Goodbye Snorkel
Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2021 9:48 pm
I very much doubt that any members on here ever knew Ron, AKA 'Snorkel - but that's not going to prevent me from making a short tribute to a really good guy. He lived in France for many years but returned to the UK a while back and just died of cancer yesterday.
Ron was a good friend of several of us out here in France. A proper old school biker, who kept on riding into his old age, regardless of many illnesses and a significant disability that would have halted most people's motorcycling.
He was a paramedic/ambulance driver, then retired to France with his wife, but carried on riding, touring, meeting up with other bikers, chewing the fat and taking part in all the banter - in restaurants, bars, camp-sites and at race-tracks.
He had throat surgery in his 50s (?) that left him with a hole in his neck for breathing and a voice-box device for talking. He was determined to keep riding and he used neckerchiefs and jacket collars to allow him to breathe as he rode. Eventually he even developed a special tube that led from his throat-hole up behind his helmet, that enabled him to breathe properly while out on the bike. He enjoyed his 'Snorkel' moniker and was happy to make fun of himself. I had some top chats with him and he summed up what it was to be a dedicated biker despite his circumstances.
A truly good man, who I shall miss.
Ron was a good friend of several of us out here in France. A proper old school biker, who kept on riding into his old age, regardless of many illnesses and a significant disability that would have halted most people's motorcycling.
He was a paramedic/ambulance driver, then retired to France with his wife, but carried on riding, touring, meeting up with other bikers, chewing the fat and taking part in all the banter - in restaurants, bars, camp-sites and at race-tracks.
He had throat surgery in his 50s (?) that left him with a hole in his neck for breathing and a voice-box device for talking. He was determined to keep riding and he used neckerchiefs and jacket collars to allow him to breathe as he rode. Eventually he even developed a special tube that led from his throat-hole up behind his helmet, that enabled him to breathe properly while out on the bike. He enjoyed his 'Snorkel' moniker and was happy to make fun of himself. I had some top chats with him and he summed up what it was to be a dedicated biker despite his circumstances.
A truly good man, who I shall miss.
