PPIHC - Saturday - Rest

The early mornings were taking it's toll. I had kindda kept my body-clock somewhere between Colorado and Austria time... so it wasn't so much the early wake-ups, it was just lack of sleep. Five days on the trot with only 4 to 5 hours sleep. Just not enough for me. By six in the evening every day, Mr. Sandman had chucked grit in my eyes and my were bloodshot. I was just damn tired.

 

There is a cool 'Western Wear' store near the retail park just a mile from the cottage. we tried on some hats... I bought one :-)

Saturday we slept in... got my first proper sleep in about a week. We had a nice lazy breakfast before going to collect the wheels with new tyres on for the race and a few other errands in Colorado Springs. Ant and I then did a bit of prep on the bike for the race. Ant finished off the prep and Alex and I took a walk to the nearby 'Garden of the Gods'. It's quite spectacular.

I then took Alex up to the top of Pikes Peak... I used it as a last real-life refersher of the course. Left, right, right, right, left, left, right, right, left, right... I was remembering it! It's so scenic all the way up. The views from the top are breathtaking.

I was still pretty tired, the heat didn't help. All week it was in the low to mid thirties. Mid-week when we were up in Denver with the Big Red Duck, it was thirty-eight in the shade. At one mile above sea level, the sun is angry... you start burning within 20 minutes. We got back to the cottage in the late afternoon and the Big Red Duck was all set and ready to go. Thanks Ant!

 

Loads of old-timer American iron around... most of them still in daily use.

 

Marajuana is legal for medicinal purposes in Colorado. I the little town of Manitou Springs, it is legal for leisure use too. It's a booming business with a dope shop on every second street corner. Maggies Farm had a big parking lot that was always full... a hundred yards down the road was thier overflow parking that was always busy too. A bit like Amsterdam for the Brits, folks come to Manitou Springs just to get stoned!

 

We crashed out for another siesta... my body had many hours of catching-up to do! An hour later I was woken by the regular afternoon thunderstorm. The light and summer weather in Colorado is very much like Johannesbug, South Africa - where I grew up and spent most of my life. Similar altitude, similar bright, hard light. Warm, dry and dusty. Most afternoons, huge, black Cumulus clouds roll in. Thunder and lightning. You can smell the rain... then a ten minute downpour. Clouds move on and the sun shines again. Everything washed and clean.

 

Loads of eclectic shops with cool stuff... like this one where you can get oil lamps, guns, ammo, tools, dungarees... everything you need for your western mountain adventure!

That evening we went to downtown Manitou Springs for a walk-around to check out the hippies and crazies and for the best steak in town at the Keg (local opinion that we have confirmed). We got back to the cottage and were in bed before it was dark - we had to be at the gate to the park well before 03h00. Between 03h00 and 06h00, they let the spectators up the single-carriage roadway. If you get there much later than 03h00, you'll be queueing for miles all the way back into town.


My head hits the pillow and I dream of a single-track to the clouds... tomorrow we're goin' racin!

TT Day 4 - Turbulent Practice

On Tuesday we were up at the garage at 09h00 to work on the bikes. Some final prep and a few graphics on the Triumph and putting a new clutch in the KMR.

Triumph through Ramsay

She's purdy...

In the garage, our landlords have lent us a wee wireless radio that we listen to Radio Manx on. Course and weather updates during the day. I had bumped the tuning knob earlier and it kept switching between Radio Manx and another station. We couldn't get the tuning right. Over lunch we heard on the radio: "This evening's practice has been cancelled due to adverse weather...". Looking out the window, it was sunny... but very windy. 'Bummer' we thought.

Changing the clutch on the KMR - enduro style

We would take the opportunity to get the KMR dyno'd (mandatory). By 14h00 we had both bikes ready, loaded up the KMR and hauled it up to the grandstand to get dyno'd. We waited in the dyno queue and finally it was our turn. She got the thumbs up and came in at a healthy 92 horsepower.

Queue for the dyno

As we finished, the skrootineering bays opened up and bikes started queuing for skrootineering. I saw Ivan Lintin and asked him whether practice was cancelled. Nope - it was going ahead. Because of the blustery conditions and rain showers forecast, it wouldn't be timed. The message we heard on the radio must have been a replay from Monday's announcement. We were in the paddock but only had 1 bike with no fairings on it and none of the other gear we need for practice.

