Believe it or not Macca turns 60 tomorrow, just days after he married North-Easterner Heather Mills, 26 years his junior. A few years ago, when a man turned 60, he put his feet into a pair of comfy slippers and took up smoking a pipe but now he's just as likely to be zipping himself into motorbike leathers says Christen Pears

RICHARD Lamming loves speed. Every weekend, he and a group of his friends get on their motorbikes and roar off round the country. There's nothing they like more than the sight of the open road in front of them but these men are no boy racers: they're all in their 60s and 70s.

"It's a fantastic feeling and we have a great time but we do get a few funny looks," says Richard. "We all pull up somewhere in our leathers and everyone's looking at us but when we take our helmets off, we've all got white or grey hair. Some people roll about laughing but we know we can see most of them off."

Richard is 72 and spends most of his spare time riding a 1200cc BMW motorbike, the same model that was used in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies.

"I do look after myself. I keep fit gardening or cycling but the real thing that keeps me young is the adrenaline rush I get from motorcycling.

"I've been interested in bikes and cars for 50 years and there was never a time when I thought about giving up. I love it now just as much as I did when I first started out and I've never felt more alive."

Richard is determined to enjoy himself and is always looking for new experiences. Over the years he has tried everything from horse riding to parachuting.

"I think it's all about your attitude. It's no good just giving up at 60, in fact 60 is pretty young. Life is for living. I'm 72 now. I may look different from when I was 40 but I certainly don't feel any different."

Richard is just one of a growing number of older men who are refusing to conform to the sterotype of pipe and slippers. Paul McCartney has just married 34-year-old Heather Mills while the ever-youthful Harrison Ford turns 60 next month. Even Tom Jones is still swivelling his hips and belting out the hits.

According to Jan Reid, Professor of Health Care for Older People at Northumbria University, 60 is no longer regarded as old.

"For the purposes of research, we divide people into young old and old old. At 60, Paul McCartney wouldn't even get into the young old category. That's 65 to 75 and the other is 75 plus. As more and more people are living longer, 60 seems like a spring chicken."

When the NHS was set up more than 50 years ago, the average life expectancy for a man was 67 but advances in medicine and an improved diet means people are living longer and remaining healthy and active well into what was once seen as old age.

Prof Reid says: "I think it also has something to do with the particular generation that are now in their 60s and 70s. They were the generation who reached adulthood in the Swinging Sixties. They were rebels, they broke social conventions, and they don't want to give that up.

"Their parents' generation was far more conventional. They were ready to fit into the stereotypes of what older people were like and what they did but their children just aren't prepared to do that."

COMPETITION: Are you sexy and over sixty?

Are you beating the years? Are you over 60, fashionable and fit? We're on the hunt for the North-East's top male sexy-genarian. The winner will be treated to a facial at the beauty salon at the newly-refurbished Gisborough Hall Hotel in Guisborough. Imagine relaxing in the purpose-built treatment rooms while one of the beauty therapists carries out a 60-minute treatment, specially designed for men. The facial exfoliates, moisturises and rejuvenates the skin. The prize also includes a facial for the winner's partner or friend and lunch for two.

HOW TO ENTER

Don't be shy chaps. You can nominate yourself and, ladies, you can nominate your partners. Just tell us in less than 100 words why you/your partner deserves to win the title of top man over 60. Send a photo if you have one. Entries should be sent to Top Man Competition, Features, The Northern Echo, Priestgate, Darlington DL1 1NF. The closing date is Monday, June 24.