Michelin Stars or Michelin Tyres?

What is it about being a biker that dulls our taste buds and allows us to eat the type of foods that we would usually think twice about? As soon as we gain our licence we seem to also gain an accompanying cast iron stomach. Local Bike meet? “I’ll have a dodgy burger from a greasy van please”. Bike racing? “Give me one of those bloody awful hotdogs on a stale bun please mister”. Seaside run? “greasy Fish and Chips please spotty teenager”. Strange isn’t it and it’s even more difficult to reconcile as to why this should be the case?

In the last fifteen years we have seen the British palate develop beyond all recognition. Fuelled by TV chefs many of us have embraced a more diversified diet and a love of good food. Increasingly we want to source our food locally, find reassurance in humane rearing of livestock and demand organic produce free from pesticides and artificial fertilisers. As a nation we have started to shun mass produced foods with battery farmed chicken rapidly being removed from the population’s dinner plates. Whilst supermarkets still dominate our shopping habits the smaller specialist shops are starting to grow. We have awoken as consumers and demanded better quality. Except that as bikers we still eat a lot of junk.

Perhaps in the past the biking image was one of young rebellion. Dangerous even - an outlaw on the edge of society. Did bikers congregate where they felt accepted in remote cafes, stereo typed pubs and biker friendly towns? Possibly, but as biking has moved into the mainstream why has the accompanying food not moved mainstream also beyond the greasy spoon and steaming cup of tea served in a styrofoam cup? It has to be said that biking is no longer solely a symbol rebellion – many of us are older, middle class even and the bike is our hobby or toy. Perhaps we like the familiarity of the bacon butty over the ham ciabatta, the cup of instant coffee over a latte or maybe it’s that in built rebellion bubbling through our biking veins that makes us stick two fingers up to the public health lobby - “if I can ride a motorbike mate, I can eat a greasy burger also – so you can save your high blood pressure and heart attack warnings for another day!”

Or can it be convenience over time, in that we’d all rather be riding our bikes than waiting for Chef’s dish of the day? I’m not a psychologist but I’m leaning towards this theory after all how else do you explain the success of Ginsters’ Pasties being sold in every garage in the country? Got to keep on riding – think I’ll grab a ginsters and a red bull. We’ve all done it.

There is though something appealing about the thought of a big, hairy, leather clad biker, dismounting from his mammoth cruiser, walking into his local bike hangout and asking the bar maid for a cheeky glass of pinot noir and a caesar salad. It’ll never happen though as the macho male psyche dominates biking. At least it does at the moment although with an increasing female presence will the biker food market change? Probably, as free markets tend to react eventually to the needs of the consumer. Without adapting to changing demands the supplier will not make a profit, pretty simple market economics really and female bikers are an increasing influence in traditional biker markets. Unless of course ladies are as partial to ‘biker’ foods as the blokes, I hope not or the status quo will prevail.

Contrary to what you may think I am not advocating that we all change our dietary habits or boycott every fast food outlet in the country. I am as susceptible to a Little Chef all day breakfast as the next man and I’ve even started to collect the little tokens from (styrofoam) cups at McDonalds so that I can get a free cuppa after six purchases. What I am advocating though is that we don’t all fall into the biker trap following the crowd and delicate macho male psyche. Come on - dare to be different. If you don’t enjoy the greasy burger – don’t have one go somewhere else. If you don’t want to pay the extortionate prices for eating fast food at Donnington, Silverstone, Brands etc then bring your own. If though you do fancy that ginsters – it aint going to hurt once in a while. Exercise your choice as you see fit.

So if you see a bloke sipping coffee from a flask and tucking into a home made sandwich of free range chicken salad on granary at a British Superbikes meeting, that’ll be me. If you see a bloke at your local bike meet drinking stewed tea out of a Styrofoam cup and tucking into a greasy burger that’ll be me also. I try to make my own choices according to the circumstances I find myself in. Hopefully you will too and I’m sure your stomach will appreciate the variety.