I've been a keen motorcyclist for 30 years. I've competed in motocross, trials and on track. I've done more laps than I care to remember and very few motorcyclist have passed me on the road.

But I pulled out of a junction recently and saw two motorcycles rounding a corner about 300 meters away. I heard one dip the clutch and obviously give it full throttle, and they still made me jump as the pair of sportsbikes flew past, front wheels in the air (at least one) and rear wheels snaking as they twitched over the white lines while passing me.

They were closely followed by another 3 sportsbikes all screaming past within centimeters of my mirror. I know exactly what it feels like to ride like that – it's great fun. But it must scare the living daylight out of many people who don't understand motorcycles. These boys gave me quite a scare. 'Did I really ride like that?' I thought to myself, I survived many years of hooligan riding without really hurting myself but a very close shave when leading a group put an end to all that.

Now I'm happy plodding along on my 250cc Kawasaki D-Tracker X. Am I just getting old or has it taken 30 years for me to come to my senses?