I KNEW I should have booked for the TT last year!

Won't be the same now if I ever get to go...

http://www.scunthorpetelegraph.co.uk/Guy-Martin-retiring-Isle-Man-TT-star-announces/story-26002437-detail/story.html

Legends are getting harder to find!

I love him , there has been a new TV program put out over the last two weeks Our Guy in India a great watch I dont know how you go on over by yonder at getting uk TV stuff but if you can it was a good watch I watched it on Channel 4 catch up on here I am not sure but I think it was put on YouTube
as for the TT I think that the TT is bigger than any one man it will still be good but it will be different thats for sure I love the man

Yeah... Just found the link to the India trip last night. We get to watch British TV through all sorts of links, mostly the Canadian CBC network or PBS from the States. SQMBO has full control of the PVR and the remote, so I get to watch all sorts of British Mysteries, even some Aussie ones... 'Foyle's War', 'Miss Fisher', 'Grantchester', etc... On the subject of Guy though, I had an inkling he may have been considering greener pastures than the job at the truck depot. I watched the Spitfire build, and the Pike's Peak episode, and thought "Unh-hunh... He may be a guest host on 'Top Gear' pretty soon!"
Of course, you'd need some sort of universal translator hooked up for us North Americans to be able to understand the whole conversation!
Not sure who I'll switch my allegiance to now for an underdog. Maybe Ryan Farquhar... Good name, and he used to ride the EXACT same Ninja 650 as me... (Well, it LOOKED the same anyways...)

I think he still loves the truck fitting with his dad to try and keep in touch with his roots , for a new boy to follow Dean Harrison is a nice lad coming up fast and is about ready , another one coming through that I like but am not just sure he has that extra little bit of fire in his belly is James Cowton both a roads riders and have come up on the roads more than the circuits , I watch both with interest , but the competition is so close in the top 20+ it has the makings of one of the best TT 's for a long time more BMW's than you can shake a stick at the new un tested R1 with the top man on its back and young Deano and the upgraded Blade with JM130 and Conner Comings and then we have Maria Costello with her best chance ever of doing well for the ladies record, get that ticket booked

Guess I've got mixed feelings. He was a great ambassador to the sport, and I would have really liked to have seen him win a TT race (or even be there).

But that said, I remember sitting on the bank up at the Creg in 2010 for hours thinking that Guy had died in a fiery crash, so kinda glad he's bailing out (mostly) in one piece.

There's other great riders to follow, but Guy will be missed in the bike world. Hope he does show up somewhere doing a bike TV show or some-such.

Oh wait... should have read more carefully. He still has a chance in 2015 to get that TT win. Good luck Guy!

I've been able to catch pretty much all of his TV stuff, one way or another. Folks send me stuff, some of it is on YouTube, and I do have my ways of watching the occasional British show in it's native land.

I know exactly what you mean Smilo, by sitting there thinking he was a goner at that crash. I only found out about it an hour or two later catching up with events listening to Radio Manx. There was still a lot of confusion about how bad the injuries were, and the thought that he had run out of luck kept coming up. Then again, I worry about them all! Funny how you get personal with the riders even though I've only met a few. Ian Lougher was here for a promo for the ill fated Cape Breton TT. I knew very little about the race then. I remember being incredibly impressed with his enthusiasm and skills.
I'll be listening again this year I guess, we have a cruise scheduled with the family in early July. No way finances or time lines will allow for both.
It'll be interesting seeing if Guy gets a BMW!

Guy is on the BMW with William Dunlop as team mate , Tyco have gone to BMW from Suzuki , the twists of who is riding what is putting some sparkle in to it ,
Its funny the thing about remembering where you were when events happen , I was at Ballacrine when Guy had his off about 3 miles after where it happened so we knew he was missing before it was on the radio so we went on our marshals radio to find out what had happened , I was gutted as I love the man , then on the day before I had been at Quary Bends when Mark Loickt a Swedish rider had come off we had got him in to the chopper knowing he was in a bad way but thinking once we had him stable enough to fly he was going to be ok , then while we were waiting to see hoe bad Guys off was I got a phone call from the islands coroner informing me that Mark had not mad it and would I go and make a statement, that shook me , I was very close to throwing the towel in and calling it a day with the marshalling and the Island , Guy has said that he is not retiring all together but not as intence as he is at the moment more out of the back of the van for himself and doing more oddball events as he putts it , I like what he said at the end of the India Prof that he is going to go back and ride the Enfield home , that will make a couple of good programs , bring it on I say ,

I remember you posting on the old FS about your bad TT experience that year. Funny how people thousands of miles away can have the same wretched gut feeling at near the same time. I vividly remember that feeling when our great F1 driver, Gilles Villeneuve, was killed in 1982. I was amazed at the tributes coming in that day from Italy to Argentina!
It's supposed to be a miserable snow day tomorrow! I spent the whole bloody day today blowing out the driveway and paths around the house. If I get snowed-in again tomorrow, I think I will get out my nice new bottle of Captain Morgan, stoke up the fire, and watch the Youtube version of Guy's Indian 'Adventure'!
There is a couple that have been riding BMW's half-way around the world. I've been following their adventures on SportsTouring and ADV Rider for almost 3 years now. They are currently riding in Spain, headed for the TT at some point. I'll post a link tomorrow. They also rode two Royal Enfields through India to the Himalayas several years ago. Quite the 'adventure'. Not something I would have on the top of my 'to-do' list. It will be interesting seeing the comparison, if any, in the rides!

