Little mum on a big bike
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A MUM and son biker duo rumbled into Wick on their North Coast 500 trip – and mum was decidedly the noisier of the two.
Linda Gallon (67) doesn't quite live up to her name, being more pint-sized, but her huge Honda Goldwing 1500 motor trike can certainly pack a few gallons.
"I've been riding it for a few years now and always wanted to do the North Coast 500 but not on my own," she said. "So my son has kindly given me a week of his time to do it with me."
Linda's monster bike dwarfed her boy's Yamaha Midnight Star 1300 as they got ready to rumble down the A99 from outside Mackays Hotel in Union Street.
Liam Fletcher, her 44-year-old son, said he had waited in Kilmarnock as his mum rode up from her home in Morpeth, Northumberland, and then they both journeyed together to Fort William and then over to Skye.
"I unfortunately got an irreparable puncture on Skye and the bike had to be taken to the nearest place that could deal with it, Inverness," Liam said.
They both rode on the trike to Inverness to pick up Liam's repaired Yamaha and then retraced their steps, or tracks, back around the NC500.
Linda only got into biking five years ago at the age of 62 and now Liam admits he has trouble keeping up with mum when they hit the road. She got the biking bug after joining her son at a motorbike rally and it was a way of dealing with the loneliness felt after the death of her husband 10 years before.
"My mum's a social magnet and motorbiking is a really great social scene – it's borderline spiritual, in fact."
Despite never being into motorbikes before, Linda fell in love with the camaraderie she discovered at the rally and bought the Goldwing a week later.
Liam said: "I chose it for her. The Honda Goldwing is a prestige bike and it's very safe and forgiving on the road. It's a professionally made bike rather than something built in a shed.
"I've tried it myself and I have to admit, my mum can ride it way better than me."
