My name is Steve Geerdink and I’ve been in Canberra most of my life. I first got into bikes a long time ago as having a bike gave me independence and the ability to get myself to work while still on my L’s. I did an apprenticeship in Fitting and Machining at the ANU starting back in 1981. It turned out to be a short stint as I found my way into the ACT Fire Brigade in early 1984 and have been there ever since. It seems like yesterday but I’m fast approaching 35 years service. Blink and you miss it. Over the years I’ve had many bikes as it’s definitely been a passion of mine. I had a bit of a break from ownership for a few years when my twin boys were born in 2001. For some reason I didn’t seem to have to much “me” time any more. The good news is I’ve been back into bikes for a good while now. The only issue these days is that I tend to change bikes way to often (at least according to my wife Ros). I don’t really know why, maybe I’m looking for that perfect bike. At the moment I have a 2008 Ducati GT1000 in black and cream which is a beautiful bike to look at and is great fun to ride. A few months ago I got hold of a 1975 Moto Guzzi 850 T3 which is a lovely thing and pretty good nik. Like all Guzzis mine is also endowed with heaps of “character” but that’s what makes them so special. I’ve started the process of rejuvenating the old girl with the plan at this stage to do it in stages so I can still enjoy riding her. Mechanically it seems to be good so I’ll start with a cosmetic face lift including a new paint job. With Michal Fullers guidance I’ve bought a fair few replacement parts through Stein Dinse. Michaels been a great help with getting the bike on club rego and advice on parts and spares.
Apart from owning and riding motorcycles I love watching them race. I normally get down to Phillip Island each year for the Moto GP and have been fortunate enough to catch a few races while I’ve been on holidays overseas. I was at Mugello in ’95,’97 and ’99 and loved the place. In more recent years I have been to Misano and Valencia. One day I’d love to get over to there to follow the Moto GP circus for a couple of months.
I’ve done a couple of trips overseas with “Ferris Wheels” which is now called “World on Wheels”. First trip was to the north of India about 10 years ago and the second was to Morocco about 5 years ago (I lose track of time quite easily). They were two very different experiences with the Indian trip being the more challenging and memorable. It might have had something to do with the fact that we rode some older Royal Enfield’s, which I think added to the experience. I know others in the group would disagree with me on that point and would rather have been on a BMW 800GS or similar.
So I like motorcycles and traveling and if I can travel on a motorcycle I get to tick both boxes.
I’m looking forward to getting along to plenty of Club rides and events and catching up with the rest of the membership. My shift work involves weekends and nightshifts and when I throw in my boys football and other stuff it can be hard getting along at times.
See ya out there,
Steve
