I like motorbikes, and I presume you like bikes too since you're here reading this. I've been around bikes for a long time (that's me on my first bike, a Suzuki GP100).and I love that one of the great things about motorbikes and bikers is that sense of community that we share.
It doesn't seem to matter what day job we have, or even if we have a job at all at the moment, and it doesn't seem to matter what we believe or what end of the political spectrum we like. Bikers will always acknowledge other bikers.
I've ridden down roads 200km and more from where I live and when I've seen other bikers on the road we will always nod or raise a hand or stick a foot out in friendly salute, even though we probably have never met. How cool is that!
A Sense of Community
Another great thing that I love about the biking community is bike meets. Whether it's a breakfast/coffee run or a chipper meet-up or a bike rally or road race, whatever... it's great meeting other bikers, known and unknown, just to be together with other bikers and chat about bikes and stuff.
I have had some great conversations with other bikers that I have met for the first time just because they noticed the bike I was on and they had good memories of having that model too. Or maybe they were wearing a rally badge from a particular club and year and I remembered being at that. The sense of shared interests that allow us to strike up conversations with complete strangers and then meet them again at another bike meet when they are now pretty much friends is something really really cool.
Bringing it Online
Wouldn't it be great to have some of that feeling of community with friends and strangers even when you're not at those bike meets? Well I thought that.
I had the idea that a podcast might be a cool thing if the format was right. It had to be for and about the Irish Motorbike community, and it had to have that feeling I loved from going to Irish Motorbike meets. Informal chats with bikers from here there and everywhere. A bit of freindly banter, talking about bikes and bikers and what's going on and what's coming up soon.
It though it might be a great thing for bikers to have playing in the background, maybe on a Sunday evening when they're winding down after a weekend of biking craic, before the working week starts. But when I looked to check if there was already a podcast for the motorbike community in Ireland I was amazed that there was none. Not one!
So here we are. That's how the Irish Motorbike Podcast came about. Let's make this great together. Contact me with what you think would be a good thing to feature on the show. Let me know if you would like to take part yourself as a guest, or if there is a bike club or organisation or individual that you would like to hear from. And most of all... tune in wherever get your podcasts and enjoy!
Safe riding,
John McCormack
The Irish Motorbike Podcast is available on all major podcast platforms. You can listen in on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, Google, Samsung and many more.