6/18/05 After rolling out of bed I once again loaded the bike up on got on the road. I was very excited for today I had about a 45 minute motorcycle ride to the Irish Road Races in Athea. I really had no idea what to expect of these races, even the Irish think the guys who race in these are crazy, which meant I was in for a great day. For those who don’t know I am a big fan of Motorcycle racing, in fact one of the great racers once said racing is the only true sport everything else is a mere game. So anyone who has been to Ireland or even just read my descriptions and looked at the pictures of the last couple weeks can see the state of the Irish roads, not really racecourse material. This particular road race was in Athea and was about a 3 mile rectangular course with several elevation changes and about 8 or so minor twists and bends in the road. There were 11 classes ranging from 125 classics to new 1000 cc bikes. The rules are quite simple, be faster than the guy behind you. Safety is of the utmost concern with people being kept far away from the track and large run off areas set up, oh excuse me I thought I was in America for a second, NO they are Fucking nuts, spectators are allowed to stand right on the side of the course and for safety they put up hay bales in front of the telephone poles, like that is going to help at a 170MPH, yes 170MPH for the big bikes. So you think these guys must do this for the money, well best I could figure out was the winner gets about 3000 euros for first place, not really big money. So these guys are just adrenaline junkies, these guys have to get special leathers made to hold their enormous balls, litterally they must be the size of grapefruits. Now the racing is huge in Northern Ireland where about 70,000 people will show up to a race but in the south only about 18,000 people showed up. I really don’t understand this since it is really only 100 miles away but if you are Irish that can be along ways away. Once I parked my bike in the designated parking area I waited on the corner of the track to make my way to the town and paddock area. After each session they give about 8 minutes for the new riders to get ready and for the spectators to walk down the road to a new viewing area. You have to walk down the road cause there is not really a shoulder. So I was walking down the road and really didn’t understand the 8 minute thing yet when all of sudden a pack of about 20 new 600’s doing about 80 mph hour start coming at me. No big deal, so I casually start climbing the embankment when all of sudden 4 bikes in the second row of the group slam into each other. At this point I completely freeze, in complete awe of what just happened. I quickly snapped out of my frozen position realizing I had one foot on the embankment and the other on the pavement and there was a yellow Honda 600RR coming at me on its side. I have never jumped so high or so fast in my short uncoordinated life. The bike missed me by about a foot, absolutely brilliant, I am going to love this Irish Road Racing thing. Luckily no-one had major injuries just one rider with several fractures. So I quickly learned the eight minute thing and enjoyed the rest of the day. It is funny how small a world this planet really is. I was walking around the track when I hear a girl yell my name. Usually when that happens I duck out of reflex cause usually it is followed by something being thrown at me and some choice words for something I am sure I didn’t do. Well oddly enough it was one of the Irish girls I had met at the hostel in Toronto. She was their with her brother who was a huge motorcycle fan. So it was quite nice to hang out with some people who explained the intricacies of road racing. After the practice sessions were over I found a campsite or actually someone’s back yard where they were charging 10 euros to camp. That night was quite fun with thousands of bikers in town for the races and filling the pubs with motorcycle talk. Today’s Specs Weather: Cloudy 70F Distance: 45 miles, Limmerick to Athea