Episode 2 Road Riders

BIKE REVS

Those of us that are involved in any shape or form,

we've been kind of brought up with it.

It's a big family.

It's part of our way of life.

-MAN:

-Here we go, guys. Let's get ready to go.

BIKES REV

Road racing is something like a glue which glues up people

together, you have something to follow, you have to be part of it.

That's all you're asking for.

You just want to be on the track in a race day,

doesn't matter what, and you want to go.

The people are different, in life in general. I love the people involved.

There's been many a time I've needed a part and you would find that

the guy that was close to you on points, that maybe

he didn't want you to score, he's the guy lending you a part.

-MAN:

-Think that's in the next year's programme?

The paddock all of a sudden nearly becomes like a festival,

they're barbecuing and helping with bikes and pushing bikes about

and stuff, so I do think, yes, it is very family orientated.

Ooh!

The week before a race, the day before a race, the second,

a minute before a race...

I'll be all right.

'Anybody who doesn't race

'doesn't understand that feeling that you get.'

It is like a drug.

If you start worrying about getting hurt all the time and,

"Oh, I'd better not do that, just in case..."

You know, where are you going with that?

Down the back straight, the trees coming by you and, you know,

between 150, 160mph and the white line's just solid the whole way

up the middle of the road.

Have I got my eyes open?! HE CHUCKLES

Everybody says you're mad.

I always think there's an aspect of bravery there

and the spectators respect the people for doing it.

TYRES SCREECH

BANG!

It's true what they say about road racing, you know...

You do your first one...

..and that's you, you've bit, you've got the bug.

The drug's caught you.

You know, there's no getting away from it.

When I started racing, the majority of time it was me,

my dad and my granda.

I must've started getting better, people started coming in

and offering me bikes and stuff and I've rode for a few teams now.

But, you know, there's an awful lot of pressure.

And different teams, you know,

put different things in your head and you think,

"Well, these boys have spent big dough on these bikes,

"I'm going to have to do something here."

I started riding for teams brave and early

and I thought it was too quick, you know,

I liked to have my dad and my granda around me.

And now we're back, we're back to our own team.

We're back to family again and we just go to the race and we don't

have to prove anything to anyone, just go out and enjoy ourselves.

Have a good run. Ride safe.

ENGINES REV

I like my family seeing me.

I definitely do, that's what road racing's all about,

that's how it started.

ENGINES REV

In works' teams they can work away, we do our own thing.

It's in us and it's all we've really known. Well, that and work.

But we're working just to pay for the road racing.

It's an expensive hobby.

Like, I've seen us a couple of days before payday,

I've 50 quid to my name.

I need fuel for the bike, or I need...dinner.

To eat. There's a packet of crisps in the cupboard. You know? That's...

It's madness, it sounds mad I know, like, but...

that's what people do and...

..for the love of the sport and...

And just anything to get out - beg, borrow and steal.

I'm a mechanic, love what I do and...

..fixing things for people.

I get stuck in, get the job done, you know,

get the thing stripped and...

get it out as quick as I can.

I suppose you could say the same about bikes. You know...

You go out and I'm competitive. I don't like anything beating me.

If a car comes in...

..I'm going to fix it, I'm not going to let it beat me. You know?

BIKES REV

People know me, they know I'm fairly determined.

If I decide to do something, I'm going to do it.

I don't just go into doing things half-heartedly.

I go there with full intention to give it everything that I have

and I'm still doing that now.

-We'll wait until we get down there because once it gets hot...

-I know.

..it's hard to start.

I didn't go looking for motorbikes,

I didn't go looking to start racing,

it just all started to fall into place

and I went along the road that it led me.

It wasn't something planned, um... I...

I don't know, sometimes I think things happen for a reason.

2004, I find myself on me own,

so that was basically the end of the marriage and, um...

I'd been married for 24 years, so that's been a long time being with

somebody all the time and all of a sudden you're on your own and it's

very daunting as well, but, for me, it was the start of a new life.

