Author Frank Melling is at it again. Last year we reviewed his book “Classic Superbikes — Inside Stories of the World’s Greatest Classic and Retro Bikes.” This time, it’s a more personal story. “Scrambling For Enthusiastic Beginners — How I Survived The 1960s With A Smile” is about his time racing motorcycles in British dirt. Yes, it’s a memoir, not a how-to.
Here’s how the press release describes it:
If you were a champion motorcycle racer, the college football team star, and had the girls queuing up for a date, this is not the book for you. ‘Scrambling for Enthusiastic Beginners’ is the story of what happens to an extremely ordinary young man as he struggles to grow up in the Swinging ’60s.
The people in the know always say: “If you can remember the 1960s, then you weren’t there.”
This is probably true for the rock ’n’ roll superstars, but Melling was most definitely there! He remembers in 1960 getting a good smack from his mum when his homemade cannon blew up and burned a hole in his school sock.
He can also recall his super smooth chat-up line when he discovered girls. It was “Hiya.” There was nothing else—just the single word because that’s all he had.
When he began work as a laborer, Melling was at the epicenter of the corruption and incompetence which pervaded every part of British industry and nowhere more so than the British motorcycle manufacturers.
There were tears and laughter, but all the time there were motorcycles as his savior—buying, selling, riding, racing, and inculcating a passion which burned into his very soul. Bikes were Melling, and Melling was bikes—then, and still now.
So, this is the story which you will not read elsewhere. Not that of a rock star, surrounded by hordes of beautiful girls, or a World Champion spraying champagne from the top step of the podium. This is the tale of the most naïve young man in the universe, ricocheting from one disaster to another in his efforts to grow up. Truly, scrambling for an enthusiastic beginner.”
If “Scrambling For Enthusiastic Beginners” sounds up your alley, Melling is happy to tell you a bit more about the contents of the here. Melling sells the book direct, and you can pay for it via PayPal. Prices vary from country to country, with the tally running $30 delivered to the United States and £13 inside the UK. Arrangements can be made to have the book signed, and a short dedication is also an option.
Look for a review of “Scrambling For Enthusiastic Beginners — How I Survived The 1960s With A Smile” soon.
