Just cuz I miss my R6....
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Isle of Man
- Thread starter scott43
- Start date
Must to admit to a love/hate relationship with this event.
At its best, even on TV it is a breathtaking spectacle of daring from some people whose skills and confidence is legendary. Unfortunately the annual carnage is just shocking. Already this year one dead, one critical. I sneak furtive glances at race results and only watch vid post race so I know there's no bad bits. Live is just too much...
In terms of riding a bike these days....wow, I remember decades ago when falling over skiing didn't hurt but falling off a motorcycle was invariably painful. Nowadays falling over skiing is frequently painful and I just can't imagine how falling of a bike would feel. The only riding I do these days is PlayStation.
At its best, even on TV it is a breathtaking spectacle of daring from some people whose skills and confidence is legendary. Unfortunately the annual carnage is just shocking. Already this year one dead, one critical. I sneak furtive glances at race results and only watch vid post race so I know there's no bad bits. Live is just too much...
In terms of riding a bike these days....wow, I remember decades ago when falling over skiing didn't hurt but falling off a motorcycle was invariably painful. Nowadays falling over skiing is frequently painful and I just can't imagine how falling of a bike would feel. The only riding I do these days is PlayStation.
While I would surely enjoy a leisurely ride around that beautiful road course, at anything close to race pace it is really just pure insanity.
In a WRC car with a very stout full cage you at least have a chance of surviving...
In a WRC car with a very stout full cage you at least have a chance of surviving...
It was all good with Joey Dunlop too... till it wasn't.
There's an interesting book/DVD by a a Canadian guy who sold up everything and moved to the IoM to compete in the TT. He was in his mid 40s at that time. He did indeed race. Fell just short of his aim of a 100mph lap but still an incredible thing to do. Was called "One Man's Island"
And now the latest bike lap record is 134.4 mph. Which is mind boggling on those narrow bumpy roads.
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2015
- Posts
- 6,329
A few good interviews appearing in the Gaurniad
Ian Hutchinson: ‘I want to race the TT until there is no more magic’
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...dunlop?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard
Ian Hutchinson: ‘I want to race the TT until there is no more magic’
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...dunlop?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard
This kind of thing always make me think of when people say "At least he died doing what he loved".
That might barely be true if you were suicidal... other than that I'd bet they (and the folks that care about them) would rather be ALIVE.
That might barely be true if you were suicidal... other than that I'd bet they (and the folks that care about them) would rather be ALIVE.
An interesting point for this year's racing was that the TT Zero bike's lap record was over 121 mph. Faster than the lap record for the 650cc Lightweight bikes.
Hutchinson still the only man to win all 5 solo TT races in the one week.
Isle of Man + wheelies at 200mph = balls of steel
If three-digit-speeds on that road course is normal for you, I'd wager a guess that most activities "normal" people would consider sane don't make you feel very alive.
(And yes, I think they're bloody nuts, with an incredible combination of skill, insanity, talent and courage...but that's more or less the same thing people driving the Beartooth Pass tend to say about people skiing it, so to each his own.)