Women Mud Wrestling - But Not As You Know It

DIRT QUAKE IV is this coming week end.
We take a tried and tested sport (motorcycle flat track racing), say "Bo Ya!" and turn it on its head, including the guest list. Favouring the green (as in clueless, not ecologically aware) and mad (as in good, not bad). And as we appreciate boys can get a little rowdy at parties - even if there is not excess alcohol, or speedboats, or kicker-ramps involved, we decided to give the ladies their own class. Ranging in age from 20 to 50. From CBT fresh to the worldly travelled. Bultaco, BSA, Suzuki, Velocette, and anything else in-between, all speeding around and around and around. And if that doesn't prove entertaining enough, we add a deluge of mud. BP

Riders Ready?

We almost have enough riders to start our own Elsinore.
Dirt Quake III tomorrow!

If you're looking for last minute info - go to Dirt Quake FAQs. We're not answering emails. BP

Big Day

ike lines up for his first ever Moto at the local BMX track, Patchway Bristol. A few jokes were made by rival Dads of his enormous AMA superbike style numberboard - and they weren't more impressed when I said it was made from a 20p charity shop place mat. It was miserably icey weather but more than 100 riders turned up.

Pippa, also first timing, borrowed a proper helmet complete with scene-correct stickers. BP

Sideburn Tote Bag

Loren (from La Isla Del Tesoro) tracked us down at Wheels and Waves and through the power of sign language (eventually) explained that he really wanted a Dirt Quake II tote bag - As neither of us speak each other's spoken language this took some time but was very amusing game of drunk charades. Here he is with his girlfriend - always looking dapper.

We made this bag for the Dirt Quake II racers and we have a very limited amount left. Luckily, even if you are crap at charades, you can get one our webshop. BP

GT Cruiser

The mongrel spirit of Drakey lives on in my shopper-chopper-bar-hopper-do-whopper. BPPS. He's not dead, just living on the other side of the planet (and spending his weekends tending his Kiwi fruit instead of racing his gnarly Rotax deathtrap).

Bourne BRM Day

I live in a small town, in Lincolnshire (also known as 'The 1950s'). It is a cultural backwater. No bands come here, not since Jimi Hendrix anyway (true). But it's cheap.
The next town along, Bourne, is even worse, but for one day, every now and then, Bourne celebrates being the former base of World Championship-winning car manufacturer, BRM. The last time they did it was a beautiful day in October, last year.
Me and my boy went along. It was packed.
Graham Hill drove to a world championship in a 1.5-litre, V8 in 1962. His son, Damon - also an F1 World Champ, of course, drove the actual car through the packed streets. G

It's a London fing - UPDATED

Swirly American fairground fonts (or any of my favourites) weren't Drogo's cup of tea for his new Co-Built 6 bike, which is nearing completion. He's gone instead for the stalwart sans serif design developed by Edward Johnston for London Transport in 1916. BPUPDATE From Drogo...
So I chose my race number cos it was already on my eBay leathers, I go London Transport font in a moment of creative laziness for the number board. You liken it to the buses. I look up the bus number and what do you know, the 27 starts life 5 mins from my new house!
However, the whole thing really ties in with my average race speed being the same as a London Bus during rush hour...
Dr Ogo

UPDATE 2: Olive for David Taylor.

UPDATE 3: This all reminds me that, at Verona, I was telling Dave Skooter Farm that Reg Varney was the first person anywhere in the world to use an ATM machine in public. It was 1967 and outside Barclays, Enfield. (I sometimes wonder what people think who stumble on this blog trying to find out something about a motorbike magazine). G

Shit I Been Shot

Sideburn #9 has just been sent off to the printers so I thought I'd treat myself to a day off and some fresh air. I forgot how good it tastes. Took the boy and my new toy; an OM Flyer (26" wheels), to the excellent new downhill BMX track at Stockwood, Bristol. I only sustained one injury. It was worth it. BP NB I am an old man so I am allowed brakes.

Is that why it's called Dirt Track?

Had great fun at the last race of the season on Sunday. The track owner cancelled the race, but Short Track UK's Peter Boast put him right. We had to wait a long time for the medical cover to arrive (the track owner cancelled that too), but when we got going the racing was good and close, despite less than ideal conditions.
I always seem to do alright at Scunthorpe. I made the back row of the Thunderbike final and came seventh, but felt really comfortable on the bike. Sideburn's Ben came second overall for the season in the Novice class!
Next year's going to be close, exciting, inclusive, with the juniors and novices running at all rounds and the short track class being split into National numbers and Restricted 'R' plate riders. It should mean closer racing in both classes.
Short Track UK have loads going on including TV coverage on UK satellite channel Motors TV starting next month and a winter indoor series (more details on both soon). Thanks to all the racers, timekeepers, marshals, start line and pit crew and, especially, Pete and Jackie for making the UK series such a friendly and well-run series. G