I'm a very quiet person, I wouldn't push myself forward much,

but I just thought, "Do your licence and get a wee motorbike

"and have a bit of independence," so that's actually what I did do.

From learning to ride a motorbike to actually racing was only a year.

It's a bit difficult at first, but I kept thinking,

"Well, so many other people can do it, so I'm going to do it," and

I kept at it and it becomes second nature after a very short time.

BIKE REVS

I'm a country girl, so I'm used to wee roads.

You know, that's what you're brought up on,

that's what you learned to drive on.

Over jumps and down hills and round corners and...

over road ends and things.

It never came off the first road race, you couldn't get your

helmet off because of the big grin on your face.

It was great, it was absolutely wonderful.

You really have to rely on yourself because once the flag drops,

there's just you and the bike.

MECHANICAL WHIRRING

It's not like football, you know,

where the man of the house goes out and watches the football match.

He maybe takes his wee boy because he wants to get his wee boy

watching football, you know, but road racing,

you take the whole family, especially...

And the dog, you know, you bring everybody.

That's what I like about road racing.

It was always part and parcel, though, of growing up.

You knew where you were going on holidays -

going to the North-west

and the sounds and the bikes were just there.

It was just...

It was just normal for us, you know, in the summer, that's what we done.

When folk hear my second name, they say, "Are you one of THEM Dunlops?"

And I get that quite a lot, like,

but...it's-it's still no' a big deal to me.

And, to be honest, you know, it's... I just am who I am.

I never started racing for stardom or for anything else,

I just started to race because I felt I wanted to try it.

Whenever I tried it, I liked it, and I just kept doing it, so...

They used to say that us boys could build a 125 backwards, so...

A bit of truth...

..me da helped.

You know, never stuck, me da was a trained mechanic, so...

When I couldnae get a bolt on or a nut on, he put it on for me.

And that's it. That's... Bike stripped, just like that.

Yeah, I couldnae...

I couldnae thank me da enough for all he's done for me, he's...

He's always been there, you know?

Whenever I started, he was quiet for a while and me mother was quiet for

a while, but they never really said anything to me, you know, that...

Whenever I got... Like, I think I was around 18 maybe when I started

and they just said that you would do it anyway.

I think maybe secretly they maybe wanted me to, I'm not sure.

The earliest memory of me starting racing,

me da was always at me about, "What happens if you would fall off?"

And I said, "Right, I'll make a deal with you.

"If I fall off three times, I'll quit."

And I fell off six times that day and I never quit!

ENGINE REVS

We're very close at races and, you know, he's...

He's a wise head on him at times and, you know,

he can give you advice that nobody else can, you know?

I know me da was a good rider.

You know, I heard folk say,

"Your da was one of the best,"

but he just didnae have the financial backing

or he got hurt at the wrong times, or his family started, you know?

Whenever he got going, he could run with the best of them.

I've been at it for over 40 years and I know what it's about

and I know you need the help, but for a father to be there,

it's-it's nice in the work up to it, but during the race it's hard to...

It's nice to see the chequered flag and everybody's home safe.

I seemed to take to it like a duck to water.

It is indescribable, like,

whenever you pull in after doing laps and that, you're buzzing.

You're in pain because you're wrestling the bike.

But at the same time, the pain doesn't really matter because

you're on such a high, your fingertips are bouncing,

your legs are sore and your arms are killing you, but you're exhilarated.

People would say, "Road racers, they're not selfish,

"they're doing what they enjoy and we enjoy it,"

but it is very selfish.

A very selfish sport.

It's probably because I passed him.

Can we get the warmers on them quick?

'When you're back at the paddock, it's just a waiting game.'

And then as soon as you're called to the line, next thing it's over.

You know, it's so quick, it happens so quick.

Then next thing you're back home

and you're bursting to get to the next one, you know?

