Martin Haskell

In the beginning...

Tuesday 16th Apr 2024

It strikes me as strange that in the ten years (so far) that I’ve been taking part in the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride, (DGR) nobody has ever asked why we do it or criticised it in any way.

The whole thing was started when the ride’s Australian founder, Mark Hawwa saw a photo from the TV series Mad Men, showing the character Don Draper riding a classic motorbike in a sharp suit.

At that time, bikers in Australia (and probably elsewhere too) had been getting a bad reputation, possibly due to the inspiration of the Mad Max movies; many folk would run for cover when a bunch of denim cut wearing oiks rode into town on their post-apocalyptic styled street fighter bikes; anti-social behaviour (ASB) would often follow. 

Mark hit upon the idea of creating an annual run, inspired by the Mad Men photo that would demonstrate that not all motorcyclists were into ASB, and that we could behave like gentlefolk, dressed smart and riding classic machines.

The first DGR took place in Sydney in 2012, but by the time the day came, word had spread throughout the international motorcycling community, and brought together over 2,500 riders across 64 cities, with the success of the event encouraging Mark to consider how it could be used to support a worthy cause. The rest, as they say, is history.

Of course, in those days, 2,500 riders in 64 cities sounded impressive, and for such a fledgling event it was. By 2019 those numbers had grown to 116,000 riders in in 678 cities around the globe.

In 2020, Covid changed the world; the DGR continued but in a different way, with participants encouraged to ride solo, and while the number of participants halved to 56,000 riders, (in 2,531 cities) we still managed to raise $2,700,000 (funds raised go to the rider’s own country in case you were wondering).

Now things have returned to a form of normality, the numbers are once again on the increase, and by 2023 106,000 riders in 893 cities in 107 countries raised $7,450,000.

Such an event takes a considerable amount of effort to organise, and in 2016 The Movember Foundation became the official charity partner for the ride. Funds raised by The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride have led to life-changing research in prostate cancer and life-saving mental health and suicide prevention programmes.

These days the foundation also recognises that there is growing evidence that firefighters, paramedics, police officers and military veterans are at increased risk of poor mental health and suicide and has put programmes in place to work towards supporting them.

We lose fathers, brothers, uncles, nephews, sons, family members, colleagues, neighbours and friends daily. On average, around the globe, a man takes his own life by suicide every 60 seconds. That’s a shocking statistic.

And then there’s ‘the big ‘C’.

I can’t think of anyone I know whose life hasn’t been affected by cancer. Friends undergoing often brutal treatment, some friends who don’t make it. We recently found out that a family friend is undergoing treatment for stage 2 cancer.

1 in 2 people will develop some form of cancer during their lifetime.

I wish I could prevent this horrible disease. Sadly, I can’t.

But researchers are making breakthroughs every day, I personally know many friends and acquaintances who have successfully beaten cancer.

So, I will do what I can to help those who can work towards preventing it.

I can’t swim the channel, and any thoughts of doing a ‘tough mudder’ or running a marathon at my age are likely to result in needing medical resources and ongoing treatment rather than assisting them.

So once again, as I have a classic styled motorcycle (which is now 14 years old so it’s fast becoming a classic) and a few smart clothes, with a few likeminded folk I will be riding to Margate Harbour Arm on the morning of Sunday 19^th May to take part in the Margate DGR.

If you have a classic or custom styled motorcycle or scooter it would be great if you could join us. When we return to the starting point later in the day there’s the added bonus of the Malle Mile Beach Races taking place – what’s not to like?

Looking back over ten years of the DGR, looking forward to the 11th...

Wednesday 3rd Apr 2024

According to where you look on my page, this years Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride (DGR) is either my tenth or my eleventh. It’s the latter.

My first was in 2014, in London. The bike I had in those days was deemed unsuitable for the ride, as it was a fairly modern looking BMW sports tourer, the R1100S.

Fortunately Andy Tribble, along with Paul ‘Blez’ Blezard was a fellow rider on several of these jaunts, and generously loaned me his bright red Ural, a bike where the engine configuration was similar to my BMW, but everything else was very, very different.

Full of character but with some very quirky traits, the main thing was that it completed the run with unmistakeable style.

For this ride Andy was riding his trusty MZ250 while Blez was piloting Andy’s Peraves Ecomobile, which looks like a glider cockpit but without the glider. We were also accompanied by Andy’s partner Julia on a Kawasaki custom that was having a few issues and needed frequent breaks.

