In the winter of 2009 Colin was diagnosed with Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor (GIST), a rare and difficult to treat cancer. When his cancer was discovered it was already inoperable, and he was given 3 months to live. In the spring of 2009 he came over to visit, and he helped Flying Hun pre-run all the potential routes for the 2009 BARF Spring Rally in Paso Robles. All those cool little roads we did on the rally - and many more - were all checked out by Colin the month before. During the time he was here, he and Flying Hun rode everything they could from Tepusquet Road in the south to Skaggs in the north, plus Colin went out on his own to thoroughly experience the Santa Cruz mountains, and met up with a BARFer or two up at Alice's.
In 2010, really suffering from the advances of his cancer, Colin and his friend Stuart rode from the UK down to Nice to meet up with Flying Hun and other BARFers for the start of the 2010 EuroBARF Rally. Colin was gaunt, and he tired easily, but he could still show the way through the Alps - where he'd visited more than 20 times - and when he couldn't, Stuart would go to the front and show us the way.
Over the winter from 2010 to 2011 Colin's cancer got worse. He'd already gone through the approved drugs for treating GIST, and when put on an experimental drug, he had difficulty tolerating it. The docs at Royal Marsden then tried an experimental way of dosing him, and not only was he able to tolerate it, his tumor began to shrink!
Colin again joined Flying Hun and fellow BARFers for EuroBARF, meeting up with Mattzz in Germany, then riding down to meet up with Flying Hun in Italy to ride the Dolomites before heading to France. Colin looked better, had better energy, and was stronger than in 2010, and everyone was encouraged by his progress.
Colin rode almost everyday from the early 80's up almost until his death. He had been a service manager at a car dealership, a job he hated, until he chucked it in and became a despatch rider (courier) in London in the 80's. He kept that up until the early part of this century when he began to run a taxibike between Heathrow and central London, carrying busy passengers and their carry-on luggage to and from the airport the fastest way possible.
When Colin wasn't working from the saddle of a motorcycle he was on vacation on motorcycle, including many trips to the legendary Bol'Or when it was held at Paul Ricard. I have no idea what Colin's lifetime mileage was, but I would not be surprised if it was in excess of 2 or even 3 million miles. Bottom line: for nearly 30 years all Colin really did was ride, and it showed.
Colin was also an on the road riding instructor with a scheme the Brits call RoSPA until his rather unconventional riding style caused a falling out with the powers that be. He did his fair share of trackdays until he decided they were boring, much preferring the mental challenge of riding distant and unfamiliar roads.
The best part of Colin was who he was as a man. Kind, humble, fun loving, considerate of others, willing and happy to make sure everyone was having a good time, the first guy to assist a struggling rider, and without drawing attention to himself, the guy could show it and explain it simply, building the confidence of other riders. Colin made everyone around him better.
Colin's tumor was no longer responding to treatment, and he'd gone back to Royal Marsden in great pain. The docs there did exploratory surgery to see what had happened, and if there was anything they could do. Colin was upbeat until the end, planning to join BARF members for EuroBARF 2012, even if he had to do so on a liquids only diet. In the end it was too much even for Colin. After stretching his 3 month life expectancy to 3 years, there was nothing more even he could do, and on 11/26/11 he died.
