SMCC NEWSLETTER
10 July 2008
I later found out that week that my
stator had packed up and possibly the reason I struggled in the 3 heats that
day and the bike was flat and hard to turn.
So after this meeting with a finger twice the normal size I set off for
sittingbourne where is was due to ride the next day at 12 noon. I set off
from weymouth at about 10oclock, half an hour later the van started
struggling and my lights started going out and van getting slower by the
minute. I was within an hour of sittingbourne when my van broke down on the
M25 (busiest motorway in uk that circles london). This was about 12.30am so
after about half an hour an AA tow truck picked me up and dropped me at a
nearby garage in the nearby suburb. He rang a mechanic to come and have a
look so told me to wait. this mechanic didnt arrive till about 2.30am, he
then tested my battery and told me my alternator was faulty, he then rang
for a tow truck to take me to a distenation of my choice, either home to
ipswich or sittingbourne. The tow truck driven by an african that looked
fresh of the boat didnt arrive to about 4am, by then I was tired and
fustrated so told the driver where to go exactly he agreed and told me he
would wake me when we were close and I fell asleep in the back of the
truck. An hour and a half later he woke me to ask if he was close only to
discover he had driven to brighton which was an hour and a half in the
opposite direction. I told him why didnt he use the GPS on his windscreen
if he didnt know where to go but he didnt know how to use it...moron!.
We finally made it to the track in daylight at about 7.30am where the driver
couldnt take me an extra 500m to the pit park because he ran out of diesal.
I then got 2 hours sleep in the back of the van before having to build a
working bike for the race meeting 2hours away. after working right up to the
start time i went out for my first heat where my bike crapped out off the
line, we then changed some other things around and rode 3 more heats picking
up just 2 points. I charged my battery while racing and it was enough for
me to get back home on.
I havent raced since then but done a few second halves but still working to
get the bikes right, one of those tracks I have been riding second halves on
is Ipswich where I have been riding every thursday. While riding there on
the thursday just been my van got broken into and my GPS and wallet got
stolen which was quite fustrating because i now have no idea where im
going. They smashed my drivers window and got quoted £90 for a second hand
one, so have picked up a peice of perspex from the hardware store and made
my own which is doing the job.
The van which Will be driven straight to the scrap yard after the season is
a mitsi l300 which i picked up for £250. Its luckey to be still in one
peice, Mick the guy im living with is forever fixing something on it the
last being the alternator, window and an exhaust that was about to fall off
but i have faith in her to keep going.
The Couple im staying with are very nice, we live on a farm about half an
hour out of ipswich, i have my own living quarters above my working in a
refurbished barn. They are also very good friends of Scotty nicholls who
only lives 5minutes up the road so I have met him a few times and his old
mechanic is starting to help me out with my bikes abit which is good. So
with a few more second halves and meetings things should start picking up a
bit and will start scoring a few more points.
I was suppose to be racing today against redcar at sittingbourne but has
been rained out so next meeting will be next sunday against boston at
sittingbourne.
Sorry if my punchuation and spelling is incorrect but I am now tired of
typing, hope all is well at home and the winters not to hard on you all.
Bye for now, Alex. +44 07592431301