Well I did it. Wasn't nervous beforehand but got off at the end and said never again!!! 5 minutes later I was "well maybe I would." Another 5 minutes later I was "yep want to do it again.". Will post more about it later, hopefully with some pics that the missus took.
A few years ago I went on the back of a Buell with Jamie Whitham around Donington, scared the crape out of me and I loved it
Well where do I start to write this up, I'm a techie and not a writer and so have no chance of doing it justice. The day started sunny and bright and the wife and I enjoyed a relatively hassle free drive to Cadwell. Having parked up I was getting the leathers out of the car when we noticed that the car that had pulled in beside us and was behind us for 20 miles was doing the same. Don't know what the odds are of 2 people who won a prize turning up at the same time but it happened, and fortunately the other bloke had done it before. He said that MCE had a leathers tent where we could leave our kit and meant I didn't have to walk around getting baked by the glorious weather. Whilst not having to wear my leathers was a bonus it was double edged as it meant carrying a bag full of leathers, boots and lid around until we eventually found our way to tent located at the bottom of the Mountain. As you would expect there was a form to sign saying "hey this is dangerous and bad shit could happen," and then it was time to get suited and booted. As per normal there was then a fair bit of hanging around until everyone was sorted and we made our way to the paddock. We had another wait there but it was quite nice as it was in the shade, and hey it's good fun watching and a listening to a live paddock. Whilst there we were told that today's pillion riders were Neil McKenzie and Davo Johnson, one I had heard of but not Davo. So eventually the time came to make our way onto the track. For those who know Cadwell we ended up on the far side of the track, opposite the club house, between the Mountain and Halls Bend. I was number four which meant I would be in the second lot to go out, and myself and the other pillion were asked who we wanted to go on the bike with. Neither of us had a particular favourite and so in a moment of madness I asked who was the craziest rider. "Davo" was the immediate response and in a moment of insane bravado I said OK I'll go with Davo then The riders turned up on their bikes, naturally they were blades, well what else would they be The first 2 went out and by now the lid was on and the ear plugs in. The stomach was starting to churn a bit and in what seemed a few seconds the 2 bikes came back over the Mountain popping wheelies. Before I knew it I was on the back of the blade, visor up waiting for the MCE guy to take a photo as he had said. Davo told me not to hold too tight as he needed to be able to move around, then he turned round and was about to pull the pin but the safety guy stopped him as my visor was still up, rookie error by your's truely LOL Visor went down PDQ and the pin was pulled. OH MY F***ING GOD what am I doing here repeatedly went through my mind as Halls bend, the hairpin and Barn flew by. Then the start finish straight, well I had remembered not to hold too tight coming out of Barn and with the acceleration, my knees up by my ears and my spare tyre compressing my lungs I was out of breath by the time my face was pulled off by the G-force as we hit the brakes at end of the straight. It may be wimpy but I seriously considered how the heck I could get out of this , but then something happened. That something was Charlies 2, the bogey corner from my only day at Cadwell, the corner I couldn't get right, the corner I had more lines through then I used to get as punishment when I was a little brat at Junior school. It gave me something to focus on, and whilst I wouldn't say I started to relax, I would say my brain went into "oh this is how you do it mode." Of course after Charlies you get Park Straight and we did some serious catching up on McKenzie, Davo being the racer stuffed it up the inside, showed Neil he could go through, but then backed off and gave Neil the line and let him stay ahead. Quickly the Gooseneck was on us and then Mansfield, yes Mansfield the downhill stretch with a sharp left hander at the bottom. Now I am no lightweight and not wanting to crush poor Davo I had actually put my hands palm forward all the way round and so was able to keep my weight off him. Round Mansfield and then with the front wheel in the air he headed to the Chicane. Round the Chicane and then the short dash to the Mountain. I know from the photos that Davo had a wheelie going over the Mountain but it only felt like the front had gone light. So over the Mountain we went, and then the brakes went on to leave a nice black line before stopping outside the Club House. Somehow I managed to get off the bike, believe you me it wasn't easy as I hadn't pillioned for nearly 30 years and the legs didn't know what to do. I was out of breath, hands shaking either from adrenaline or fear, and to be 100% honest I was glad to be off the bike. The wife was there by the side of the track and for some reason she seemed to enjoy my discomfort, but she enjoyed more hearing me say that I now had a much greater respect for pillions. Before long we were all done, a group photo, and then we left the track and headed to normality. Would I do it again? If you had asked me straight afterwards I would have laughed in your face and said never, ever, ever, again. It was very intense and condensed, and in all honesty it was frightening in some if not many ways. Mainly the lack of control, never done it before kind of way. Now however I do want to do it again, maybe not tomorrow but I will be entering the competition again next year if I am still with MCE.
Saw Big Ed tweet that pic of the three guys standing next to each other and wondered if any were you. Glad you enjoyed it, and nice lid too. I have the same one which I hardly wear now as Hutchy signed it the week he won 5 TT's.
