Bernie Constable always wanted to ride a motorcycle but never had a good opportunity to learn. Now that he’s retired from his post office career at the young age of 55, he decided to go ahead and fulfil his life-long dream.
The former Moose Jaw resident now lives in Chilliwack, B.C., although he still has family in the area. After retiring, he learned to ride and has so far toured all 48 mainland states and rode across Canada before and after the pandemic years.
Constable is now sharing the story of his adventures in his book, Keeping the Shiny Side Up, which is available for purchase on Amazon.ca.
“It’s a book about my adventures on my motorcycle – how I learned to ride a motorcycle and some of my adventures becoming a biker, (which is) something I never imagined I would ever do,” he said.
Constable said he learned how to ride at the suggestion of one of his friends in B.C.
“It wasn’t until I was (living) in Chilliwack, and a friend of mine bought himself a new motorcycle. (He said), ‘Hey, come and ride with me,’” Constable said. “I’ve never been on a motorcycle in my life. So, I went and took training.”
The first day of motorcycle training was quite intense, he noted.
“During my training – I talk about this in the book – I got on the motorcycle on the first day and my hand slipped off the clutch. The bike shot forward and crashed into the trailer, and the instructor said, ‘How much riding time do you have?’”
“I’ve never been on a bike in my life,” was his reply.
A short time after this, Constable started to master the ropes and was introduced to a new organization who also had members attending the road course.
The Christian Motorcyclists Association of Canada (CMA) is an interdenominational and evangelistic association whose members attend motorcycle events across Canada. Being a ministry rather than a riding club, the purpose of the association is to spread the Christian message and it operates with the vision of “Changing the world, one heart at a time.”
Now a registered member of the CMA, the idea for his book came while he was writing an article for the association’s periodical magazine, Heartbeat.
“I had a lot to say, and it just turned into a book,” he recalled.
Since the completion of his book, proceeds from Keeping the Shiny Side Up are now used in large part to raise funds for the CMA’s only fundraising arm, “Run for the Son.” The purpose of this program is “to extend the open arms of Christ to millions of people around the world,” according to its mission statement. This is achieved through missionary work in many regions across the globe.
After his first mission trip to Paraguay in February 2023, Constable said he’s excited about the opportunity to help others.
“I wanted to be able to have other people experience this as well,” he said.
Now that Constable is well on his way both in terms of riding and helping the CMA, he plans to use his new freedom to continue with his travels and to spread the good news wherever he can.
He’s been visiting Sturgis ever since he got his license back in 2016 and made this destination one of his earliest goals. Today, his plan is to return every year. Sturgis is “absolutely amazing,” he said.
He also attends annual events such as the Daytona Bike Week and the Oyster Run at Anacortes, W.A.
One of his remaining goals, he said, is to complete the ‘Tail of the Dragon’ at Deals Gap, N.C., which features 318 curves over a rugged and infamous 17.7-kilometre route.
The book covers both his adventures on the road and helps spread the Christian message along with his road-based ministry, Messengers of Hope. For anyone else looking to follow a life-long dream, perhaps they can find some inspiration in his works.
Constable is also considering a follow-up book to serve as his autobiography. In his possible second book, he said he’ll include some of his current and future adventures and the lessons he learns along the way.
For now, Keeping the Shiny Side Up is available in paperback, covers 74 pages, and contains 10 pictures taken during his travels.
To purchase a copy of the book on Amazon.ca, the ISBN-13 number is 979-8891099005.
Constable is purchasing around 100 physical copies of the book that he’ll distribute himself. If you prefer to reach out to him directly, his email address is PostalBernie@gmail.com.
