Roaring love revs for 50 years

RUSSIAN writer, Leo Tolstoy, once said: “He felt now that he was not simply close to her, but that he did not know where he ended and she began.” This holds true for local couple and motorbike enthusiasts, Dee and Sean Coleman. The Westville couple will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on Friday, 9 January.

For Dee it was love at first sight when she laid eyes on Sean in 1960. Sean met Dee at a Guy Fawkes celebration hosted by a mine in the Free State where he worked.

“A few months later we started dating, and in March 1964 Sean proposed at one of my birthday celebrations at the Riviera Hotel in Durban,” Dee said.

They tied the knot at the then Central Methodist Church in West Street, Durban and spent their honeymoon in Richards Bay.

With a love for motorbikes running deep through his veins, Sean said he’s a lucky man to have a wife like Dee as she’s just as into the sport as he is.

“We understand each other, but one thing that amazes me the most is the fact that Dee has taken to biking, which has always been a passion of mine. At 72, Dee will get on a motorbike and ride to Cape Town,” he said.

Sean, who started riding motorbikes when he was 14, said he used to ‘pinch’ his brother’s bike and take it for a ride: “My mother also ran a boarding house where lots of bikers lived. I eventually bought my brother’s bike when he wanted to buy himself a new one.”

The couple spent six and a half months travelling through Europe on their bikes with close friends, Cindy and Noel McMurtry.

“We met the McMurtry couple while on holiday at Champagne Castle and told them of our lifelong dream to travel overseas on our bikes. We learnt that Cindy and Dee were both sporty women, and agreed to play badminton together once back in Durban,” Sean said.

“We didn’t expect to see them at the club, but after the holiday Cindy and Noel joined us there. We began arranging our trip overseas while Sean taught Noel how to ride a motorbike,” Dee added.

In June, 1968 the two couples started their half-year adventure of a lifetime and forged an unforgettable friendship, much like they have with their other biking friends over their decades of biking adventures.

For Sean it was a proud moment when he raced against Dee at a Gran Prix circuit in East London: “We are the only couple in South Africa who have ever raced against each other in the same event. We are also avid supporters of the Buffalo Race, and I have attended every rally since 1969. Dee has also been to 35 rallies – she’s probably the only woman in the country to have attended so many.”

For Dee the secret to their successful marriage is trust and love: “Like every couple we’ve had our ups and downs, but our marriage has been wonderful. We have never been apart and always had the same interests. Love and trust are vital to a successful marriage.”

They will celebrate their anniversary with close friends and family from across the country at a dinner in Westville.