Blatherwicks travels

Despite his respectable age, he looks remarkably fit. Bare-chested, thick biceps and broad shoulders. I do not know him, but he kindly asks me how I am doing.

‘This is my life’
I move around, watching the beautiful Kawasaki 85 which is parked next to his van. It’s really a beauty. Actually, I’ve always had a bit of a weakness for the green monsters. Perhaps because they have always been in the minority, as long as I can remember. I’m not an expert, but even I can see that the bike is ‘done properly’ with an expert hand. A beautiful little girl is sitting at the side of the van, smiling even more kindly than her dad. Roisin is her name. A beautiful name for an equally beautiful girl. Funny to see that she has processed her name in the number on her bike. ‘Ro151n’. A smooth sticker set marks the bike, matched with a cool helmet wrap. That’s the way to step outside on a day like this. Nicely taken care of by Nathan Watson, the man who finished RedBullKnockOut just in second. The ‘Kawa’ has been sponsored by the local dealer and former superstar Chris ‘Stalker’ Walker, a good friend of the English ‘couple’. John Blatherwick is divorced. His ex-wife has nothing to do with her daughters MX life, but is also unable to stop her. Roisin may be small, but she has a strong personal will for a 17 year old. John looks from the bike to his daughter and then looks at me dreamily. ‘This is my life’, he says sweetly and I understand his feelings. ‘No more words needed’, I respond, and he laughs. Recognition does the rest.

A warned man
My son Storm stands next to me, looking at the beautiful ‘Kawa’. John recognizes the love for bikes and asks him if he may want to sit on it. As he strikes his leg over the buddyseat, I tell John that he’s just into motocross for a few months. ‘Just take a ride’, he says. Storms face is in shock, but his body wants that ride. I’ll help him kill the doubts. ‘Just go on, you can do it.” The bike yells at the first strike and Storm is on his way. When he’s done he puts my son a black cap on his head. ‘An Original Stalker’, he says enthusiastic. Proud and excited at the same time. John shows me pictures from his phone. Pictures of the places he and Roisin went together. A virtual diary. Once he rode himself, but since his heart attack he takes things easy. A warned man. His company in ceilings gave him lots of stressful moments. Too much staff with all their own problems. That made him decide to go back to small-scale work with only his brother next to him. Now his daughter has picked up the cross glove, it’s no longer a task to ride himself. He supports her along all sides and in everything she wants to do. John works hard and much to make it all possible. His children. His whole life.

A dream for both
Roisin’s in her last grade, studying to be a mechanic. She already works in Chris Walker’s company and will certainly spend more time there. The Blatherwicks do everything themselves. John is more than well-known with bikes and Roisin is also paying her contribution. She dresses up for her last session. After two laps, John is waving her out of the track. Tony Cairoli, who’s also present, is at the point of leaving, so pictures need to be taken. A dream for both. At first she doesn’t want to turn off her goggles. Afterwards she said that she was scared of a red head on the picture. John takes a selfie together with his hero and shows me the result as a happy child. When he sees that the picture is too dark, he gets Tony out of his van without any kind of shame. This opportunity won’t pass every week, so he uses the moment. An exemplary Cairoli steps out and kindly poses again. Signs a few more pictures and leaves. ‘Part of the job’, and he knows. John proudly shows his treasure of value to his daughter. Beautiful.

Before we part he asks if we’ll come to the RBKO this year. ‘We’ll have a pint together’. Facebook makes us officially friends. We friendly wave out the charming couple. The MX brings a lot of beauty and golden days. Just like today…