[Fred Douglass]

.......I saw (again on SPEEDChannel) some totally fookin' LUDICROUS footage of an Isle of Man TT------probably from the 60's. There was ONE turn which missed the corner of a pub by about 3 feet, and both the pub and the curve were to the right. Therefore....the foo keen rider had to place his (apparently empty or defective) skull TOWARD the pub. You can do the math on that one, I'm sure. The guy was leaning into the already-insufficient space between him and the corner of the pub.

I've known a scad of Bwits...most of whom were professional sailors (grouped with their Aussie and Kiwi "cousins" that group in and of itself is full of "Section 8" types)....but amongst that group or their friends were fellow Poms who raced bikes and cars. The non-Amurrican English speakers (i.e. the above-mentioned groups) are absolutely nuckin' futs!
Have you seen the Aussie "sedans" with 750 hp engines)? Berserk.

Ditto Bwittish "hill-climbs". Americans are a buncha sofa-slugs compared to our wacko cousins from across the Briney. Their two-wheel racers display that national trait which made it utterly impossible for any furriners EVER to conquer their Sceptered Isles! They're all NUTS!

Check out the Volvo around-the-world races to see what I mean. Those sailor types (used to) years ago, kiss Mum and Dada ta-ta, sign aboard a monster monohull (multis are for Fwoggies and other lesser mortals) and head out to the world's race circuits. Absolutely cut the old umbilical. I met a young lady in Bermuda----after the Newport Bermuda Race---and she hadn't been home for 6 years. She was beautiful except for her teeth and the fact that she had hands like mine (hazard of ocean racing---oops!) AND...she was only 22 at the time.

The crew of a Kiwi boat called "Buccaneer" got on the de rigeur mopeds while in Bermuda, and were down at Royal Bermuda Yacht Club bar a few hours later. Every one of them was just coated with bandages, etc. Seems one (the leader) took a "roit tuhn" through a hibiscus hedge (and over a wall with a 12-foot drop). Of course they were all fortified with TREMENDOUS amounts of Mt. Queer Painkillah (rum) and equally of course, they all followed their erstwhile leadah!

One look at "The World's Fastest Indian" speaks volumes!

Chow,