Tommy Begley

I bagged my CBT a week after my 16^th birthday, following a torturous 6 months ‘ragging’ my ’84 Honda SH50 around disused industrial estates, getting every last drop out of the humming 1bhp motor. Enjoying the classics, I graduated onto a Superdream TD-C 125, keeping it solidly past the 12k red line wherever I went. 

I spent the next few years trying to keep a hand-me-down Rover 213 alive. There’s a reason it was one of the six last remaining models on the road, and sadly, the constant welding work siphoned off any available funds for new motorbikes.   

I finally passed my category A licence, and with a love for high-revving 80s Japanese bikes, I went for the obvious choice… a Himalayan 411. What it lacks in performance, it fully makes up for in stability and grunt up the knobbly hills of the South of England, generally keeping up with my crosser riding counterparts. It is also a doddle to service and maintain, which is more than can be said for many modern machines. 

With a keen interest in journalism, I have edited and compiled a local monthly newspaper and worked with local radio stations. 

 I then went to Cardiff University to train for a master’s in Magazine Journalism, bagging a PPA (Print Publishers Association) Accreditation, a diploma, and a master’s in journalism. This gave me great opportunities to write and research all sorts of topics, ranging from bicycles to politics. 

 I have since done work for Private Eye and Haymarket Publishing with their podcasting team and now contribute to MCN.