This afternoon hundreds of scooterists will pack into (and outside) a Leicestershire crematorium to send off a legend of the scootering world. Dave Gould was a very good friend of mine and many other SLUK readers.
If you’ve been around the rallies for the last 40-odd years you’ll no doubt either know him or have been in his company at some time. You’d usually hear him before you saw him, with his infectious laugh he’d be stood holding court in a seaside boozer, a pint of Guinness held in the palm of his hand in the trademark Dave Gould style.
Dangerous Dave
Dave was a charismatic chap, always laughing, looking for mischief or making new friends. His zest for life and love of scooter adventures took him to Croatia by Vespa GTS, a scooter he bought just for that trip in 2015 (and sold quickly after). He wasn’t at ease on the Vespa and the photo above was the moment we christened him ‘Dangerous Dave Gould.’ He tiptoed down the Stelvio Pass looking scared to death.
Wetter Water
Pictured here with his liquid-cooled Insane Innovations Lambretta auto a few years ago and a bottle of pink ‘magic potion.’ His many theories on keeping that scooter cool kept us entertained for months ‘Wetter Water’ was his miracle cure… eventually.
As much as he loved the auto, he much preferred his Lambretta SX and over the past few years his Casa SST 265-powered Series 1.
Test ride to Poland
Before building his Casa, he rode to Poland from Italy for Euro Lambretta, alone on an SST he borrowed from Rimini Lambretta and wrote about it for us here. He rode to all the Euro Lambrettas over the last 15 years or so and has been doing rallies at home and abroad since the 1980s with his club, Loughborough Blazing Glory.
A face full of flies and a big smile during a hot Euro trip…
Never complained
At 58 years old, Dave was looking forward to retiring last September and had been counting down the days for the past couple of years. Sadly that wasn’t to be. He had been suffering from worsening stomach problems for a few years and was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2022 (a liveable condition). It didn’t explain his other symptoms though and he was misdiagnosed with various ailments, including TB. Eventually, he was given a terminal stomach cancer diagnosis in June last year.
Despite the doctors missing his more serious illness, Dave never got angry or complained about it, with a stoic resolve his attitude was “It is what it is.” He got on with the last few months of his life as best he could, although spent much of it confined to home, too weak to even go out to walk the dogs, drive or ride his scooters.
It’s fair to say his illness has affected many of his close friends very deeply and made us reevaluate our lives, work out what’s important and cherish the good times.
A leader, not a follower and one of life’s gentlemen
Dave passed away in hospital on January 16th. He leaves behind his wife, Emma and two children, Beth and Oliver, as well as his brothers Richie and Michael and his parents Mel and Janet.
There will be a celebration of his life after today’s ceremony and many a tale will be told, drinks drunk and laughter will replace the tears.
We’ll miss you, pal xx
Iggy
Winning at Life
Just before Christmas, I wrote a ‘Winning at Life’ editorial all about how blessed we are to have the social circle and friendships we have forged over the years. At times like this it’s worth rereading that piece and reminding ourselves just how blessed we really are.
Absolute legend Dave gonna be missed by so many , always a laugh and smile x
A legend amd a gentleman (and I don’t use THAT word loosely).
Rest in peace Dave, party in the sky mate x