I have just read Malcom's super article about Pat Wise.Pat is a good friend of mine and lives a stone's throw away.We sometimes stop at Pat's en route to my parent's house,just a mile or so up the road.Pat is in her late seventies now,but you would never believe it.She still takes a keen interest in all bike racing,watching it all on satellite tv.Unfortunately,I doubt if she will ride many more bikes,as she decided to part with the Honda CB400/4 as she wasn't using it enough,so we bought it!!!However,it it now for sale again as we both decided it was no longer our kind of bike as we have a preference for modern machinery.John can't really believe he rode one in his first TT in 1978.So if anyone wants a bike that has been owned by TWO famous lady TT riders.......
Pat met Beryl Swain a few times,but she firmly believes that her TT ride was more of a publicity stunt than a really serious attempt.She was known to turn up at meetings in a fur coat!!
Lady riders were definately banned from the TT after,I believe Inge Stolle was killed,and indeed they were seemingly banned from holding international road race licences.
It came as a surprise to a lot of people when I decided to do the TT after I gained my international licence,and my entry was accepted.I still had problems with the Ulster GP though and was turned down at the first attempt.However,the next year I had the sex discrimination act behind me and the fact that the FIM was also governed by it,and I was accepted to compete in 1983.Since then there has been no stopping the ladies,although the Manx GP took a while accepting us,having their own government,and the fact that the then Clerk of the Course,Jackie Wood vowed that no women would be permitted in the Manx GP as long as he was in charge!!I will never forget that.So there you have it,it's a small world