Out of Office

James Moore is managing director of Creativejuice, a direct response agency based in Guiseley.

What is your favourite pastime when you are out of the office?

Biking! Of the engined variety. Without question, biking has got to be one of the most underrated activities any overage ‘boy’ can ever undertake. It’s a whole world of high speed, (but within the limits ‘Officer’) endorphin-releasing fun that starts well before you even turn the ignition key, release the clutch, blip the throttle and blast off.

There is an entire bikers ritual to perform. It starts with planning your route, deciding where you want to go and how to get there avoiding traffic, straight roads and rain! Then there is the whole ‘getting ready’ palaver.

Squeezing into leathers, checking yourself in the mirror several times and finally giving yourself a hernia while backing your lead weight of a bike out of the garage, desperately trying not to drop it while your neighbour is watching on, giving you dodgy looks!

But boy, when you finally hit the open road and the panic at not having a low-speed spill 20 yards from your front door has dissipated life’s problems are stripped away and the grin factor comes into play.

How did you get involved?

I got into biking late on in life. I’m not one of the ‘born again bikers’. Just a Jonny come lately. When a friend threatened to take me for a spin on the back of his bike, I took him up.

Wearing a borrowed helmet that was slightly too small and made me look like a hamster with botox, jeans tucked into wellies and a leather ‘bomber’ jacket on for protection we set off.

Overtaking slow moving traffic with a quick flick of the right hand, the feeling of freedom was immense. There’s nothing like it, skiing comes close.

What has been your biggest challenge?

Recovering from an accident! Like anything there is a down side. I got knocked off my bike when a driver came into me from the side, sending me over her bonnet and down the road.

I ended up with a completely broken leg, dislocated knee and ankle and severe bruising. It took me about 12 months and two operations to come back from it.

But I figured it was like falling off your horse, either get up and gat back on or don’t. So I did.

Describe a memorable moment

Germany. 2005. Black Forest with five like minded idiots on bikes. The roads were superb, the weather was fantastic and the company was hilarious.

One of the best weeks of my life. It was like a big boys tour of Europe – get up, ride for 7 hours, stop, eat and drink, sleep. Repeat for 7 days. Awesome.

How could other people get involved?

Try it for yourselves. Ride responsibly.