My Commute

By: Wayne Campbell
Quietly closing the front door I catch a glimpse of the SVS, ready and waiting, the rising sun reflecting off the recently polished aluminium. Moments later and I'm on the road, easing my way through the village towards the first of a number of twisty roads that make up my regular commute. For a while each day I'm not just an engineer, I'm not just a slave to the wage packet - for half an hour each day I am racing against Fogarty, Dunlop and Sheene and there's no way they will catch me this time!

The first decent stretch of road starts at the top of a fairly steep hill and twists it's way through trees past a few houses either side of the road. To some it's the B3004 between Alton and Kingsley but to me it's Bray Hill on the Isle of Man and I've got to catch Joey Dunlop before I get to the bottom if I am to stand any chance of equalling his record of TT wins. He's a tough challenge and today he just edges me out and I back off in respect as he shows me the correct line for tomorrow's instalment. A long boring stretch of B road is made more interesting by imagining it's actually the Sulby Straight and I tuck down in an effort to regain some lost ground on Joey but I know in my heart of hearts that he is just too fast today.

Never mind - it's Fogarty next as I approach a series of fast A roads and roundabouts. He passes me on the long straight heading into the first of a series of bends that mere mortals believe is the A325. To me it's the final round of the World Superbikes and we have both left Colin Edwards for dead as we approach the first chicane. Fogarty's Ducati has the advantage on the straights but now it's my chance to get back at him under braking as we negotiate the tight left,right,left that leads to a short straight and then the same again. Fogarty just can't turn in as quickly on the Ducati as I can on the SVS and he has to give way, hoping to slipstream me on the straight which leads to the final corner. Lap after lap we battle against each other and the winner of this final race takes the WSB crown. The last lap and we are side by side, almost touching as we hurtle along the long straight towards the very last corner of the season. We enter the turn together, Foggy taking a slightly tighter line and gaining a yard or two. However, I get on the gas sooner as we exit the corner and power towards the finish line just ahead of the three-times WSB champion. YES! Winner! That felt good.

Now it's a gentle stroll along the boring A331 and then the irritatingly boring M3 and M25. No time for the imagination to run riot now, all my concentration goes into avoiding the myopic car drivers that seem so intent on smearing me and my bike all over the motorway. It seems like an eternity before the filtering ends and I can join the A40 for the last battle of the day. As it's a Saturday morning the traffic is light and I am soon joined by the cheeky Barry Sheene for the final duel. His Suzuki is older than mine but he more than makes up for the ancient equipment he is riding. With a cocky nod of the head he takes the lead and I follow, determined not to let him build up too much of a lead. A lot of the race takes place along undulating straight roads but every now and then I reel him in as we attack tight corners. The SVS is just so responsive in comparison to Sheene's steer. But, as usual, he heads off into the distance as reality hits hard and I enter the centre of the city and serious filtering and car dodging begins.