A story that touched my heart... - Motorcycle-Journal Forums

kay · 10-22-2007, 04:07 PM

Yesterday, I participated in a riding school that used an oval track (morning session with lots of turns, offset slaloms and figure 8s...the basics, and the afternoon with lots of fun and a blast, using the entire track and riding in speed).

One of my fellow regulars to this class came on a vintage bike!! A Honda single cylinder 500cc bike that was from the 1980's (sorry, I don't know the details of the bike) which surprised me because she always rode a Ducati Monster S4R. It caught my attention immediately too since the bike had mods to make it a cafe racer (and I LOVE cafe racers!!!).

I asked her why she had a different bike.

She told me that before she started riding, she joined a picnic being invited by her girlfriend (they joined on a cager) and met an older rider who gave her a ride on his passenger seat. That experience was so nice that she started thinking about riding herself. This man lives in Osaka whick is quite far from Tokyo and since then he had supported her while she attended riding schools to obtain a riding license and even after she became a rider herself. They had been exchanging emails since but the only time they met was when he gave her the first experience on a motorcycle on the day they had that picnic.

So she receives an email from him this summer telling her that at 78 yrs old, he was diagnosed with cancer and had only 4 months to live. He wanted to entrust his bike that he treasured for so long to her and wanted her to ride it.

She just got the bike that was kept in mint condition and even a leather riding jacket to go with it (he is a relatively small man and she is relatively tall).

She wanted him to see her on the bike, so she took it out to attend the oval track school, wearing the leather jacket that he gave her with the bike and got some pics taken. She says she is going to send them to him.

It was so sad to hear about this retiring rider.....it must have been very difficult to part with his motorcycle that he treasured dearly for so long and it made my heart ache when I thought of what he must be going through. But I was also very touched by the support he extended to my friend all through these years, which made a rider out of a girl who had never touched motorcycles until she was given a ride by him.

So the vintage bike is now in good hands. My friend is determined to take good care of it...as a token of appreciation and respect she has for this dying rider and I am both sad and happy. I hope he will not go through pain during the last days of his life...

It was such a moving story that I thought I'd share.