california, [kalifornia, stankonia, sunshineonia, harleyonia, seasurfonia, beetlejuiceonia, sideshowbobonia, timandtrishonia, edithgruonia, sunsetonia, clancywiggunia, fuckyeahia]

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autumn. the days grow shorter and the nights longer, we are past the autumn equinox, winters coming, but, for a few precious weeks we hang on to the faded glory of the summer. cool, clear days, low sunshine, quiet roads, perfect for riding, the smell of freshly ploughed earth, cut hedges and dampness, the sound of gulls following the tractor, wheeling and diving, carrying the thermals as they hunt the treasure of a fat, juicy worm. spunk a couple of tank's of fuel just riding the lanes, numb bum and tingling fingers, hooning hooliganism hoisting up the front wheel, stamping on the brake to lock the back wheel, mcdonalds coffee, sticker applied for my free sixth refill, just good to be out there. gives you time to think too, got home and started stripping the peaky blinder, got an idea............

italian day, c.m.c, clay cross.

cmc had their 'italian sunday' day a couple of weeks ago, fair play to cmc, they hold various free shows through the year, brit bikes, two-strokes, scooters, custom and modified, streetfighters, yes, yes, i know it's just a con to get you into the dealership to spend your money, but at least they are giving something back to the local motorcycling community, a chance to meet fellow enthusiasts and a spend an afternoon quaffing tea and talking bollocks.
 the bimota importer had tipped up and were displaying a very fine line up of exotica, the db9 'bimotard' caught my eye straight away and i poured over the details, i stealed myself to ask the price, twenty two thousand big-one's to you squire, holy shit, i sold my first house for that! saying that though, i would buy one in an instance when my lottery numbers come up, just proper bike porn, amazing engineering and exclusive, [they haven't sold one in britain yet].
      the amount of bikes was quite staggering, i've attended almost all the events at cmc and the place was packed, the bikes that turned up were of the highest quality, the little lambretta cut-down racer with the tin of castrol 'r', the amazing red bevel, the itom racer, the original scrambler, jota's, guzzi's, morini's, all the different marques were well represented, oh yeah and a certain black ducati 750ss, the peaky blinder, won third place even though i didn't enter it in the show...............

classic tt / manx gp 2015 [part five]

the fairy bridge, it's a superstition to say hello to the fairies everytime you cross the famous landmark, a superstition that a lot of the racers, visitors and locals alike believe in, me included. bad luck is often put down to the mythical fairies being 'dissed' by people not saying hello. the bridge itself, the sign and the surrounding trees are festooned with flags, stickers, letters and offerings to the 'little people' it's a place to ask for the fairies to look after your loved ones and to pay respect for fallen friends.
   the last afternoon of our trip see's us down at the calf of man and the sound, a bunch of german visitors turn up on their classic machines, just brilliant, i mean, have you ever, ever seen a 'schuttoff' before? especially ridden by a bloke wearing a barry sheene replica helmet? that's what makes the classic tt so special, just those unexpected gems and laugh-out-loud moments, the big, brummie lads sitting on the bank at sulby, just so funny with that dry, west midland self-deprecating humour, the boys we shared our digs with, two goldstars, a 350 and a 500 and their mate on the rattiest triumph twenty-one in history, the great day at the jurby festival, [some twat making a nuisance of himself on the peaky blinder' all too soon we were waiting on the quayside at stupid 'o clock to catch the ferry back to reality. bikes safely stowed and secured, coffee and we were already making plans for next year.........