FOR 46 years, Robert Tumes has been riding dirt bikes, and even at 59 he’s showing no signs of slowing down, placing first in round two and three of the Broken Hill Speedway Club’s last meetings.
Tumes began riding in 1979 at 14 years old, which he said is late compared to a lot of riders.
“Kids started riding at five and six years old often,” he said.
“But I didn’t start until I was 14, at the end of 1979. I had a little bike to ride around up at the lake, but I never really raced.”
Tumes said he got into racing because his friends were keen racers, and he started his first full season in 1980.
As a teenager he learned to repair his own bikes out of convenience and to save money.
“I think you learn to fix up bikes over the years because it’s expensive if you can’t work on your own bikes,” he said.
While racing he’d repair his bikes, and after working a few years in the mines, he began working as a mechanic.
“I went full circle, I worked in the mines and then in a bike shop for a bit and then for a few other people,” he said.
“And then I just decided to start fixing them myself. It was originally a home-based business and then I moved here.”
Rob’s Dirtbike Repair began 15 years ago and now resides at 89 Cornish Street.
At Cornish Street, hundreds of bikes and parts fill the yard, some that Tumes has amassed himself over the years and many that require repair work.
When he first opened the shop, he said he couldn’t handle how much business he received.
“It went ballistic, and I wasn’t equipped to handle the growth,” he said.
“In the good years I had several staff, a lot of which were family.”
A history of his racing life is immortalised in the bikes marked with a number 9, Tumes’ racing number, spanning multiple generations.
When he’s not fixing bikes in the shop, he spends his time on the track at the Speedway club, racing in the veteran’s competition for racers over 30 years old.
Despite having a few years on most in the race, he still often takes the flag.
