Louise Barrett, director of Mountjoy Motorcycles
Your bikes: A Honda XRV750 and a Kawasaki KDX200
Why these bikes? I race the KDX200 and I just like the style of Honda XRV750.
Why were you drawn to motorcycling? Because for me nothing compares to riding your bike on a good sunny day on the open road. I recently took a trip down to Mayo to visit a friend who bought a house there and I put a 250cc bike in the back of the van and took it for a spin around Westport and Louisburgh and it was terrific, the sense of freedom on the open road was great.
Do you drive a car? I have a van for work.
How's the motorcycle business doing? It's very quiet at the moment because insurance costs are killing us. Unfortunately it's a dying trade. There are more commuters on the road coming into the shop to buy bikes to beat the traffic but once they get a quote for insurance they're scared off. The Government should try to encourage the use of more mopeds around town to cut down on the traffic.
What do you use your bikes for? Mainly pleasure and it's very handy for runs across town.
Do you worry about your survival as a biker? No, I just worry about all the other idiots on the road in cars.
Have you ever had any accidents? Yes, I've had three of them in my 30 years of biking. Two were caused by motorists in cars claiming they didn't see me, I think they just didn't look, and one accident happened when a dog ran out in front of me.
Do you follow motor sport? Yes, I love all motorcycle sports but it's hard to find time to fit them all in.
Have you taken any trips abroad on two wheels? Yes, I went to Norway a few years ago and I plan to do a lot more travelling on the bike when I have more free time.
What you do think is the bond that links bikers closer than motorists? It's the sense of freedom bikers share and a love of the hobby of motorcycles rather than using a car to get from A to B.
Have you had any bad experiences with motorists or other bikers? Someone once spat out the window of their car when I was passing by.
Have you any suggestions for improving conditions for bikers in Ireland? Motorcyclists have a bad reputation in this country.
The Government quotes motorcycle fatality statistics but the majority of motorbike accidents are the fault of car drivers. There's also all the great charity work that bikers do in this country that goes unmentioned. I think if the Government addressed the high cost of insurance IT could alleviate the traffic problems, as more people would be able to afford to drive motorcycles. A good idea would be to improve awareness and make motorists and pedestrians more aware of motorcycles; we're not all bad.
What are your two-wheel survival tips? I always advise people coming into the shop to remember that everyone out there on the road is out to kill you.
I'm 31 years on the road and I could easily go over the bonnet of a car every day because so many motorists don't look so I make sure I'm very alert all the time.
If you won the lottery what would be your dream bike? There are just too many to mention.