I bought my first bike (Honda CB250T) in 1979 after my friend surprised me by suddenly appearing with a Yamaha 125cc 2-stroke. I was annoyed with myself because I had always wanted to buy a motorbike and he had beaten me to it. We rode everywhere on those bikes as well as commuting in and around Sydney and touring as far away as far off Canberra! Little did I know that at the same time the CMA was being established. I only had the 250 for a year but crashed it 3 times – once spectacularly on the Wombeyan Caves Road.
We progressed to bigger bikes – Kawasaki Z750 and Yamaha XJ650. Many hours were spent arguing the pros and cons of each model – shaft vs chain, 650 vs 750, red vs black, etc, etc. Other friends from church contacts also bought bikes (an old CB750 with a blue velvet seat, XS 650, a few RD350s, BMW R/100, a Suzuki with a huge Vetter fairing, CB400/4) so we sort of had our own gang of Christian riders.
I was married in 1984 and sadly had to buy a car of some sort (Leyland P-76) but I continued to commute daily and do occasional week-end rides on the Kawasaki for over 15 years. My long-suffering wife went with me to Wombeyan Caves where I crashed again. But I still had not encountered CMA.
I overhauled the bike in 1996 (ie made it run properly) and prepared it for sale in order to buy a bike and sidecar. The bike was a 1996 Harley Sportster Sport and the sidecar an HRD. It was a very handsome outfit and participated in the 2000 Olympic Torch Run Past in Wollongong with Illawarra HOG. I was a founding member of the Illawarra HOG Chapter which self-destructed after a few years of internal rivalries. Pride, Arrogance and Ego seemed to be the motto for that club. After 10 years and two crashes in the sidecar due to its quirky handling and my incompetence, I moved on to a Harley DynaGlide, a very pretty 35th Anniversary model of the original 1971 SuperGlide. At this time I was invited to a weekend ride with 2 friends who were in the CMA. What a revelation! Suddenly I was welcomed by a group of serious Christian riders with all sorts of bikes who were spread all around Australia which provided an ideal excuse for some serious touring and Christian fellowship. The loyalty was first and foremost to Christ (not the Club), secondly to each other, and lastly to whichever bike they had at the time.
I now have had a Harley Road King for nearly 10 years and it has been the best bike ever but not because it’s an excellent tourer or has lots of chrome, but because it has been mostly used for CMA activities all across Australia. Rallies, Church Raids, Monthly Communion, Half-Way Meets, CMA stalls at Bike Shows or just simple Saturday rides to coffee shops or pubs an hour away. Great fellowship with wonderful Christian friends who I look forward to meeting at every opportunity.
Joining CMA has been one of the best decisions I have ever made.
Grahame