Well, it’s that time of year again. The time where you have to stop and think for a moment or two before you write down the date so that you don’t write down the one from last year. The time when you eat last year’s food (well, for a short time anyway) and when some of us awake to find that we have celebrated rather too well on NYE.
Thankfully, my NYE celebrations tend to be very restrained though not any less enjoyable. My brother and I and our wives have a tradition of meeting at one of Wollongong’s nicer restaurants for dinner then walking down to the waterfront where we watch the fireworks before adjourning to another restaurant for a coffee then home, usually well before the stroke of midnight.
We are fortunate that we live in a very quiet neighbourhood and the stroke of midnight is usually accompanied by a few fireworks from the rowdier element (fireworks in private hands have been illegal for many years here in Australia) and the tooting of car horns, both mercifully in the distance.
So, it is 2014, a year that, in motorcycling terms, promises so much. A whole clutch of Aussie riders will be heading O/S in search of fame (but probably not fortune) and they represent the best that we have to offer in their chosen fields. At last count we will be represented in road racing (MotoGp, WSBK, WSS, WEC, German Superbikes, BSB and many other areas). As well we will have representatives in the World Speedway Grand Prix series, Womens’ World MX series, Dakar Rally, AMA Superbike and the list just goes on and on. And this is only the riders, of course. As well many Aussies will be working behind the scenes as pit crews, technical staff and support staff for many teams. It’s going to be a huge year and, for those of you like me who can’t wait for the racing to start, we have to be patient for a little while longer.
If you’re here in Oz, of course, you can get a racing “fix” at Phillip Island at the end of the month with the running of the AMCN Island Classic for historic bikes. Strong teams from all nations invited will make it a “must attend” meeting to kick off the season. Don’t miss it if you can.
That’s all for now. Lots of exciting stuff in the wings and a tremendously exciting personal project of mine about which I can’t tell you anything just now. Thanks so much fr your support and constructive criticism in 2013. I look forward to it continuing this year.
2014 is here, it’s going to be huge, bring it on.