Loving the memories of the early morning practises,

My very first one,
Was a strange affair,,
As at the time i was working in Crellins the Bakers,
So the Bike was already to go on the Sunday, Complete with Numbers etc, Proddy LC,,
But still had to to the midnight shift at work, getting time off for a couple of hours to go and practise,
Turned up to work at 12, on the bike, leathers etc, changed into my Bakers gear,
Then disappeared off at around 4am, to go to the Grandstand, Not sure if anybody was there to help out, but with a proddy bike it didn't really matter,
But from the noise and clutter and smells of a Bakery, to the peace and quiet of the Grandstand, until the proper race bikes were allowed to fire up, was so different, to say the least,
Castrol R in the Air instead of the sweet smell of cakes/pies etc being baked,
It was like a different world !

Tap on the Shoulder to go,
Then my first lap started, after Years of living on the Island it was a dream come true,
So many times watching from the side lines, and to finally get to go out on the course on roads closed,
Can remember, Peter stood on Bray hill waving me on,,
Making sure that i got Braddan right, as i had marshaled there for a few years before,

Out onto Ballacraine, This is surreal, No cars coming at you !
And you can use both sides of the road !! Wonderful,

Out through Glen Helen, Whoops i got a bit close to the wall at Glen Duff,, That hurt my hand when the brake lever hit the wall, But better than the Ramsey Bakery van that i went under the inside off a couple of weeks earlier !

The run into Ballaugh, past Bishops Court and the smell of the Wild Garlic ! You dont smell it when theres other traffic about !
Out onto Ramsey, Sugar butties, its rougher than you think using the whole road,, Wheres the best line to take ?
More so as the Sun is hiding behind the trees,,

And then onto the Mountain, After the last bit its like a very new road,
That early morning sun feels like somebody has just turned the heating on, but just on your back,
The roads just seem to feel so much nicer, and you feel that bit more confident with that glint of early morning sun,
Up to the Black hut, bit of a shadow here, as the sun hasn't hit the road yet,
Then around the Veranda for the very first time on roads closed,,,
Its one corner but 3 bends,, Which is the best way to do ?
Across the tramlines, ( Bet they still hurt ? )
Up to the highest point on the circuit, Its all downhill from here,
Just got to get around Windy Corner, its blowing well up from the valley, as always,
Wave to the German Guy on the way out, He was a Trade mark for where he stood in all weathers,
On to the 33rd, This was Scary,,,,
As it was a mixed Proddy practise,
The Guys on the bigger bikes had caught up by then, no names no packed drill is the best way of puttin it,, lol
Early GSXR,s were like camels through there, bucking and weaving ! Credit to them though,

Who even in those days,
Practiced going around Governors Dip ?
Nobody,, lol
So wobbly around there, and finish my very first practise lap, in a Early Morning Practise,
Good lap time done, over the 2 laps that i did,
Then went out on a Sidecar for a couple of laps,

And as they say in life !!
Normal service was resumed,,,
Back to work at Crellins, to make the hours up,
Bet they coudnt shut me up though !! lol

Morning Practise,
It was the Dogs Danglie Bits !
Sorry Malcolm,,, But had to say that