Paging Champ! Paging Champ!

The new Performance Bikes (November issue) dropped through the door
today.

Interesting 12 page article on their LE-JO'G in-a-day ride on Fireblade,
Gixxer 750 and Ducati 999.

The last sentence of the article will be of interest to you.

We did it in 11:50 in 1988 on an FJ12 (two-up with fuel consumption running
around 25mpg) and a Genesis. We got lost at one point looking for petrol
and slowed down as we knew we couldn't then do the 11:30 we were aiming
for. Champs article says he was 36 minutes quicker than we were and I'm
sure there must be loads of others.

There were no cameras in 1998 but we both got done for speeding on the M1
on the way home by a car we should have spotted. I've been seriously
thinking of having another go next year, before I get too old and decrepit.
It's probably a lot harder with all the cameras and traffic around nowadays
but it surprises me that 12:30 was the best they could do as I'm sure they
were all better riders than I'll ever be and they were solo.

It'll probably be in the shops in a couple of days.

I'm coming round.

Well? Have you written to them saying they're pansy foo foos?

heh. I phoned them up, and spoke to "hopelessly competive" Olly Crick
(who did 12.5 hours, and of whom it was suggested he might do it again
if he wasn't fastest). He was good natured enough about it. I guess
some might have been considered it rude that the previous record
holder that I beat did it in less than 12 hours....on a Laverda :-)

I sent Olly a link to my write up, so I'm sort of hoping there'll be
an acknowledgement of my god-like status next month.

Blimey. Is that something to do with age?