The Dunlops

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Noel

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Think there's a few road racing fans here.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/motorsport/48297727

_107121290_dunlop_joey_getty.jpg
 
I remember watching an excellent old documentary about Joey Dunlop, how he kept defying the odds coming back from injury and winning. If my memory is right, his last race he was a bit upset about death of his friend and not in good state of mind to be racing?

The word fearless is often overused but with these TT racers it's very apt. I get chills just watching the footage. I don't think these guys get enough credit.

An friend at uni used to race bikes, used to love telling me his catalogue of injuries!
 
I have dabbled in track racing on bikes in my younger years, including qualifying as an instructor. Road races are incredibly dangerous as mistakes or mechanical failures can so easily bring you down catastrophically. The top guys are amazingly skilled and must be pretty fearless. Not sure I would ever risk it with a young family at home.
 
Closest I've come to racing was being on back of my friend's 400, zooming along some country roads near Loughborough.

He gave me strict instructions not to lean "i'll do the leaning, you just keep still!". As he used to race supersport 400s I felt reassured he knew what he was doing.

As we were going round bends I remember both loving it and thinking we'd be as dead as fried chicken if he as much as hit a beetle in the road. We got it up to 115 on a straight :twisted:

While I'm too chicken to get a bike I do "get" the attraction. It's an intoxicating mix of fear and excitement never experienced with anything else.
 
A remarkable family.

Looking forward to this years TT and cringing as they wring the necks of those bikes and knowing there’s no way on this earth I have a tenth of the bottle required.
 
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