Finn Gillespie, journalist
Bike? A Honda Firestorm VTR 1000
Why this particular bike? I decided on a big V-twin but didn't want to compromise on reliability so the Firestorm fitted the bill.
How did you become a biker? I've always had a fascination with all things on two wheels. I've got a photograph of me on a Norton 350 when I was three years of age and I look like the most content child in the world. On a practical level, I was attracted to motorbikes for all the obvious reasons - getting through traffic, easy parking and relatively cheap running costs.
Have you taken any rider training? No, when I decided to buy my first bike I had various mates who were already riding and they showed me the basics.
Full or provisional licence? Full.
Did your family object to your riding a bike? My mother almost disowned me as a close family friend had been in a bad accident years earlier - but I'd already made my mind up.
What do you use your bike for? I use it some mornings before work and a little at the weekends for visiting mates. Summer's a different story though. I'll be using the bike most evenings and have a tour of France and Spain planned with a friend. I hope to change the VTR for a Honda Super Blackbird 1100 for the trip.
Have you taken any trips abroad on two wheels? The furthest I've gone is to Yorkshire in England which was a bit of an eye-opener as I had thought potholes were part of the design of modern roads. I don't think I encountered even one on the trip - until I came off the ferry back in Dublin.
What's the best thing about being a biker? I remember running out of petrol (stupid, I know) on the Dublin to Cork road and hauling the bike towards the next petrol station, which was a couple of miles away. A fellow biker stopped, produced a spanner, unscrewed his petrol tank (a feature you don't get on modern bikes - his was a Honda from the early Eighties), gave me some of his fuel and then accompanied me as far as the petrol station. His generosity sums up all that is good about biking and bikers.
Have you had any bad experiences with motorists? "I just didn't see it", is absolutely no excuse for a motorist pulling out in front of a bike. I've lost count of the number of times I've almost crashed as a result of some gombeen in a car failing to indicate or ignoring their mirrors.
Any tips for survival on two wheels? The trick is to presume that every other motorist is a shortsighted, hard-of-hearing plonker who can't figure out what mirrors or indicators are for. Keep your bike well maintained: worn tyres, chain and sprockets are not the way forward. Invest in a good helmet, leathers and boots.
If you won the lottery what would be your dream bike? I'd like a few, actually. A Ducati 999 for the madness. A Suzuki Hayabusa for the same reason. And an old Triumph or Norton for lazy Sundays.