Of the thousands of photos on the net that I could have chosen to headline this post, this one is by far the most appropriate.
Motorcycle racer, desert racer and all-round good guy, Malcolm Smith, passed away this week at the age of 83 years. It is impossible to think of him without thinking of his laconic smile, seemingly there every time a camera was pointed at him.
We got to know him through Bruce Brown’s seminal motorcycling movie, “On Any Sunday” Together with his good friends, Mert Lawill and Steve McQueen, Malcolm introduced a whole generation and many more since to the joys of riding motorcycles. Regardless of in which discipline we see him, he always has that smile and, regardless of how hard the adventure he has just endured, that smile remained. Observed trials, enduros, desert racing, ISDT , hill climbing or just mucking around on bikes, Malcolm showed the joy that only a motorcyclist can experience when let loose on two wheels.
The plaudits have been flowing profusely and well they might. The world of motorcycling owes Malcolm Smith a far greater debt than they can ever repay. RIP, Malcolm Smith, 1941-2024. Your like will never pass this way again.
On a personal note, as a teenager, I spent a deal of time in an old rented house on Merewether Beach near Newcastle. My uncle was attending Newcastle Uni and we often stayed at Rob’s place while mum and dad had business to transact in the city. You already know that Rob was a partner in a surfboard making business that grew to be world-wide later so it wasn’t surprising that the house was filled with surfing magazines. In the early 60s teenagers were divided into two groups. Surfies and cogs. Surf boarders and car fans.
Paul and I were cogs, much against the trend of our peers who lived and played on the beaches around Newcastle. So the surf culture was alien to me but, as Rob’s house was filled with surfing magazines, so we read them anyway. In one magazine, and, remember, this was 1965, there was an interview with a surfing character called Bruce Brown and, in it he talked of his plans, to make a surfing movie and, later to make a motorcycling movie. That got my attention.
Of course, the surfing movie became “The Endless Summer” and the motorcycling movie became “On Any Sunday”. Amazing how memories stick to you.
My recovery is continuing, the doctor is very pleased, saying that I am doing much better than he would have expected (it doesn’t FEEL like it) and that my life should be becoming more “normal” in another month or so. Until then I still can’t drive so my poor little MX5 is languishing in the garage.
Sitting up and typing is a little difficult still so that will have to do. Catch you next time.
