Cycle Therapy For Kingston, NY Rider

FALLS VILLAGE, CT – Most riders have heard the phrase “You never see a motorcycle parked in front of a psychiatrist’s office,” which suggests that motorcycling is so therapeutic that it can supplant counseling. John Grant of Kingston, NY even describes riding his 2010 Royal Enfield as “cycle therapy,” which he is well qualified to say thanks to a career as a clinical social worker/psychotherapist.

Grant, 78, has been riding for 55 years or so. He started on a 150cc Vespa. “I used to commute from Lake Peekskill down to New York City twice a week,” he recalled Sunday morning during a stop here at Toymakers Cafe. Back then, he was in grad school at Hunter College.

The Vespa was eventually replaced by a 1950 Royal Enfield. “It was 250 (cc) then. No rear shocks. Barely had brakes,” he said, comparing it to the 500cc Royal Enfield that he rides today.

His passion for riding got him into racing, and he rode a British-made Greeves motorcycle in scrambles in the early ’60s. Moving to California in the 1970s, he raced in the desert on a Honda. He continued street riding as well, owning bikes make by BMW, Harley-Davidson, Triumph and Yamaha over the years. “How many bikes I couldn’t even tell you. I had tons of different bikes,” he said.

Grant’s biggest find came in around 1967 when he bought a 1929 Harley-Davidson JD model out of a junkyard for $25. “Spent a year working in it. I painted it the original color,” he recalled. It went away, though, and he now wishes he still owned it. “I was hot for a Triumph at the time,” he recalled

He is partial to British bikes as his mother was born in England. His helmet displays a Union Jack on the back and he was enjoying a cuppa tea as we chatted. Grant even once had a Velocette in his stable; a 500cc Clubman. “I went everywhere on that bike,” he said.

Grant was riding a Harley-Davidson dresser when the urge hit him to buy an Indian-made Royal Enfield in 2010. “The Harley was getting too big for me at my age,” he said, so he bought a 2009 Royal Enfield that lasted him a problem-free 16,000 miles – until he went into a curve a little too hot.

“Had a bad crash – totaling it. It was either me hitting the guard rail or the bike,” said Grant, although he did suffer a fractured vertebrae.

That didn’t put him off of riding. A replacement Royal Enfield was secured. He says it’s “reliable as hell. I like the solo seat. It’s comfortable. The tires are good. The brakes are fantastic. It starts all the time. I call it cycle therapy.”