Thursday 27th . There is a bit of a sombre mood in the paddock this morning  which you would expect after any incident like that at the 13th, there are the usual theories going around the paddock about what happened, this is just paddock gossip so I dismiss this I try to stay in a positive frame of mind. More on my mind is that including the speed control lap I only have two laps under my belt which is long way short of where I expected to be at this stage of the week . The weather has just not been kind to us I just hope it can improve . This morning is the pit lane briefing , this is a guide of what you can and cannot do in the pit lane during your pit stop.The wife is coming on this one as she is the only member of my pit crew on the island at this time. First off the score board and how the clocks the light work . the clock has thre positions and each time a rider passes each point on the track the clock hand is moved , the positions are Glen Helen, Ramsey and the Bungalow. The light go's on when the rider reaches Cronk-ny-Mona and gives the pit crew warning thier rider is approaching. There are two lanes in the pit one to come in to stop and one to go out and it is the responsibility of the incoming rider to mind those coming out as they have to cross his lane.This is follwed by an explanation on the fuel rig and how it works with a mock bike refuel demonstration. Its not rocket science , put fuel in big tank in air turn tap on pull trigger fuel comes out. But the little bits like flushing the system through then bleeding any air out of the pipe plus covering the end of the zozzle with a towel to stop spillage onto the hot bike as you finish are the important bits to remember. Theres a chat about pit lane speed limits and the electrical things you cannot bring into the refuel area. The wife seems a little overwhelmed by this influx of knowledge but I assure her everything will be fine on the day and we will practice what we can first.
After lunch all the newcomers are called to a meeting by the clerk of the course . This was for a general warning to us all to take it easy and learn the course and let it come to us or we could get sent home ! He stated he had recieved quite a few reports from marshals around the course that the standard of riding was not good and we needed to take it easy and learn first and the speed will come on its own.  
The Mike Hailwood Foundation which organised the course learning weekend visit at the begining of the year also run a sponsor a rider scheme , this is where members of the public or companies can sponsor individual riders for £200, a scheme which gave many of the newcomers some extra funds which can really help. Thank you again to the Mike Hailwood Foundation.
If we get out I should be going in the first practice but this is now the second and the news that we will now have extra practice Monday and race Tuesday this is because of the almost total lack of track time we have had so far.
The weather is holding up so practice is good to go , the usual ritual of Technical inspection takes place with no dramas, then its into pit lane again to wait and see if we are going to get away this time.
There is a lot of bikes waiting to go in this second practice and I have already realised that the only way to get the second lap in is to get back to the grandstand before the hour is up , well the theory of this is great but when you have so many bikes going before you this time is very quickly eaten up. well we get the signal all is good to go and after the other two queues in pit lane have gone my line starts to move forward then at last I'm away blasting of across the lights and down Bray Hill. Up on the mountain it was very windy and gave my little 400 a battering it was strong and unnerving particulary near black box . Any way I got round but by the end of my lap of 26.39 minutes the chequered flag was out to end the session. I was a lot more comfortable with the higher screen but feel I need to adjust the gearing and suspension preload to get the best out of the bike.
I was suprised to discover that the lap was within my qualification time, I just need more lap time to smooth it all out.