Not at all bike related, but I ran across this during an afternoon of YouTubing on my down day and figured due to this being a largely Brit populated site, a lot of you would find this pretty fascinating… as did I. I would've normally posted something like this over on a shooting-related forum, but as I've mentioned once or twice before, those sites are full of horrible little petty shit talkers who hide behind their keyboards. You guys are way more even keeled… for the most part. Harrison held the record long distance sniper shot for about 2 1/2 yrs from '09 to '12. In these interviews he goes over experiences, field craft, and above all else the mental and psychological toll it takes. Dude's one tough motherf**ker but he's had a rough go at it since leaving the Forces. I like to think he rides and judging by his full sleeves, there's a decent chance he does. If not, he should. Again, these clips are not motorcycle related so site purists might want to take a pass on this one, but if you know anyone going through a similar struggle, this is an incredible look into the invisible wounds of war. Motorcycling is and always has been an extremely therapeutic medium for dealing with the scars of trauma. It's physical, it's visceral, exciting. It puts you in that zone where you're almost hyper-focused in the moment at hand. All your problems subside for a couple hours and you get a mental reboot of sorts. That is significantly what these guys need and miss so badly- that same purity of being that they experienced downrange. When shit got real, nothing else mattered. Very few other professions offer this. If you can, reach out to any troubled vet you may know, take em for a ride, and maybe get them interested in the sport. It could quite possibly save their life. Mad respect to any vet of the Brit Forces in here. (Clips via LADBible)
Sad. Moving. Emotional. Inspirational. Humbling. Certainly made me cry and was very definitely worth hearing/seeing. Thank you, Golgotha.
Every emotion listening to his first video. Strangely angry when the MO dismissed him due to PTSD, understandably effect the soldiers ability to do their job, but so insulting Thanks Golgotha, enjoyed both, much respect to all vets
Ran across this on the YouTube. Wasn't sure where to put it so I decided to use it a "bump." This cat does in fact use riding as trauma therapy via "Help For Heroes" and "Mission Motorsport" who have motorcycle riding pipelines for troubled vets. You can see he has a eerily similar look about him to Craig Harrison. It's a sort of bewilderment coupled with hyper-vigilance. Take note of the order vs disorder comparison. Motorcycle Therapy is a very real endeavor. If you can, get involved, help out, raise awareness. The charities... https://www.helpforheroes.org.uk https://www.missionmotorsport.org If there's any US members in here that are interested in non-profits such as these, pm me.
Order on the outside to combat disorder on the inside is probably bang on from the therapist. It's more difficult for thoughts to spiral doing certain activities and motorcycling is certainly one of them that requires you to be fully engaged and immersed at all times.
It's nothing new, really. TE Lawrence himself became enthralled with motorcycles after his exploits in WW1. He owned several models of one of the first production bikes to exceed 100mph, and took regular advantage of this capability. Can't help but make the connection. Perhaps he should be considered an early pioneer of "motorcycle therapy." The first established bike gangs formed right after WW2 probably fit the bill as well.
Absolutely, I have read about the evolution of the early bike gangs in the US before. It does make sense.