M.G.P. 2003 Practice Week - Monday Morning, 18th August 2003

Spent a lot of Sunday changing the wheel bearings that the Scrutineers had requested, and they were a right twat to get out…… Had to venture to Peel to get two of my work mates Derek and James to help…… a big ‘thank you’ to those two for doing it…… a nightmare if you don’t have the proper gear…… makes it worse when you feel like they never needed doing in the first place…… had the bike fettled ready for the off …………

Sunday night ended with pissing rain, told Stuey that if it was wet when I woke up, I’d be going back to sleep……actually woke up at about 4-10am without the aid of an alarm, had a look out of the van window and saw it was wet and then went back to sleep…… Stuey, however had different plans…… he had gotten up early doors, changed the wheels to Intermediates, had the bike through scrutineering and right at the front of the queue in the holding area…… Then he duly banged on the side of the van and said ‘Get up you lazy Twat’…… or words to that effect…… he said that he didn’t think that it was that bad…… totally disagreed, as the paddock was piss wet through, didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the roads would be the same…… still, if he hadn’t been ready, I would have probably wondered why……

Went out onto the road to have a proper look and decided not to bother going out at the beginning…… met David Bell who so far, is 2nd fastest in practise and he said he wasn’t bothering…… thought that I really don’t need the laps in that badly to go out and do it in the wet…… although I still felt like I could do with getting a lap in…… just for the hell of it like…… watched the boys head off from the pit lane and they were all spinning up all the way down Glencrutchery Road, and told myself I had made the right decision…… but half an hour later I decided to go and wobble round to get 1 lap in…… figured that two more in the evening session and that would be me qualified outright, another reason was that I should really make the effort as all the Marshal’s and Officials had, and for sure it would be less fun for them. Got changed and met Stuey at the bike in the holding area…… Set off and spun up the rear, and headed off down Bray Hill…… caught a classic at the bottom so had to throttle off and rounding the QB, knew that my mate Scotty Boy, who’s a copper, was on duty there…… so gave him the fingers on the way past, all the way round…… as I had set off with only about 10 minutes of the session left there wasn’t that much traffic, which was handy…… It was pretty greasy out, but I was aware of it and tried to steer clear of all the painted white lines…… knew that Chris would be at Ballacraine, but never saw him, so just carried on…… pretty steady away an all an that…… gave my sister Angie and bro-in-law Mike, a wave going through Kirk Michael and then caught up with some traffic…… got past with plenty of room and was having quite an easy time of it, although had a bit of cramp in my left hip which was a tad uncomfortable…… still, it was only for one lap…… into Ramsey, and I was nice and smooth rounding Parliament Square, then powered up to May Hill as normal, but when I got there I thought that it looked just that bit too damp to tip in at the speed I was going, so took the safe option of changing down a gear straightening up, and using the slip road……… turned round and was held by the Marshal till a bike went past…… wouldn’t have minded but he was only just coming round the corner by Raymotors Garage!!…… passed the classic again at the hairpin and just had a steady ride over the mountain…… no moments, just a Sunday drive over it…… (probably quicker on a Sunday drive)…… passed a few more classics and somebody on a Junior bike at Hillberry, was extra extra cautious at Governors as it was probably at its worst here……… and crossing the line there was loads in front…… wobbled up the return road and gave the bike to Stuey, then we both went and washed the shite off it…… get it fettled ready for tonight…… gonna put new brake pads in her as well. Would be nice to get a couple of quick laps in tonight…… the weather forecast has given it…… lovely, like……