My Passion: The draw of the open road and track on two wheels

On or off road, sportsbikes or trials bikes, nothing beats the buzz of being on two wheels.

The adrenalin rush of "knee down" on a circuit, the freedom of the open road with your mates, the sense of achievement from overcoming the physical and technical challenges of trials riding, it's all a passion that I've had since I was a child. I've been into two wheels from the day I got my first push bike, quickly progressing to motorsports so, by the age of 12, I was already a regular trials rider.

Greatly inspired by Yorkshire-born world champion Dougie Lampkin, I entered regional competitions, came off left, right and centre and terrified my mum.

My first job was as an apprentice mechanic and I did a brief stint working for a racing team before moving into the world of waste machinery.

I'm still a keen off-roader and I'm looking forward to this year's season when many weekends will be spent navigating jumps, logs, rocks, tight turns and tree routes, without losing points by stopping or putting my feet down.

When I was 21, my brother introduced me to the delights of the open road by paying for my Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) as a birthday present – my long-suffering mother wasn't as pleased as I was.

I've been riding road bikes for five years, always choosing Suzukis and gradually upping the power as my experience has grown. Last summer, I took delivery of a new GSXR-R750, dubbed the connoisseur's sportsbike because of its superb and forgiving handling.

There is a certain tranquillity to riding alone but there's a huge sense of excitement and camaraderie when you ride with a group of mates. That said, we can always sniff out a good bacon sarnie wherever we end up.

We're also regulars at track days – mainly the Croft circuit near Darlington and Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire – where it's all about the narrow margin for error and testing your abilities.

I've had a couple of nasty experiences, like when I came off in greasy conditions and slid across the tarmac while my bike did a pirouette up the track. Thankfully, the only damage was a broken foot peg and clutch lever.

Accidents like that make you realise how important it is to wear all the right safety gear. We all wear full leathers, reinforced gloves and boots, knee sliders, a back protector and, of course, a good quality helmet.

It's a little easier on the trials bike as I just need the helmet, gloves and waterproofs, but when you're doing top speeds on the circuit you have to have that extra protection.