We met a Borough Market, which was bursting at the seams, and having been organised by Dutch from The Bike Shed in London, his requests to keep the noise down due to a service going on at the cathedral next door went largely unheeded.

In 2015 Indian Motorcycles loaned me a brand new Indian Chief Vintage from their press fleet; a huge and magnificent cream and mint green chromed beast that I had to collect from their depot in Birmingham.

This ride was also in London, starting from a demolition site in Southwark, again accompanied by Andy (in the Ecomobile) and Blez riding the bright yellow Mk2 ComforTmax. We were also again joined by Julia, this time on her new Kawasaki Vulcan and Carla on her Ducati Scrambler.

My third London ride was in 2016, for which (still having an unsuitable BMW) I borrowed a brand new Harley-Davidson XL1200CX Roadster, a sort of uncustomised Sportster with flat bars and USD forks. While this time I was riding solo I once again met up with Blez, who was riding a Honda NM4 Bat Bike and Neil 'Woffy' Waugh on his Moto Guzzi.

Something very strange happened in the lead up to this ride, I was bemoaning the fact that I would have to ride my (by then increasingly unreliable) BMW to Gloucester to collect the Harley from their press fleet, and my long suffering wife Jude said I should trade the Beemer in for a Harley, which was the start of a long standing relationship with my own lump of American iron.

By the time 2017 came around, I was getting fed up with the overcrowded London ride, so after chatting with Andy and Julia, along with my son Ben, we decided to ride to Amsterdam and take part in the ride there.

The Amsterdam DGR was to date the best organised of all the rides I’ve attended so far, with the Dutch cops riding in relays to stop the traffic – including trams – in the city centre, while the second part of the ride snaked through parks, past windmills and alongside canals.

Despite a chilly and misty start it soon warmed up and was one of the most enjoyable DGRs. Julia was riding her Kawasaki Vulcan, while Andy was on his MZ Skorpion 660 and my son Ben was riding his BMW RNineT 1200; for the first time I was on my gleaming red metallic Harley Davidson FLD.

In contrast to the 2017 ride, I decided to stay local in 2018; Andy and Julia were in Europe and Ben was unavailable, so I took part in the Maidstone ride with a friend from my photographic club – John - riding his Triumph Speedmaster.

Also in contrast to the Amsterdam ride, this ride was a complete shambles, organised by the local bike dealer, they added a diversion and an additional stop (soon after we’d started) at the local Harley dealer, which they also owned. The halfway point was at Chatham Dockyard, with barely anyone following the prescribed route, involving the organisers forcing everyone into an illegal right turn. The remainder of the run was equally disorganised, with few taking the same route.

The finishing point was West Malling High Street, busy at the best of times, but on a Sunday afternoon there was nowhere to park several dozen bikes, so everyone just went home. Disappointing.

2019’s ride was also disappointing, but for a different reason. With my nearest ride having been such a letdown, I opted to join the West Sussex DGR at Shoreham Airport - this time riding solo - which was great except for the appalling weather, wet and windy in the extreme.

This was a shame, as it was well organised, complete with a mobile photographer in a scooter sidecar taking some great shots of the participants. Aside from the weather it was enjoyable, complete with food and coffee vans assembled at the finishing point at Chichester, with a band playing to raise the dampened spirits.

By the time the 2020 ride came around, Covid had reared its ugly head, and while the global organisers were keen for the event to continue, having moved the date to May, riders were encouraged to ride alone, and despite the inevitable lack of comradeship, I somehow still attracted some very generous sponsorship.

I opted to ride across the Romney Marsh to Dymchurch, before taking the coast road to Folkestone, then riding to Ashford, Tenterden and Dungeness before returning home via New Romney.

Unfortunately, the weather was again cold, damp and very windy, and as I sat on a railway sleeper miserably drinking coffee from a paper cup at Dungeness (the café was of course closed) my sandwich blew away.

Little had changed by the time the 2021 ride had come around, I opted to do the same route, but the other way round, and this time the weather was much improved.

I was joined for coffee in Tenterden by my friend Mark with his daughter Maude and son Dougie; it was once again very much a solo effort, but my incredible sponsors didn’t let me down.             

With Covid restrictions lifted I rejoined the West Sussex Ride for 2022, and the weather had once again returned to its glorious best, with the ride across Kent and Sussex just after dawn being one of those that go down in the memory as being what motorcycling is all about;  beautiful weather with occasional patches of early morning mist as I headed towards Shoreham, the other side of Brighton.

