With video - Lukas Dryml's retirement letter to his fans

Winter time, a unique feeling, because you can look at bikes from a different perspective.

So, when I looked out of the window and saw marvellous snowy mountains, my thoughts were turning into a special zone.

I thought about pros and cons.

Using my imagination, I was considering different scenarios.

I raced on a speedway bike for so many years, so obviously it wasn’t an easy decision.

Speedway will always stay in my heart, there’s no doubt about it.

I don’t think the shape of my soul will ever change. I will love speedway until the day I die. I am addicted to this beautiful sport.

I devoted so much time to being a speedway rider. I always wanted to bring a lot of excitement and pure joy to all my fans and speedway supporters.

But there comes a time when my family becomes a priority. Methanol was my “air” for many years. I loved speedway action. We all know you need to be fully dedicated if you dream about being successful on the track.

Now I want my wife, my lovely little daughter to be my closest people. I enjoy spending time with them.

Many factors were considered so I made a decision to call it a day.

My private life has changed a lot.

Modern speedway is negative in some aspects but of course sport has its positive side as well.

I remain optimistic seeing the possibilities to develop speedway and put it into a family of high profile sports.

I had moments of enormous joy but, during my racing days, I had tough times when I touched the darkest side of speedway.

It was glory and pain, a truly wonderful mixture. Speedway taught me how to survive when I struggled.

My racing career made me tough and sensitive.

I must admit I am very well prepared to make the next step in my life.

I am full of energy, I know how to handle all pressure, I am fresh mentally.

A life is not always a bed of roses, we are not living in a perfect world. I am a down-to-earth, easy-going bloke. That’s how I see it.

I feel I did everything I could on a speedway track. My results and achievements speak for themselves.

I have won many tournaments. I always gave 100% and made great effort to succeed. The bar was set pretty high, I wanted to make my dreams come true.

Of course I was extremely lucky because my family helped me a lot.

My parents were so energetic to prepare me for a wonderful speedway career.

Whenever I needed any advice, my mum and dad were always ready to support me. I met many friends and people with a lovely heart.

Speedway is my family. I have fabulous people around me, I have true fans and great sponsors.

I want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who helped me throughout my racing days.

I always did my best on a bike, always put all my energy into being a good speedway rider.

But I must admit I don’t feel I can race any more. There’s no magic spark any more, there’s no extremely strange feeling when I sit on a bike now.

I had my time, its time walk away and concentrate on different aspects in life.

I don’t feel I need to be nervous like before every single race.

That’s the main reason why I decided to say farewell to speedway racing.

I strongly believe I will have a happy family life. Now I don’t need to spend hours in a workshop, I can smell the coffee with my wife and see the other side of life with joy. Observing our little daughter Tereza growing is a magical feeling.

I have a deep faith that there will be another child in our family but no pressure to educate another speedway rider.

I want to live a life with huge emotional intensity.

I am lucky enough to cross the river without getting my feet wet. My parents have built a good company and a very successful business. They worked hard during the last 20 years.

Was this Lukas Dryml's finest race at Arlington?

Being a car dealer is a fantastic venture but it requires a lot of effort.

I promise I will do my best to make a family business even more successful.

Skoda is a good car and I hope I take care of our customers and employ the best staff possible.

Obviously there’s always a big question mark regarding speedway. Only time will tell. Who knows? Maybe I will take care of up and coming youngsters in Czech Republic speedway?

Perhaps I will work to make speedway stronger in a larger European scale.

You ever know what the next day will bring. One thing is certain: speedway will always have a nice dwelling in my heart.

Many thanks to all my fans, sponsors, friends and for all the great moments I had during my speedway career.

I can only hope you had a nice time when I was racing.

I take a look at a speedway bike with a huge amount of love and admiration. Yes, it was a fabulous piece of music, no doubt about it.

Lukas Dryml

See The Argus today for Dryml interview and your Eagles v Leicester kids-a-quid voucher