Well…
Friday morning we packed my leathers into the car along with Lorraine’s “short stay” kit…
I rode down to the Anglesey digs in the early afternoon and set the scene for her ladyship’s arrival a short while later.
Needless to say, I was aching to revisit what I believe to be the most picturesque and, yes, one of the most delightful tracks in the UK – Anglesey.
It’s hard to believe, but it’s five years since I was last there. There were no garages back then, as there are now but, thankfully, the track is as beautiful as ever it was.
https://www.facebook.com/eric.burey/vid ... 126503179/Briefed, stickered and wrist-banded, I found a vacant spot and went about the familiar ritual of “de-roading” the bike in the cold, but soon-to-be very warm morning air.
The island’s climate is notorious for its ability to change from a calm, balmy summer environment to a freezing, wind- and rain-swept lump of mud in a matter of hours,
but this was not to be one of those days. So; novice group; inters, fast group, is the order of the day and I stand on the pit wall to survey the scene – and it’s perfect.
To me, any circuit is beautiful when the sun is shining, but Anglesey takes the cake, as they say. Two and a half hours from my doorstep on some of the best roads in the UK
and a pound less than eighty to ride around the place. Who could ask for more? I watch the first two groups on their circulations – and then I’m on – and I’m hopeless!
I still remember the layout of the track – which way the corners go – the changes in camber - the elevation changes; but the one thing I can’t remember, of course, is how
bloody
fast it is around there and I’m shocked at how far off the pace I am – at least until I make a couple of passes on folk who are as unfamiliar with their surroundings as I am.
After three or four laps I’m smiling (more like, laughing at myself) and settled on re-learning my way around the place.
It’s a beautiful, beautiful day and the temperature rises until I have to strip off the old, thin, long-sleeved t-shirt that I’ve had since time began. The morning sessions have settled
into a familiar pattern now – the learning pattern. I’d been getting an uncomfortable feeling from the front during the first two sessions; every now and then I’d get that soft, gooey
feeling you get sometimes just before it slides and tucks. An extra 4 psi worked wonders, and during the next two sessions I set to work with a renewed determination to improve.
I struggled all day in several areas: braking and entry point for the blind left-hander at the top of the hill before ‘Rocket”; corner entry speed for the downhill left-hander after Peel;
braking point and tipping in for the hairpin; and the same for the Banking. I worked on these areas all day and I’m delighted to report that I’d improved from “dreadful” to ‘mediocre”
by home time.
The areas where I felt comparatively strong were exiting the Banking and the run through Church, which is very fast, up to the blind left for Rocket. Getting to grips with that part of
the track was, for me, very exciting - and also quite frightening simply because of the speed factor. Through there, I learned how to get the bike into its power band and to keep it there,
short-shifting up the box and then back down again for that frustrating left-hander. I don’t know the mph, but I had the throttle pinned all the way through that section and I’m pleased
with myself because I handled my planning well through there and made several passes along the way.
The one thing I really must learn is how to improve my trail-braking. On the Suzuki, I could run to the apex then drop in, but the Yamaha is a different kettle of fish all together! Back to
school we go – again!
By the afternoon I wasn’t as badly-swamped by faster riders as I had been in the morning - and I’d also had a few battles, some of which I was fully-aware and one of which I hadn’t a clue
until Lorraine told me at the day’s end. Apparently, and unknown to myself, I’d fended off a pursuer who’d tried unsuccessfully to catch me for a full session. It’s nice to know you’re invincible
(at least, at some level, no matter how low) – innit?
Next one's Cadwell - 1 November -
OH-yeah...!
Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2016 2:38 pm