This was another solo effort, but as always when motorcycling you spend most of the day chatting with others about bikes and life in general. I met a friend John, known on Youtube as ‘Old Bloke, West Sussex’ who turned up on his Harley Sportster at the end and joined me for a cup of tea and a burger. A marvellous day, as most DGRs have been.

For 2023 I noticed that a new ride had popped up, at St Leonards on Sea, about an hour away. Thanks to the power of social media, I managed to contact Carla, (who’d joined us for the ride in 2015) now living in nearby Hastings. Carla invited Blez along, and respectively riding motorcycling icons the 1970s Norton Commando 850 and an extremely rare Quasar, we were also joined by Carla’s friend Steve on a vintage 1954 Moto Guzzi Falcone and Steve’s friend Andy on a 1970s Moto Guzzi V1000 automatic, so between us we had quite a collection of rare and unusual motorcycles.

The weather was once again excellent, the ride involved meeting Steve and Andy at Dymchurch Martello Tower and heading through to Rye, and then on to Hastings before rocking up at J S Gedge Triumph - where we were joined by Carla and Blez, setting off on a very enjoyable ride to Madeira Drive in Brighton.

On the way back we stopped off at Beachy Head before heading back to Carla’s to meet her partner Mark and have a look at more Quasars and another (extremely rare) Ecomobile, this time fitted with a Turbo.

The 2024 DGR is now taking shape, the Hastings ride doesn’t seem to have materialised, so Steve, Andy and myself have registered for the Margate DGR, which starts off from the lighthouse on the harbour arm before heading towards Broadstairs and back. We’re hoping to persuade others to join us, and once again remain optimistic for some enjoyable riding weather!       

    

MAYMA!

Saturday 30th Mar 2024

That stands for ‘Martin’s After Your Money Again’, but it’s all for a good cause, so that’s OK isn’t it?

If it isn’t, read no further, I won’t hold it against you, and I certainly wouldn’t blame you.

A lot of people are struggling financially which can make life pretty miserable and in turn cause issues with your mental health, something most of us struggle with at times, even though we don’t like to admit it.

The answer can be as straightforward as talking to someone, and if you know me, you know I like to talk.

But sometimes it’s not so easy to talk, and even if you know what you want to say, you can’t always find the right person to talk to, someone you can trust to be a good listener, and importantly keep a confidence and not broadcast the problems you’ve entrusted them with to others.

At this point in an ideal world, I would link that point smoothly to the great work that Movember do in supporting men’s mental health, but I’ve never experienced that, so I’ll give it a miss.

But that’s just one part of the work they do, they also put the money to work in researching cures for cancer, a devastating disease that most of us have been affected by, and while the treatments and survival rates are better than ever, we have friends who are currently receiving treatment, and it must be very difficult to remain positive while seeing others losing the battle.

My thoughts are with you. And you know you can talk to me, if you haven’t got my number, you can DM, WhatsApp or email me, I will always find the time.

Oh, and I thought I’d better mention the ride, you know the one where we dress up like eejits on our shiny motorbikes and ride along the coast somewhere. This year it starts at Margate, the one last year from Hastings was great, but that doesn’t seem to be on offer, so Margit it is.

I have ties with Margate, my family used to go there for day trips, all donkey rides, deck chairs and ice creams, then spending the evening in Dreamland before getting the train home.

On 19^th of May I’ll be riding my shiny American motorbike there, hopefully with a group like we had last year, which was great fun. I’m looking forward to it; I hope the weather’s good, but we’ll still go if it isn’t. But anyway, it’s not exactly an onerous task, like swimming the channel or running a marathon, but I am 65, and the bike weighs about a third of a ton, so if you could see your way to putting something in my collection that would be great. Thank you.    

I'm Riding for Men's Health in The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride

Monday 25th Mar 2024 On Sunday the 19th of May 2024, I'm riding in The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride with fellow men and women across the globe to raise funds and awareness for prostate cancer and men's mental health on behalf of Movember. Men die on average 6 years earlier than women and for largely preventable reasons. The number of men that are suffering is growing, and we need to do something about that. So, before I press my tweed and polish my boots, I'm asking you to join me in raising funds and awareness for these causes by donating what you can for this meaningful cause and to help the men we love, live happier and healthier lives.