So, that was a great race.

I just have to sort of...

give myself a shake to slow down,

or I'll be driving a van home at 110mph!

You know?

Hiya! Oh, grumpy face!

'I've a wife, Becki, and my daughter, Holly.'

She's two and a half.

Um... Bit of a handful at times.

You know, people in the paddock, you don't see half their families.

And you don't know who's got who at home or, you know...

And you would never see them either.

Unfortunately, that's the way of it.

I met Becki at a road race. She loved it.

And then we got to know each other a bit more

and she started to dislike it.

Because I'm... When I'm out, she can't relax, she can't enjoy it.

Obviously, like, um...

your whole emotions change whenever he goes out.

There's a real fear factor to it now, but... Yeah, it's just...

It's normal. So, you just...become used to it.

-You used to enjoy it, didn't you?

-Yeah.

-You used to enjoy road racing.

-Yeah, you ruined that.

-I know.

-MAN:

-It'll be all right. Put that on there.

Once the visor goes down, you're... That sounds really bad.

When you start thinking of family and...

when you're out there, you know...

..you start slowing down, you start making mistakes, you're like,

"Ooh, if I hit that tree," you know?

-So, in other words, family holds you back?

-That's what I'm saying.

No, no, you know...

Once the visor goes down,

you can't think of that because that's when you do make mistakes.

Fuel's in, fire extinguisher.

And that's it, we're just ready to put the bikes in now.

This bike, it's faster than I'll ever be able to ride it,

but I really, really enjoy it because it's one of those things

that it scares the life clean out of you,

but whenever you get there, it's just a major grin factor.

It is something else.

We wouldn't do anything else.

Nobody's forcing you to go racing, it's something that I really

want to do, it's the best thing I've ever done.

But, yeah, I'm an old person now, I can do whatever I want.

Which is a good thing. I just wish I'd started this 40 years ago.

40 years ago I'd liked to have done this.

(That's us.)

ENGINES REV

Whenever I'm going to a new circuit,

I always like to try and get there a few days in advance, or a week

in advance, it doesn't matter, and walk around the circuit on foot.

By doing that, you can see the different gradients of the road,

you can see the surface of the road.

I would take photographs of the corners and then just

put them in a file

and making markings of where I think I should be.

You know, it's just something that I do and it suits me.

I'm a wee bit OCD about things,

things have to be really right and I just like them.

There's a few people that help me out with oil and things,

but I'm basically, I'm not sponsored,

so I have to try and find the money for myself.

It's tough enough going.

Come here.

I'm doing back to back,

-could I drop the 400 here and go to get some...?

-Yeah, certainly.

There's the stand for it.

'The road racing paddock, I really enjoy the people in it.'

I think at first they don't know what to make of you because...

back then in, what, 2005, when I was racing,

there wasn't many other girls racing at all.

ENGINE REVS

If they've got an attitude, they're wasting their time

because I don't notice it

and what's the point in being bothered or worrying

what other people think about me?

That's their issue, it's not mine.

The first race meeting I did,

I had broken five ribs,

fractured me shoulder blade and punctured my lung.

The fact that I was back out racing very soon after that,

I think it was about six weeks after that, showed my commitment,

that I wasn't just there to wear leathers and walk about,

I was there to seriously be a racer.

So I think after that that the people realised that,

you know, I really mean business.

I'm there to race.

The change in road racing, in particular, is kind of...

For me, it's getting less fun.

The loss of some people has affected me, but...

..you push it away.

You know, as a road racer, you cannae think like that,

and I may be different because I do think like that a wee bit.

It was... It was hard.

The two of them, they were very hard. Very hard on me da. Um...

We were there when the hearse brought Joey home.

Watching your father tear up like that's...

It's... You didn't want to see... No, your...

Your da's your da, he's strong, he's a... You know, he doesn't cry.

Grown men didnae cry. But, like, that's your brother, you know?

