Steve and me shared a bond! A 'racers' bond? We both lost our virginity within a couple of seconds of each other, under the pine trees of the Eifel Mountains, in April 1969!? I cannot for the life of me remember who lost it first, him or me, but he was riding his AJS 7R and I was mounted on my love at that time, a 350 Aermacchi-Métisse! I hasten to ADD that our virginity related to our knowledge, or lack of it, of the Nordschleife at Nürburg! In other words, the 'big' Nürburgring circuit.
Whenever we met up afterwards, it wasn't long before one of us remarked, "Do you remember that first lap of the Ring?" And break out into gales of laughter. It took place during the first return to the 24Km long track since the last m/c meeting had been held there, in 1959. And the organisers had decided that they needed to get some experience of running a meeting on it, because they were organising the 1970 West German GP there the following season. So the Eifelrennen for April 1969 had been upgraded to the Nordschleife from the shorter, 8Km long, Sudschleife? So, as it turned out, Steve and myself found ourselves together in a group of about ten riders, which was the safe number that the officials had decreed were the number to be let out in each class for practice, at approx. 20 sec intervals. Steve and myself, of course, were these 'track virgins', same ability, and it was a case of the blind leading the blind? It was like riding in the fog on the Mountain? You follow a bloke and you think you can go faster, but then immediately find, on overtaking, that you can't see either? So slow down for your own safety and he comes back past? We chopped and changed for the whole of the 13 miles, grinning at each other the whole way, as we slid past each other in blind pursuit of that damned 24Km stretch of elusive tarmac. And, as I said, I can't remember now who crossed the line first, at the end of that 1st lap, but it doesn't matter now? We, neither of us, EVER forgot it! I shall sadly miss that, "Do you remember?" moment, with Steve! RIP mate. Watch out behind you!
Jim Curry
Jim
23rd May 2020