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| Hauling in the power source |
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| What Scrapheap is all about |
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| Vigilante fits the stolen air filter |
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| 'We told you already, you can't ride pillion' |
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| Ready to roll |
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The Hammerlocks' diary
I still can't really believe that we won the last round. Blind navigation? What was all that about?
Tuesday is safety-talk and meet-the-opposition night. We also met the technical consultants. Rod Gibson, our TC, was actually someone I knew about, and I'd read his work in bike magazines for years. Although I'd never actually seen him before, the National Chopper Club patches on his leather jacket told me more than enough. This was going to be a really fun challenge.
Build day
Wednesday morning, bright and early – oh how I hate getting up early! Build day was here, and the rain came as soon as we started. But at least I had something to go at this time: a motorbike, even if it's only got one wheel, is something I can get my head around. What with the two massive tractor wheels and the four little scooters that we brought into the build area, and all the cutting and welding, things were getting a little crowded. But it was organised chaos: I knew what we were going to do and how to do it. With a few strokes of genius in the engineering department, using the spare tractor wheel as a form to bend the main frame of our machine, things were going well. I was starting to think we had a serious chance of winning this!
Then we got the engine of the little scooter in place and I started worrying. We needed more power. I honestly thought it was all over – the little scooter ran well enough, but it would take some serious power to move the machine we had created. Too late to do anything about it now. Maybe we could tweak it a bit in tinkering time before the test.
Test day
Test day came dank and overcast. 'Rain is good,' we were told, 'it helps your feet skid along the tarmac so you can steer the thing!' I wasn't convinced!!! A tweak here and some more weight added there, the final shaping of the tyre, and the throwing away of the air filter ... well, the engine ran, the thing moved forward – not very fast, but it moved! A few quick minutes of training by Kerry McLean, the world record holder on a monowheel, and that was nearly it. Then the other team decided to throw away their air filter – I saw it and thought, 'That would go great on our machine.' When they were not looking I picked it up and bolted it on. It worked great, smoothing out the engine, and with a little magic from the angle grinder the silencer came off and the engine stated to sound much healthier – still low on power, but better than it was.
The tests were timed. First was the relay of three team members: Majik, Rod the TC and me, the Psycho. What a team! Majik did well, if a little sideways at times, Rod was straight and steady, and me? I just did what came naturally and kept it upright, opening it as much as I dared. We did well; the other team did better. Only 30 seconds in it though – easy to get that back. The decision was made that I would ride the solo round – one circuit of the track – as I was the fastest and most stable rider!! Rod didn't know me that well so it was an easy mistake to make! And I assured them that I could do it, I would do it, and we were going to win! I didn't tell them that I had no idea how to go round corners!! So there I am at the start-line, ready to go, the flag drops, the hooter hoots and I'm off.
Applying the throttle
Well, I move slowly away from the start-line, gaining speed. I tentatively drag a foot and wobble my way round the first corner. 'Well, that's quite easy really – don't know what I was worried about,' I thought to myself as I opened the throttle till it wouldn't go any further. I've got about 30 seconds to make up and this throttle isn't getting closed till I've done it! Coming round the hairpin, picking up speed, I'm screaming at the cameraman on the back of a quad bike to speed up because I'm catching him up real fast. In the programme it's going to look great, because I got to about a foot away from the lens of the camera. 'This is fun!' I thought as I rounded the last bend and stormed the monowheel through the finish line.
Well, it was a tense wait. I knew it was a fast time, but I didn't know how fast. When Lisa relayed the result from Robert, I was truly shocked ...
Fun was had and it's an experience I'll never forget. I've made some new friends, got closer to those I knew already – and scared the wits out of a cameraman!
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