brrm

Today in Fun Ways to Die:

A man riding a motorcycle. (needs flash, SFW)

The observant may spot that he is riding a Royal Enfield Bullet like mine. No, I have no immediate plans to replicate it...

Today was busy. When I got to the scrutineering necessary before riding my dad's Norton on the track, they took what must've been half an hour examining the bike, tightening this, changing the run of that cable, etc etc. One of the assembled company took pictures of the melêe, and pronounced that this would make the VMCC magazine! As a result of this faffing around, I missed the session I was supposed to go out on. Fortunately, there was another I could be slotted into. However, the Norton decided after 2 laps that it had had enough, and conked out. Ah well, teething troubles - it has only just been put back on the road.

Also present at the festival was one of the three remaining Wall of Death shows in the UK. I was already aware of the concept - rider rides motorcycle round the inside of large cylinder, cheating gravity. This had not quite prepared me for the reality of the spectacle. First, the spectators stand essentially on a shelf at the top of the cylinder, on the outside. This means that, as the bikes pass, you can feel the structure flex. Second, the bikes come a lot closer than I had anticipated - especially thrilling were the rides straight at the audience, with last-second change of direction back down. Thirdly, "no hands" was only the beginning of the stunts practiced. See the photos (link below) for details. :-)
In one of those "things to do before you die" moments, I urge you to go and try it for yourself, if one should happen to be in your vicinity. The one I saw has a website, but it is a little under-construction at the moment.

As for the Norton - reviewers aren't kidding when they rave about the Featherbed frame and the Roadholder forks. The ES2 is easily the nicest-handling bike I have ridden so far. It is less about steering the bike around the road, more about thinking it towards one direction or the other. This is the bike in question.

Mallory Park is a rather attractive little circuit - what I managed to see of it in two laps! The lakes in the middle are unusual, but add to the charm. :-)

Complete set of photos.

Fire at the National Motorcycle Museum

650 bikes destroyed.
"The bikes destroyed in the collection traced the history of the British motorcycle industry and many of the museum's rarest exhibits were among those lost."

Very sad.

As recommended by jiggery_pokery, a list of 50 things that make me smile (in no particular order):

( 50 things )