Another SAffer - BSB Superstock champ Hudson Kannaugh

Battle Stations! We slung the KMR back on the trailer and barged our way out of the super-busy paddock. Back to the garage... load the Triumph and gear. Back to the paddock and fight our way through the crows to our paddock space. Unload and Triumph up to skrootineering... fairings back on the KMR and up through skrootineering. At 17h50 we had both bikes through skroots and on tyre warmers for the 18h20 practice start. Cutting it fine.

Alan (Bud) Jackson - 68 TT Finishes and 29 ManxGP/Classic TT finishes - Legend!

Practice starts from Glencrutchery Road - at the Classic TT/Manx, we start from pit-lane where it is crammed and a disorganized mess. Feels a bit more special to go up onto Glencrutchery Road for the start. Soon I'm paddling the Triumph up to the starter who put his hand on my shoulder.

Tap. And we're off. The rider staring next to me is on a 1000cc machine and drags past me up to St. Ninians. Over the bumps before that fast jump, the Triumph feels harsh and flighty. the bars flicking in my hands. Damn! We got to sort this out for the next session.

Through St. Ninians and the guy on the 1000cc had gapped me by about 10 yards... but he then rolls. I have to roll the throttle too  over the jump and then get back on the gas hard to overtake him on his outside at the next right-hander. He wasn't a newcomer but perhaps there was something wrong with his bike... or this was his first visit on a 1000cc. On with the lap...

The Triumph is fast. The fastest bike I have ever ridden around the Isle. Silky smooth power deliver, pulls from low down and sounds gorgeous. Slick gear-change through the quickshifter - I'm sort shifting a lot and only hitting 14 000 rpm a few times. Despite that, I am still going faster through some sections than I even have before. I also need to get accustomed to having very little engine braking - on the big Vee Twins I normally race, letting go of the throttle is like putting on the brakes... not so with this wee triple cylinder machine. I need to anticipate the brakes earlier.

One of the fast boys - Keith Amor

Shift lights on the dash need adjusting. my seating position feels scrunched up and a bit too small. I keep bashing my helmet against the top edge of the screen. Rain showers through Glen Helen. I get a nice slide on through the fast Doran's as I cross the white line. "Whooooah". Easy, tiger. More patchy rain and damp patches. Over the bumps the bike is a handful. I learn a lot and this bike that has very different characteristics to what I am used to.

Another legend - Dave 104 TT finishes and 28 ManxGP/Classic TT finishes since 1982

Pretty soon and I'm on my second lap - being careful where it's damp and feeling the bike. Understanding the bike.

I get back to the grandstand before the second session starts where Nic is waiting with the KMR all warmed-up, fueled and ready to go. I have a 10 minutes rest before slinging my leg over the bike and heading down Glencrutchery Road. Bray Hill flat out this time :-)

Rising star and one of the top privateers last year - Ivan Lintin

The KMR is so different to the Triumph. It's like a big, soft armchair - the Triumph a hard metal barstool. We made some changes to the geometry... they were working beautifully. She is solid and stable yet light and easy to turn. The easiest bike I have ridden around the Isle so far. Thanks Ryan and Warren!

Visor clean between sessions

As I get through Konker Trees, Ryan Farquhar goes past on his new version of the KMR. I go to school. His new bike is fast! I hang on for a mile or two till Ramsay where it is wet and raining. I get back behind him up the Waterworks. It's dry and he blitzes me up to the Mountain Mile where he disappears into the distance. The difference between 117mph and 107mph laps.

The wee bike put out a healthy 92 bhp

At Hailwood's it starts raining... around the bend and a massive black cloud is where Douglas should be... a storm in the valley. The rain turns to a deluge. The road has running water on it and the massive drops sting as they pelt off my leathers. I knock the speed off and just pootle along... getting drenched. The rain clears by the time we get to the Cregg. I do a few more fast, dry corners and when I get to Governor's dip, I decide that it's not worth going for the second lap. To the start/finish line and the session is red-flagged. Shortly after, the rest of practice is abandoned. I feel for the sidecar guys... they haven't got a lap in yet.

