It starts one week tomorrow!

My mouth was drier than an Egyptians sandal and my palms sweatier that a fat girls bra. The moment of truth was finally here and an eerie silence descended upon me as I waited for it all to begin. Just to make matters worse, there was 6 minute hold-up as they cleaned part of the course and someone walked up to me showing a ‘Lack of adhesion at Snugborough’ sign minutes before I set off.

Snugborough? It could have said Yellow-Brick-Road for all the sense it made, my pickled brain went to instant mush and I frantically tried to run through the 300 corners in my head and work out where the hell Snugborough was.

This had to be the biggest build up to anything in my entire life, there was no turning back now and if I didn’t already feel bad enough, the race organizers made me wear a stylish and bright orange vest to warn everyone that I was a TT novice and could possibly do anything or go anywhere at any time.

Almost without warning it was time to go and the travelling marshal blasted off like he was on a mission and I dumped the clutch and burbled away like the novice I now was. I threw a few gears at it in an attempt to keep up but the race bikes stiff suspension, thin grips, hard foam seat and race tyres sent every bump and ripple right through me and I vibrated off down the road like I was riding a rampant rabbit.

My body couldn’t cope with the vibrations from the road and with-in seconds my vision was blurred and my mouth bounced up and down like a set of wind-up chattering teeth.

It was a massive and serious shock to the system and I hadn’t even done ½ a mile of the 37 ¾ mile circuit. Before I had time to react, panic, pull-in or turn back, I was already on my way down Bray Hill and the Travelling Marshal was a mere spec in the distance.

You dread moments like this. Times when you are completely and utterly out of your comfort zone and you don’t know what to expect next. I mean I’d done my homework so I knew which corners came after one another but the pot holes, bumps, crests, grates, white lines, curbs and wall lined course threw up some interesting surprises and the sheer speed of the place made your eyes pop out of your head and touch the inside of your visor.

The only bit of comfort was the warmth coming from my soiled pants which soon became a lot warmer as we crested the hill after the Wagon and Horses pub and the road fell away while as we were flat out in top gear. Holly sh*t, as if Bray Hill wasn’t bad enough, this was like falling off the face of the earth. Oh yes, and you are supposed to keep it pinned for a mile down the other side as well and on to the fastest part of the track.

I think I must have been holding my breath for most of the first 9 miles as kind of felt dizzy braking into Ballacraine and had to tell myself to breath, my body still needed oxygen even if it was rapidly falling into a state of shock.

The rest of the lap was a vibrating blur and it made a million times worst knowing that they set the fast guys off when the orange jacketed novices reached Kirk Michael. This felt like a red rag to a bull, us novices were the red rag and they’d just let the bulls lose.

It was a sense of relief and excitement as I finished my first lap of the Isle of Man TT course on closed roads and could hardly speak as I got off the bike. First time for everything eh?! The guys quickly re-fuelled and sent me straight back out for another two laps before I had time to get changed and run to the airport and before I knew it I was back in the saddle and heading out again, this time alone.

You think the first lap following the Marshal was scary enough; the first lap by yourself is absolutely terrifying as you’ve no one to follow or gauge yourself from. When someone finally does come past they do at warp-speed, pulling rabbits out of the hedges, blowing toupees off pensioners and while laying long darkies with the bike shaking its head in protest from the demanding island course.

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#22 said:

Jesus H Christ.

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WVMotoGP99 said:

Been googling around the World Wide Web and can't find a live feed of the TT. Is there not such a thing?


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yamfan said:

TT Live
Is this any good? I've not tried it yet. I believe there's also a Facebook page for Manx radio TT coverage too.

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