Jim Fogg (Foggy) will probably be known to anyone who had more than a passing interest in motorcycles in the Eighties and could be seen at various rallies. It's not that he excelled himself in any branch of the sport. it's the fact that he will be remembered for the biker fiction he wrote
The Swinging Sixties found him at Liverpool University working towards a degree in Medievil History and Archaeology riding a Triumph and having the ambition to own a Harley Davidson Cafe racer
He had written for many years historical pieces,poetry,translations of latin verse and a book on Silverdale and of course his biker fiction
He listed his hobbies as archaeology, Zen Buddhism, upsetting authority in all shapes and forms, biking and drinking anything anyone else would buy him and described himself as "a classic example of what psychologists call a creative psychopath with the usual schizophrenic overtones
From the inception of the motorcycle magazine Back Street Heroes his short stories appeared in said magazine and Back Street Heroes issued several books of his collections of short stories
If you get the opportunity to read any of his work I strongly urge you to do so as you don't have to be a biker to enjoy the humour and the observations of life contained in his work
One of my favourites is when Foggy is doing the night shift at a petrol station when an Australian comes in looking for directions to Loogarooba in the Midlands of England. Foggy told him to hang on while he got a map. The Australian studied the map for a few moments and ponts to a black dot on the map "there you go mate Loogarooba". Foggy has a look and says"Oh yes, Loughborough" and explains the place in question is actually pronounced Luffboro. Foggy then goes on to of other places in the U.K. and explains the pronunciations of those for foriegn readers.
This part of the story is out of context and foggy told it better but you get the picture
As I stated earlier there are books of his short stories out there and they're definately worth having a look at. Ride Free