Pootling the Triumph into Signpost Corner

We're happy. Riding the Triumph for the first time here - it is fast, but we need to work on the handling and a few ergonomics. The KMR changes were in the right direction and she feels great :-) , Our garage landlord, Glenda, was marshaling at Kirmichael. When we dropped the bikes off after the session she said there were 4 riders behind me on the first lap... the same 4 were behind me on the second lap. Great to know that I'm not getting my ass handed to me on a plate by the TT regulars :-)

The girls all tucked in for the night

TT Day 3 - Washout

The forecast wasn't good for today... rain and gale-force winds. We still had lots to do on the bikes so made our way to the garage at 09h00 and got cracking.

From Saturday's first practice - Ballaugh Bridge

We fitted a steering damper to the Triumph. An Ohlins unit with an under-the-air-intake to the fork leg mounting. The steering damper K-Tech supplied for on top of the yoke had a different fitting... they didn't know that in 2013 Triumph changed the distance between tank bolts on their new model. Strange... I thought they'd have been onto that by now.

MRA screen for the Triumph - not as high as the one we had fitted before but stronger

Mike Hailwood display and memorabilia for sale in the Hailwood Center

We then headed to the paddock to see what we could do with tyres for the little bike. We have a 'pivot' handling issue we are looking to solve. The Metzeler guys fitted a bigger tyre... but it was just a wee bit too big for the standard rim... so we went back to the tyre we ran on Saturday and will look at changing the bike geometry to compensate.

Some interesting exotica off the EBR that Mark Miller is riding

Quiet day at the Metzeler awning - we had some long discussions and tried a few things

Dom Herbertson's steam-punk expanded Fireblade tank

It then started raining...and the wind :-( We had my Arai helmets serviced (free for all Arai wearers) by James Egan and a new visor and Pinlock fitted. We are trying this new fandangled Pinlock system where the tint turns dark automatically. We'll see how it works next practice.

More rider shots - James Egan isn't doing the TT but is a super-fast short circuit rider in BSB, a SAffer and serviced my Arai helmets. Thanks James!

Taking the shock out and adjusting the ride height... we'll see if it works...

Refuge offered for all the spectators over on bikes and camping...

We also managed to find a clutch pack for the KMR. Clutch was slipping on Saturday so the thickening of the pack by using different steels didn't work. During all of this, the Clerk of the Course announced that the evening practice was cancelled as the weather wouldn't clear in time.

On the day of first scheduled practice and I'm still painting... we got stick for the asymmetric number placing in skrootineering on Saturday. It's legal but the skroots whine. Decided to play it safe and change the Triumph number placement to keep them happy.

Triumph Graphics coming along...

We headed back to the garage to continue working on the bikes. We got the KMR pretty much ready for her next outing with a tweaked geometry and the Triumph not far off with just the graphics and final prep to finish. A few hours tomorrow morning and we'll be ready for practice with both bikes. We also have to get the Lightweight bike dyno'd.

More pics from Saturday's practice from Dave Kneen at the Cregg ny Baa

TT Day 2 - Sunday is Day of Rest... for some

Today we were up at the paddock by 09h00 for a technical briefing. No very exciting but some good information... no celebrity selfies today. I think the celeb riders were all still sleeping-in in their motorhomes.

The three-legged garage cat

We then set to work on the long list of things to be done on the Triumph, starting with an oil change. The first scheduled practice for Supersport is tomorrow ... need to get the bike ready and prepped.

We had a break for lunch down at the Cregg ny Baa where we also caught the last 5 laps of MotoGP. Then back to work on the Triumph.

Cool Rat-Monster in the Paddock

We ticked a lot off the list but by 18h00 we called it a day and headed back to Brett's for a delicious home-cooked Sunday roast :-)

Fuel tank saga... more mods to our Triumph fuel tank. We think we'll have enough for 2 laps. We'll see...

We've still got quite a bit to do... but confident we can get it all done before tomorrow afternoon afterwhich we'll be up at skrootineering. Tomorrow evening we have a 1.5 hour practice session scheduled. Unfortunately we have poor weather forecast too. Nae worries... we will be ready regardless.