Ye the remembering where thing is like when I heard about Joey Dunlop I just could not believe it at first , I was at a race meeting at Scarborough some one had picked it up from some where just as it happened , and about nearly an hr later they confirmed it over the commentary system , put a right downer on the rest of the day ,
As for the endurance rides that is something I always fancied but never got round to , but sadly don't think I could manage now , so will remain a one that got away

As I've said before, Joey's death was the thing that finally got me to take the trip to the TT. Kind of odd, but he was the TT to me (from my limited vantage point), and I even thought he lived there.

I had imagined that when I did manage to go, I would meet him in a pub somewhere. His passing made me realize that not only would he not be around to meet, but I might not be around to go. So I went...

For all its a boat trip and feels like an adventure every time we go , road miles its only about 90 from our house to Douglas , and even after 25 or more crossings I am still like a kid at crimbo when the Island comes in to view be it by boat or plane , and could cry every time I am leaving for fear it may be my last

Yeah, I've tried to analyze the attraction, but I can't figure it out to be honest.

The trip for me isn't easy or cheap. But I've not found anything else in regards to visiting a place that is as addictive.

I miss every year I don't go, I wonder if I'm going to get to go again, I miss people I see only there, I wonder if it is going to happen again, etc., etc.

I don't get that attachment to other places/events I've been to. It's an odd deal and it bites so many who visit.

This is where my TT fund is being invested this year...

http://www.oneoceanexpeditions.com/East_Coast_Wildlife_Safari.php

Family thing, no way to back out. Should be a 'once in a lifetime' type thing, and to be honest, I think it would be the #1 choice if I HAD a choice...
No, maybe not...
Anyways... The whole thing has rekindled my interest in East Coast motorcycle trips. I was going to head for the Great Plains out west, but logically, funding trips nearer to home is much more likely. Several bikers I know are interested in a Newfoundland trip and the ferry embarks about 1/2 hour from my front door.
Not quite the same as the Steam Packet to Douglas... but close...





And WAY cheaper!!

well I have to say that for some years now I have run my life and finances around the TT , but with hind sight what has suffered the most has been the bum on seat riding , and am thinking of rectifying that a little over the next couple of years , I am cutting back on the marshalling for this year and thinking I will call it my last year at it , I think I have done my bit for the sport I love , and will as long as health allows drop back to going as a spectator to selected events I would love to do one more long distance run , but not sure if I could do it something like a Lands End to John o Grote's 1800 mile round trip , I have fancied doing that for more years than I care to admit , and to add a twist to it I fancied doing it on a Honda 90 not sure that will ever happen but if it is ever going to , then it's going to have to be soon time is ticking by far too fast

Yeah, I have to figure I'll eventually get over the house thing, and will be able to consider another big trip again.  I want to do the TT again, but it may be a while.

Short-term plans include a trip to vintage races at Barber motorsports park in Alabama (maybe take the toy-hauler).  And maybe some trip to Circuit of the Americas in Austin TX.

I'm glad I at least had that Montreal trip before the fire, so I am not going too crazy for lack of riding.

Ye that not getting enough bum on seat is a teriblee thing it bites you every now and again and no warning when it is going to bite , not like a Rattler that you can hear the warning sounds as you approach it just sneaks up and whacks you , last year I was that busy building the M11 Bugilow then getting on with the marshaling that I just did not realize how little riding I had done , and then one dark cold night I opened the Garage door stood there and looked at 3 bikes and 2 projects and wondered what had I done ? where had the time gone ? and its been nagging me ever since , I love the marshaling but I am still a rider at heart and need to get the balance sorted it has tipped the wrong way at the moment , trouble with me is its all or nowt I get somthing in my head and thats it , like a dog with a bone , lol, will have to be careful though don't want a divorce for the 50th wedding anniversary !!

My rotten little kid lives on the other coast 3,000 miles away. He just sent pictures of the beach with green leaves and apple blossoms and mid teen temperature (60+ for the Fahrenheit guys). Other than his little piece of British Columbia, the rest of the country looks like this...

Well... it does if you're on a coast.
My driveway looks like this...

and the lane up to the house (1000' long) looks like this...


...and no! That's not concrete. It's solid ice, and yes, it IS uphill.
Blehhh... I am starting to get the bike jitters even so. I just bought a small ratchet set and some screwdrivers to build a new toolkit for the KLR. It can't be that much more winter, can it?
I must make plans. Time is wasting!

The last few days have been extra-tough, and I was feeling it. At the wife's insistence, We took the bike out yesterday and went for a nice ride. It helped a lot.

Weather is wonderful here, but looking for a bit of rain (the non-frozen version of snow for those who forget) during the week.

I am in a rut and so desperately feel the need for bum on seat , but my problem is that I am at a turning point and have to have a big sort out , and I hate selling bikes or anything else for that matter , as I know I am going to regret it the minute whatever it is goes down the drive , and have that feeling that I have undersold it or I have been ripped off in some way , Grrrrr I hate change , is that a symptom of getting Old ?? have to admit I am starting to feel it I am getting Grumpier by the day , according to some , I don't believe a word of it , ME GRUMPY ???? never lol

Well, better to choose a change than get forced into it. That's one way to look at it. I can nearly guarantee that some riding will help with the "old grumpy" syndrome.

Being around all the biking stuff, like your marshaling surely helps too, but never found anything like riding to put me in a better mood.

Oh yeah, meant to comment on J.P.'s pictures as well, but frankly, as a Florida-ite, I'm just stunned!

Your spot on Smiley, the fear of being forced in to a change , a change that would not be of my choosing worries me , and yes the involvement of the marshalling helped in a way but was with hind sight a big part of what kept me too busy to do the riding, don't get me wrong I have no regrets for doing it as I have had a great time and made a lot of friends along the way , and yes them photos of J P s are something else but to me now that white stuff is best in photos , the cold gets to my old bones too much these days