Nostalgia!

I was writing a short story for the Dutch NOC Magazine about racing at the Isle of Man and thought I'd share these pictures from my dark and distant past with you, all taken at the Isle of Man.

The been cancelled twice now stopped Rally

This weekend saw us up at Glenfarg for a great Saturday night with the Dundee band Afterthought. If you are looking for a great band then look no further, details on You Tube!
Around 25 of us got together for a celebration of the rally thats now stopped, didn't stop us having a great time I can assure you (although I've been in warmer walk in fridges than the hotel!). First though we took Liz up to see Malcolm who is selling his V7 Cafe, a really nice and totally mint example, you'll be daft if you don't buy it Liz! Tempted myself but as most of you know I've no shortage of bikes, quite the opposite! A grand weekend!!

Philosphical Friday

I read this recently;

"Come forth, the sky is wide and it is a far cry to the worlds end....There is a road which leads to the Moon and the Great Waters...and it has no end; but it is a fine road a braw road - who will follow it"

It was by a Scots author John Buchan "The Rime of true Thomas" John Buchan was a Perth man so he had a good start to life, he also wrote "The 39 steps" and ended up the Governor General of Canada.
I'd suggest you read "The Rime (Rhyme) of true Thomas, its a short story with a powerful meaning, read it, understand then follow the road to the moon!

(Braw is old Scots word which means an enthused good)

Enjoy your Friday and the weekend!

Busy polishing.

Up at the unit today giving the JPN some tender loving care. Thanks to Sandy for his polishing tips and help. The bike is going on the NOC stand at the bike show so I thought i'd better get it looking presentable.

Cold but clear

Yesterday (Saturday) we wimped out of taking the bikes out as it was as windy as hell and wet, not nice at all. Today though it was sunny but very cold, perfect opportunity to get out for some fresh air. You always know its windy when the beach is full of para surfers or whatever you call them. Personally I'd call them lunatics, it really was cold today and these guys (and girls) launch themselves into the sea with a rubber suit on, madness, no matter how much of a rubber fetish you have! So the weather always suits someone I suppose, the windy days favour the surfers but make it awkward for the rest of us, ho hum, thats life I suppose. The good thing is that it must make life hell for the scourge of the roads (cyclists) although that didn't seem to stop hordes of them being out today! Another weekend closer to Summer....roll on!
I was out for a nice meal last night at an Indian/ Nepalese resturant, the very pleasant waiter was from Nepal and I in all seriousness asked him if they ate Elephants, I think he thought I was joking. If you had killed an elephant (in days gone by when there were plenty of them) why wouldn't you eat one? I think a elephant could feed a small village for a few days? And yet I've never heard of a Elephant Burger, something for you all to think about this week. I like Elephants by the way and I'm not advocating starting a craze for Elephant Burgers, just interested to know why we never hear of that.

TGIF

Yes Thank god its Friday and looking forward to the weekend, I managed to get some photos this week from Murrays Collection in the IOM and thought I'd share them with you, they include a nice TZ700, RG500, Guzzi Dondilino and The late great Bob McIntyre's helmet with the marks from a crash at Assen the year before his fatal crash at Oulton in 1962.

Isle of Man

Well my work here gp almost finished now so heading back to the airport for my flight home. Apart from work I was lucky enough to visit 2 museum's in the island filled with nice bikes. I found out that Murray's is open again down near castletown and Tony East has an excellent collection near Kirkmichael well worth seeing. Both were shut but when you are a genuine motorcyclist with an interest in history doors open. Thanks to the guys for taking the time to show me round. I'll be back in May if not before for the TT. Looking forward to it already.

Its a funny old world

This week i'm in the Isle of Man, not bike related but work related, really strange to be here with non bike related activities and to be here where the only reminder of this great Motorcycling mecca is the markers around the course. Because its work I'm staying in a nice hotel, back to the tent when I come here in May / June for the TT though. Like I said its a funny old world, the picture is taken at the Crosby Hotel just past where Guy Martin had his scary off in the TT 3D film, nice to see they have a proper bike on their sign!

Cold but dry

So another day where it was good enough to get the bikes out. We didn't go far but spent a large part of the day enjoying the fresh air of outside. We've been lucky with the amount of biking opportunities this winter so far, hopefully it'll keep up. Another photo of the Bridge (yes Scotlands most famous bridge) with the bikes in front, there must be dozens of photos on this blog from this spot , sorry, can't help it , such a great backdrop.

Too nice to stay in

After doing some work this morning the clear bright day was calling so popped out for a wee run around the back roads. Very cold today but no wind and almost dry roads. Its days like this that if you can make the effort you really need to get out and enjoy the bright weather.

The "Frostbite" Run

Today was the annual frostbite run organised by the Lothians Classic club, a great day weather wise with no frost, some rain but hey who would complain about that. The runs been cancelled the last two years due to weather but as I've said today was excellent, even the high winds we've been having settled down for the day. The run was quite short and with a stop for tea from the flask in a layby it was over not long after it started. A free lunch at the Leadburn (who says there's no such thing as a free lunch) for those who took part courtesy of club funds was excellent.
Although there were a few modern bikes there was a fair smattering of nice classics as well. What else would you do on a Sunday in January, a great way to pass the day!