“MY RACING DREAMS WERE SHATTERED, BUT I’VE FOUND FULFILLMENT IN FRANCE”
Former civil service worker Colln Reay, 53, had often dreamed of retiring abroad with wife Pauline, 52, when the time came. However, he didn’t expect to retire quite as soon as he did. “.I had a terrible motorbike accident in 2004; he explains, “My injuries were so severe that I had to give up work in 2006.”
After such a life-changing event, the couple decided to bring forward their plans of a move from the north east of England to France. “We came over to France originally to visit friends in La Mothe-Saint·Heray in Deux·Sevres,” explains Colin. When we were over here, we started looking at houses; we fell in love with one in Lezay and here we arel!
Although Colin had enjoyed his job In the civil service, not all aspects of it had been fulfilling. “I always had mountains of paperwork to do,” he says, “and I worked long hours.
Rather than sitting at a desk, filling in forms, Colin’s real passion had long been mechanics and motorcycling. “I’d worked on bikes with my dad as a kid, and I used to race and compete until the crash; he says, “but unfortunately, my injuries now make that too risky.”
Used to being on the go, Colin soon began to get restless. “Believe it or not, there’s only so much drinking wine in the sunshine that you can do,” he says. “I couldn’t start racing again, but I’ve always enjoyed tinkering with engines so when a friend needed help fixing his van, I pitched in. Engines work on the same principle no matter what they’re driving, so I was able to get him get back on the road.”
Colin soon found his skills were in high demand, but not in the way he expected. “People began to ask me to fix their ride-on mowers,” he says. “In the end, I registered and now run a business repairing them. They’re not exactly motorbikes, but it’s great to use the skills I learned when I was younger. I get a buzz out of getting things moving again.”
Not only that, but Colin has found a way to fulfil his need for competitive sport. “My biking days might be over,” he explains. “but I’ve recently got into golf. I never thought I’d play the sport – it looked dull whenever I watched it but a friend convinced me to give it a go and I’m hooked. Even though I only play for fun, I go out each time determined to win.”
It seems that Colin’s ‘retirement’ to France has become anything but. “I’m having a great time out here,” he says. “And we’re really happy. Now I have loads of clients for the repair business – French, German and English – and I’m working on my golfing average week on week.”
We support the Royal British Legion & Help 4 Heroes.
