Motorcycles have always been a huge part of my life – I had my first at 16. Growing up in rural Cornwall, my little Yamaha DT50 was not only my transport but also my ticket to fun, freedom and independence.
In 1999 I became art editor/designer for Motorcycle Sport and Leisure. This was an absolutely dream job because not only was I able to redesign the magazine but I became their female bike tester, so I rode everything from Hondas to Harleys. It really was a case of ‘Lou, we need some miles put on this bike. Can you have it over the weekend and tell us what you think of it on Monday’. The testing led on to my own ‘Challenge Lou’ series’, one of the highlights of which was training with the Royal Signal White Helmets and jumping through fire – that made the cover!
Sadly, Motorcycle Sport & Leisure was later sold and relocated to Cambridgeshire. So I then went travelling with my partner, both of us on Honda Dominator NX650s. Complete with tent, we rode all over the world (the USA, South and Central America, Australia, India, Europe and North Africa).
That wasn’t the end of my travels, as I also took a solo trip to Eastern Europe on a Triumph Bonnie and Watsonian Monza sidecar outfit – that was an eye opener, as I’d hardly ridden an outfit before. Still, with Sprocket my dog in the sidecar, I explored Europe on my own and camped all the way, covering 7500 miles – riding an outfit does wonders for your biceps!
I’m still designing motorcycle magazines, producing the monthly mag for the VMCC, and taking on the BMF’s magazine as a result of working with Sheonagh, who asked if I would join her on a project to design a book on WIMA’s history. I didn’t realise how big a project it would turn out to be and three years later the book was finished.
I am proud, very proud of it, and it’s great to see the WIMA’s history so well documented.