I know if anything happened to my brothers, I'd be in bits.

Um...

Yeah, Joey was...hard, I think, because he was the eldest,

he was the big brother and everybody thought Joey was invincible,

like, it kind of hit home, you know, that this can happen to anybody.

After a while, you know, time... time heals

and then Robert happened and then...

..that was just...

That was just bad for everybody.

And Robert's death changed us all, I think.

We carried on and, you know, the fun was never the same, but...

But you'd...

It's-It's...

It's never nice to say,

but you just dust yourself off and get on with it.

You know, you...

Especially in the game you're in. You know, if you didnae...

If you let it affect you that much, you'll not do it.

You just walk away.

-See you later.

-OK.

Have fun.

The first race of the year, I felt brilliant. I felt really good. Um...

I went out.

BIKE REVS

I started getting into a wee bit of a rhythm.

There's Gareth there.

There.

Everything felt normal...

just until I went to brake

and my glove actually balled up in my hand.

And as I went to brake, it just...

Just lost it.

BANG!

I seen green, black, green, black.

I was lying trackside, came about my wits a wee bit.

Next thing I know, I'm in the back of the ambulance...

-FAINT SIREN

-..and there's blood everywhere.

Unreal... Unreal amount of blood coming from me head.

And my helmet, it was... You'd swore someone put an axe through it.

Hello, has Gareth come back in?

No? It's been red flagged.

Have you heard anything?

No? OK. That's all right. OK.

It's unlikely because... It's unlikely.

Went to hospital. My dad was with me, I remember.

There was a tear in his eye and I was holding a lump in my throat,

I said, "Dad, go away."

I was thinking that, I never told him, like, I never told him.

I was reassuring him.

The bones were shattered in my neck

and there was a couple of bones really bad in my back

and my spine, and they says, "No, we have to operate."

It was a five-hour operation.

But I wasn't in any pain until the bloody operation,

so I reckon I would have been all right.

It was only a scratch!

Oh, it was a good race, bud. That was a good race.

Laying flat for over six weeks is not...not fun.

The first day I was lying there and I thought, "You know what?

"That would near do me." And then...

..I gave myself a shake,

"What are you talking about? It was only pain."

-That's just sheer power.

-That was good.

-I know.

'Mum and Dad were begging me to quit.'

Was some craic.

'I says, "Look..." '

"If I quit, what else am I going to be doing?"

-Yes, to the bar.

-MAN LAUGHS

'There would be...'

..a huge void to be filled.

I've thought, you know, "What do I do if I stop racing?"

and I really, really don't know.

I couldn't understand it whenever I was watching racing

and people are getting injured.

I was wondering, "Yeah, well, why do they do this?"

There's something just about being on the roads.

You come in and you've done it well,

the bike's gone well and I feel I've ridden well and it's just brilliant.

Whoo! You're just buzzing, you really are buzzing.

In 2017 I'm going to be 60 and I think it's made me

a stronger person.

A rider knows when it's time to stop and everybody else respects

a rider whenever they decide to stop because they know

it's the right thing to do, which is fine.

-Samuel Dunlop.

-CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

I think I'm at the age where I'm going to look for something else.

Ended up getting a degree with a 2:1 and absolutely delighted, like.

-WOMAN:

-All right, folks...

Starting a new career and never thought I'd be going to

work with a shirt and tie, you know?

Done my first day today and I'm... I'm wrecked!

ENGINE REVS

You can't race forever, so... having another career,

another step on the ladder is... It's a good job, yeah.

Great to see a Dunlop doing something else rather than

motorbike racing.

Uh, and getting a degree, like.

So, maybe... Maybe the next generation will follow suit.

There you go.

'It's always going to be there, I think, um...'

I'll still ride a bike, like,

I'll never be getting rid of me bikes or anything, but...

You never know what the future will hold, like, but...

I'm no' retiring, put it that road. I'll still be there or thereabouts.