I now own all of two DVDs. The second one is 'TT Closer to the Edge' which, as the more astute of you will have worked out, about the TT races. It features the second most fave set of sideburns, Mr. Guy Martin. So, since it was my birthday I was allowed to watch whatever I wanted to, and, so, birthday Magnum in hand, I enjoyed an hour and a half of completely bonkers bike riding, punctuated by crashes, one of which was fatal.
And then I watched the MotoGP from California and thought it very boring.
I ask myself why? Does the risk inherent in the TT make it more dangerous, or is the odd combination of 200mph bikes and front gardens somehow more intriguing? Does the wonderful Isle of Man landscape make the TT more real? Do the TT riders, who seem (with no disrespect at all) so ordinary make it that bit easier to identify with?
What I do know is that I'd never have made a motorcyclist. Cycling's put me in A+E six times (two of those weren't my fault, mind...) so I reckon that riding anything more powerful than my skinny legs would have proved fatal by now. But, much as I admire motorcyclists, and love riding along the A29 to see them sweeping round curves at high speed, the 'short circuit' thing leaves me cold.
And then I watched the MotoGP from California and thought it very boring.
I ask myself why? Does the risk inherent in the TT make it more dangerous, or is the odd combination of 200mph bikes and front gardens somehow more intriguing? Does the wonderful Isle of Man landscape make the TT more real? Do the TT riders, who seem (with no disrespect at all) so ordinary make it that bit easier to identify with?
What I do know is that I'd never have made a motorcyclist. Cycling's put me in A+E six times (two of those weren't my fault, mind...) so I reckon that riding anything more powerful than my skinny legs would have proved fatal by now. But, much as I admire motorcyclists, and love riding along the A29 to see them sweeping round curves at high speed, the 'short circuit' thing leaves me cold.