This week My bike and I talks to Alan Dillon, fire-fighter.
What do you ride? A Honda Deauville 650cc.
When did you become a biker? I've always been a biker. My first bike was a Yamaha RD 350. Like every other eejit, I watched the Isle of Man TT and bought a bike thinking I was a racer. All my friends had bikes too - nobody bought cars, they were too expensive. I had a couple of Lambretta scooters, which I restored and sold on, and I had a Suzuki Bandit for a long time. I wrote off the RD 350 when I hit a wall and the bike was in a complete heap - it was bad driving on my part because I was young and stupid.
What do you use your bike for? I use it for everything, for commuting to work and for pleasure. My commute to work is a 54-mile round trip.
Have you added any accessories to the Deauville? I upgraded to braided brake lines because they don't require so much power to stop. I changed the tyres to Bridgestones for decent handling and I put stronger springs on the forks in the front. I also added a taller Honda screen.
Taken any rider training? I took rider training with Star Rider and I found it absolutely brilliant. It was the best money I ever spent. I took the silver course and will do the gold in the future. I'd love to be trained to instructor level. I recommend bikers get as well trained as they possibly can. It was a real eye-opener for me. We all make fundamental mistakes so the whole system of safe riding makes perfect sense. Slow speed skills are probably the most important skills you can learn.
What did you think of the bike test? To be honest I thought it was a bit of a joke. You are followed by a fellow in a car. When I was doing mine, the car couldn't keep up so the tester just said, "if I lose you I'll pick you up around the corner."
Besides commuting, have you taken any biking trips? No I've never toured abroad on the bike. The only trip I did was a pump push for charity with the fire brigade. We travelled between 2 and 4 miles an hour from Dublin to Galway. I can tell you I was saddle sore after that! It took 23 hours.
What's on your wish list for the new transport Minister? I wish the Government would get rid of the VAT on helmets. We should also be able to use the bus lanes. Gardaí sometimes turn a blind eye, and they sometimes tell you to get out of the bus lane. I was told to use the bus lane once because I was filtering through traffic.
What's your next upgrade going to be? I'm going to get rid of the "Dullsville" and get a BMW R1200GS. It has more power and it'll be more fun. It's also practical and great for getting around.
Any tips for safe biking? Get rider training and don't scrimp on gear.