50 Years Of Kicks
Documentary delivers enthralling tale of the joys of riding
Anyone out there who likes motorcycles – especially dirtbikes – will surely enjoy the video below. And this is true especially if you are or know someone middle-aged. 50 Years Of Kicks is a documentary about off-road riders Paul Rodden and Larry Murray, both of whom were successful racers at various stages of their riding careers.
This short film includes a famous Oliver Wendell Holmes quote that sums up the philosophy behind Rodden and Murray: “Men do not quit playing because they grow old. They grow old because they quit playing.”
Rodden is a mechanical engineer who has worked at NASA and has won three enduro titles in the over-50 class, while Murray is a former Canadian enduro champion from the mid-1970s. At the time of this 2012 film, Murray was in his early 60s and Rodden is 10 years older, so seeing these grizzled riders still tearing up the trails and wheelying across streams is nothing less than inspirational for moto enthusiasts of any age, especially those who are middle-aged and wondering how many more years of riding is in front of them.
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After watching this video, I saw another link asking for cash to "Crowd Fund" a second video, with Grahame Jarvis in it! Needless to say, it is made and is a cool movie. At least I'll only have to ride 52 miles off road this year.
I'm 63. I used to ride with my father-in-law, who quit riding motorcycles when he turned 80, he said he would "quit while he was ahead". These kind of stories inspire me to keep riding.