – hand operated gears – multiple levers on one side of the handlebars – carrying racks for wheel-chairs. I saw guys without the use of the their legs literally crawl on to their machines and tie themselves on to the seat with ratchet straps.

Every now and then there’s some debate in the bike magazines about who is a real biker – is it the one-piece leathers plastic rocket brigade - or the hardcore build your own chopper in the garden shed faction - or the old boys who ride the same BSA Bantam in all weathers for 40 years?

These NABD guys get my vote – the unique mixture of independence, mutual support, ingenuity and sheer bloody-mindedness in never accepting any sort of limitation is surely what being a biker is all about.