Its a sad day.

Thursday was the last day that i was a Ferrari owner. It was sad when the car drove down the road and went out of sight, then i looked at the bank statement and felt a little better. I had the car last march as it was a dream come true. The 360 was a great Ferrari and having owned 1 i would recommend it to any fast and exotic car fan. I would maybe sy its worth getting divorced for but as mine was after the divorce maybe im being biased. I had some great memories in the car. I was a man who every body talked about.This did not bother me actually but some people maybe it would. The summer was the best, driving around slow with sound of the 420hp v8 howling as it reaches 4000rpm and at 9000rpm the car was on par with a formula 1. I had girls comment, i had boys comment, i had old people comment, everbody i passed looked, it was the ultimate pose. My plan was to find a rich woman so i could keep the car, but all the girls i met thought i was rich instead. Well not every plan works, then i met Karla and the Ferrari became second place. How can i put my car second? Well some things the car cannot do!!!! Im glad i had the experience as not everybody will forfill their dream. Its a box ticked on my things to do in life. Now there are only 23 more to do!!!!!!

ultima session

Its our last session so its all or nothing, Steve is out first but not happy with the tyres after having a little, how can i put it, slide, he decides to have a safe run and makes sure he can ride home on the bike. My session was a little different, being my last one i thought well its my last so lets give it some throttle. The bike was going great all day and i was happy with the set up and was comfortable with my positioning on the bike after not liking it first after the sp-1. I was catching bikes faster and faster, maybe they were taking it easy on the last session? Ther were 2 fireblades in front of me, so determined to catch and overtake before the session ended i give it full. The one i caught and went passed just before the old hairpin but the other was a little harder. As i went over the start/finish line the flag comes out. The bike in front carries on so i decide to carry on also. We both carry on at full speed and i finally go past him 3 corners before the end. As i get to the last corner i slow down and put my hand up to let the people behind im coming in to the pits. The bike i overtook has not realised it was the last lap and SHITS himself as i corner at a slower speed and he nearly crashes in to my bike. This could of been the worst end to the day but...... it wasnt. Great day had by all.

session 6

So now Steve is now determined to get some video footage before he finishes his day. The camera is still on his helmet and this time we put the camcorder in the bag and make sure it is still running before he sets off. He exits the pits and starts his first lap bearing in mind his tyre has seen better days and his brakes are not that good either. He is still on the pace and overtaking bikes lap after lap. He passes the pit wall and looks up. I see him and give him a wave. He gets back behind the screen and gets ready for redgate. Lap after lap faster and overtaking more bikes. Happy with his progress the flag comes out and he comes in the pit lane and pits. Helmet off and in to the bag he looks. The camera is still on and we stop and rewind. Both excited to see the footage we press play....... All we can see is the clocks and fairing panel.....shit. I think the camera was positioned to far down. At this point Steve has given up on the camera and decides to have a walk. I think a little pissed.

session 5

So Steve now has the camera fitted on his helmet and is ready for his next session. We put the camcorder in the rossi bum bag and off he pops to get some laps in and kick some ass. Lap after lap faster and overtaking everything in his path, it was a shame he was in the slow class as they get in the way at the wrong time. I think he is enjoying himself but maybe not as much as if i was with him. The flag goes up and in he comes, smiling again. He gets off the bike and takes the bum bag off and looks at the camera inside............. "its f*****g off again" I think when the camera went in the button was pressed and it was turned off. Shit, not a happy bunny. My session was not much different than the last ones but now my arms are hurting and i feel the bike a bit more. There is a man in the garage with a race spec R6 with tyre warmers and all the kit. Bit of a strange man but he keeps looking at my bike but doesnt actually speak to me. He speaks to Steve but nothing to me. Maybe because i keep overtaking him and he does not like it. Well you cant win them all!!!!!! After that i make sure i overtake him on the way around a corner when he is in full concentration rather than blasting past him down the straight. Think this is pissing him off. Well shit stinks ne!!!!

session 4

Ok, now we are motoring on and we have put the camera on Steves bike. He has put it on the bike facing backwards so he can see the people when he overtakes them. (or he can see who is catching, leave it with you) So he sets off and has a good session, faster each lap, overtaking everyone in the group including the instructors. He comes in the pits after the session smiling in his helmet. ( i hope his stomach is better) When he stops in the garage he goes to the seat pod on his bike to stop the camera and his smile goes away. "f**k, its not f*****g recorded" oops, when he put the camera in the bag it knoched the swich off. Shit, not a good day for him. So after i put the camera on the side panel of my bike and set off on my session. Not ant different than the last one really, maybe a little faster and smoother but still the same result. When i come in and get off the bike....... the camera is still recording. Result.

session 3

Session 3. Without my buddy. Same story, first 2 laps warming up and then full throttle. I thought there would be a little chance Steve would come up next time so i concentrated on getting my lap times faster. There was no one to over take me again, not even the instructors, which i do take pleasure in overtaking them out on the track. So now im up to full speed, scraping my knees on every corner, hanging off the bike more and braking later in to the corners. It`s all coming along very well. There were 2 other fast guys out there on fireblades, one HM plant and another red one. The chequered flag comes out again. This time i go in the pits and no stopping, no telling off and no group moving. Steve at this point is getting ready for his third session. I think he wants to impress so he can joint the fast boys, i mean me. So his 3rd session went a bit Pete tongue. First he has a bit of a slide from the rear, (the bike) then as he is braking there is a bit of noise from the brakes and a loss of bite. As he comes in the pits i can see he is not happy. Then he tells me all.

