Gaz, sans slippers...
I just about had time to get home from Japan, whack my favourite slippers on and make myself some cheese on toast when the phone rang. It was my old mates from East Coast Racing, who were calling to say my good pal Lee Johnstone had lobbed his bike in the first Ulster GP practice and scratched his shoulder, or something. Would I mind popping over to hop on his bikes? My bag was packed before the phone had gone cold. It was Wednesday afternoon and by that night I wa in Northern Ireland, standing at a race track I’d not ridden at in two years, about to cane around some bikes I’d never seen before in my life. It was a bloody exciting time. I’m not going to drag out every moment of the gig, but practice that night was an eye-opener. Not to mentio because Lee’s bike’s had been set up for his two-foot frame, that weighed about as much as a handful of teabags. Put a proper sized man (like me) on bikes so lightly sprung and you can imagine the problems we faced in getting a decent setup. Missing out on first practice was a bugger, but that’s how it goes. At least I was there and the team were mint in changing the bikes to help them suit my size, weight and style. In the end, we weren’t a million miles off and the races were mega fun. That track is mental. In fact, I’d forgotten how mental it actually is, but I came back buzzing and really glad to have ridden – albeit at the price of my hobbit sized mate. Get well soon, Lee.
Get it over Gaz!