No fuel like an old fuel
By TMX Archives on 6th Jul 12
I suppose we should thank the Lord for small mercies that our glorious chancellor has finally decided that fleecing us proles for yet another 3p tax on each meagre litre of fuel we burn in our daily grind, is not conducive to growing the economy.
But I still feel pretty angry he even considered it in the first place.
As if there isn't enough tax to pay on fuel as it is. Next he'll be claiming to have ‘saved' us that 3p and telling us how lucky we are that the price of fuel is now a mere rip-off rather than totally extortionate.
It is simply the dullest, laziest, but unfortunately most successful way for a government obviously devoid of original ideas to raise another few billion quid to blow on some crackpot vanity project.
The high cost of fuel is clearly a major factor regarding of-road sport.
How many conversations per day does the subject get raised? In my case I hear it so often it now hardly registers.
When we have to we pay up. When we have no money left we don't travel. And the latter is now very obviously happening, as we are witnessing more and more events either being cancelled due to lack of entries or those entries are drastically reduced.
There is one way that we can help ourselves – with the added attraction of sticking one up the chancellor – and that is something that happened plenty in the past but not so often these days.
It is very simple, we share transport to events. If it is going to cost you £100 in fuel just to travel to an event, share transport with a mate and you have just saved £50 – each! There's both your entry fees and race fuel covered.
You might even discover social advantages – it's bloody good fun travelling with a bunch of mates.
Back in the 1980s a group of us used to travel the country to National trials in Nigel Birkett's Transit.
No luxuries, just two rows of seats, a regular load of five bikes crammed in the back and up to eight bodies up front.
The Trannie ‘grew' a three litre V6 engine and drank juice like a thirsty camel when driven
flat-out (which was all the time) but 15mpg times eight people works out at 120mpg per person. Do the maths yourself.
And we had the time of our lives into the bargain. When any of us get together we still blart on and on about those road trips and the laughs we had. – like racing an old Jag (also full of daft lads) up the motorway late one night until the Jag's engine expired in spectacular fashion and for a split second all the red lights on its dashboard lit-up.
We cheered like idiots as it clanked to a halt!
Next time you decide you can't afford to ride that event try giving a mate a bell. It could be the start of a great adventure...