UP DATE:
playing rugby in mud is one thing, playing motorbikes in mud is something else. I didnt enjoy Scunny until it dried out some in the late afternoon. Poncing my way through the Novice heats just trying to stay on-board. Less ginger, Stuart Lovell, Steve Lane, and Jason Ramsden in a league of their own up ahead as usual, with wild card MX'r Mike Ingram winning every race. Plus illegal immigrant Jason along to liven things up further. Drogo held his own while our arch rival Jamie The Bastard went into melt-down.The rotational tyre skid marks on my numberboard here are where 17 stone of Billy Bull #66 + Yamaha, made an uninvited attempt to mount my inside leg in the final. But I wasn't going down from a little argy bargy, even if I was to leave similar skid marks in my undies. The race was red-flagged for an unrelated crash so we didn't have it out over the chequered flag which was a shame.
I'd like to ditto Gary's thanks above and add a special Thank You to all 14 valiant Novices this season (although we only ever managed a record grid of 10 at Scunny, it was usually around 7), we had some hairy battles but no broken bones. And Thanks to all those who gave me tuition - especially Anthony Co-Built (not that much of it has been implemented yet). BP

3 Today!

BP

Minibikes

Beautiful photo story from Life magazine. Anybody know which year? Anybody got a complete scan of the text? Anybody know the photographer? BP

UP DATE: THANKS RUI FOR DIGGING UP THE VERITABLE GOLDMINE!classic Ralph Crane. Love the paper dinner plate number board

Lucky 67

Wishing Bon Chance to Dimitri who is racing at the Catalina this weekend. It's highly unlikely he will be able to choose his own lucky number 67 in his own tape crafted satanic font.This a pale commercial equivalent called Pyrite. BP

UPDATE:
Dimitri qualified only just in time - read the story on own blog Hotel Coste. We await news of the racing with bated breath.photos by Le Admiral

Rye House practice

Thanks to Mike Ryan for organizing another Rye House practice on Friday - and fixing the weather.
Had to jump-start my CCM off my Citroën as although the battery was reading 12 volts it wasn't getting through the wiring loom due to the earth cable which is just too poxy and had partially burnt through. Thanks to Steve Red Max and Anthony Co Built for making up for my lack of brain cells. Went for a spin on Rollerball Stevie's frisky Honda CRF450. It's like taking a 19 year old out on the razz. Guy's EXC KTM is very do-able too; made my CCM seem like an Austin Allegro. But honor of honors, tried Steve's mighty H-D XR750. It's as Sherman tank-like as I thought it would be, with as much GRUNT at any revs. On such a short circuit you can just pull off in 2nd keep it there riding straight through/over any obstacles/countries that may get in your way. I kept it rubber side down but Steve binned it on the last session - hope you get it patched up for Sunday's racing mate. BP

CALLING ALL LONDONITES THIS IS THE CLOSEST CIRCUIT
TO LONDON (±50 MINUTES) COME AND HAVE A GANDER!
RACING STARTS AT 1PM

UPDATE:
My middle-aged body takes a few days if not weeks to recover after such exertions, but this time I felt completely fine and flexy. Until the day after, when already having unloaded the bike from my car some hours earlier, I mysteriously put my back out with excruciating consequences. Now I'm on a Dr's prescription cocktail of Diazepam (fabled by the Happy Mondays) and Codeine. Sprinkled with a little Space Dust (which is now called Fizz Wiz due to a fear it would be associated with Angel Dust by school children) I now feel ready to steal the Short Track UK title having come last in every race entered so far - if I don't fall asleep before I cross the finishing line. BP

Cow Foot Racing

Not really. Ridley Street Market in Dalston, east London, is set in a cultural, ecconomic, social and graphic time warp. Jews, Asians, Greeks, Turks, West Indians and shaven headed east end barrow boys muscle in together. Hackney council are threatening to chuck some money at it to sanitize it, which would be a shame (if that's not too patronizing a reaction?).
If they did have their own racing team this is what their number boards would look like. BP

The Norton Gang

Excerpt from the Rider Files
...George Kerker, Jack Simmons and Bill Manley were better known to their fans, journalists and fellow competitors as the Norton Gang. Rather than run the conventional road racing machines of the era with clip-ons, fairings and rear-sets, the Norton Gang elected to race production Norton Commandos, high bars, low pegs and all. While in retrospect the Norton Gang were simply harking back to the traditional AMA Class C concept (production-based racing) the Norton Gang were consider rebels among the road racing traditionalists of the late 1960s.

Looks like Bill has a paper plate number board? Good man. BP

Man Overboard!

Stoke, Thunderbike heat-race 1, lap 2, turn 2, BAM! The tea & crumpet went flying. Not one of those slow motion crashes you can analyze as your body floats through the air before the uncomfortable contortion and crunch to follow, but a instantaneous low-side slap, with the bike then flipping over to cause further damage. Bent rear sub-frame and silencer, throttle and clutch lever sheered off. But no body parts broken. Jackie had my new official shatter-proof number board at the ready, and with thanks to some New Delhi back street engineering in the pits, we somehow managed to get the bike bent back into a rideable state just in time for my next heat-race.Skooter Farm's senior management gets busy with a scaffold pole stuffed in the silencer to straighten out the mullered back-end.

Unlike the very professional Chippy Wood I am unable to multi-task on such days; racing and taking photos, so we will update with readers photos as they come in. It was a great days racing. BP

#67R

It's official. My ACU racing license came through today. New, olde style, AMA number plates are on back order with Red Max Speed Shop, in the mean time a melamine tea tray from Oxfam will do just fine. BP