session 2

We start session 2. I follow Steve for about 4 laps until i pass him into one of the corners and then i put the rubber down. I start to feel happier with the bike lap after lap. Overtaking more bikes and putting in faster laps. I look around to see if i could see Steve. (no) So i carry on at my own pace until the checkered flag comes out again. On the way into the pits i get stopped again. Now i think the exhaust is too loud but............ one of the instructers tell me "mate your too quick for the group, you need to go up at least 2 more groups, and you cannot use the titanium sliders as it puts other people off" At his point all i could think of is my buddy Steve. So i asked him " What about my mate Steve" i then realised he wont know who Steve is. "The blue gsxr who was with me" He then said " i didnt see anyone with you" so i answered " yehhh, me neither" So now i have to explain to Steve that i have to move groups and leave him with the slow boys. Something comes to mind. LEAD BALLOON. So he took it well. I also have to swap my sliders with one off the boys in the garage im in as he has not got his knee down. He was happy to swap as he could tell his mates he got his knees down on the track.Then i go and see signing on and control and get my new purple sticker and wrist band. I go back to Steve and tell him i need to go back out as im in with the fast boys. Poor Steve, i feel so bad to leave him, oh well i have my next session.

DONNINGTON PARK

Its sunday the 11th of may. I drive up to Steve`s house in the van as it`s our first track day of the year. My bike is living in his garage at the moment as Sue (aka Mom) does not like the smell of motorbikes near the house. I think she thinks it is a Yamaha fs1e. No no no. Things have changed i keep telling her, they dont smell of petrol or oil anymore. It`s 2 stroke mopeds that smell not real bikes. Anyway back to the point. I arrive at Steve`s house and he is waiting at the gate like a dog knowing he is going for a walk. We go up to the garage to get leathered up. There are a few last minute adjustments and then we are on our way. 45 mins later we arrive at Donnington, park up and sign on. At this point Steve tells me he has a dicky stomach (shits) and he goes off to give it a drain. I wait in line to sign on, as i get to the front Steve is back and we sign on. When we book we asked to be in the novice group as it is much safer to go out in. (so we thought) After the sign on we go to riders briefing and get issued with our yellow wrist bands. So all excited we set off to the bikes and we are the first group out. At this point we dont have the on board camera connected to the bike as we decided to have a little warm up first. So now we go off to the grid and i told Steve i would follow and then he can follow me. At this point i realise we are not allowed to overtake for the first 2 laps. So this is Steves chance to have 2 laps in front of me. (oops, sorry Steve) On the 4th lap we are starting to get some heat in to the tyres and i decide to lead for a while. I then realised the group is slow. We are overtaking bikes everywhere. I look around to see Steve and i realise he has got caught up in a few so i decide to go at my pace. Lap after lap faster and faster until the checkered flag comes out. As i enter the pit lane a man is waving his arms at me. I ignore him and go to our garage number 33. 3 mins later the officials come down and tell me my bike is 99 decibels. The regulation is 98. So he tells me the only option is to have a new silencer tube put in the bike. At this point i dont think my bike is that loud and i think the problem is induction not exhaust. So the man fits a new scorpion item and charges me £28. Nice. I start the bike and look at Steve. We both say "its fuckin louder" I decide to carry on and see what the officials say on the next session.

THURSDAY NIGHTS

celebrating after the win or the loose i cant remember.
Thats me, number 1.
Still no heart beat.... Its a Powell thing.
Another celebrating drink.Caution all low flying aircrafts...

So thursday nights are back, 2 games of 5 a side then race to the Chase. As per normal, todays driver Nick Powell was running late. This is normal so when he says 8.30 he means 8.40. We get there just in time. Well not enough time for a quick beer but the game had not started. We won our first game, had a few beers then played our second game. We were shit, i forgot the score in fact, except all i know is Al scored so the score did not matter. It was a bit of right place right time but he scored. This happens at most once a year. So n ow another year before the next one. After we celebrated with a few beers, not any different if we lost actually. The owner of the arena wanted some work done so me and Nick went to look at the job. It was in the fitness area in a seperate room. Inside was a bed and a load of cables and pads so Nick decided to play dead as i charged up to 300 and zapped him. At the time it was funny.... So now we set off for the Chase pub for a few more drinks, first a few beers followed by the obligatory Coorkys. After 3 each it was closing time and like normal Nick did his Party trick. Nathan had never seen this and then realised the lad had a problem. He calls it talent but im not so sure!!!!! Then we split and go our seperate ways..... Result.

Harley launch

Tractor pilot.
Silicon valley.

Just one for the ladies.
Nice bike.
Chase pub.........updated,

Dad, me and Paulie the devil.
A warm welcome
Ross the Tattooista

The new Harley is to be revealed at a bar in Las Americas and dad was invited, so we go to see the new bike. At this point i have to confess im not sure what the bike is called. The model i mean. Its some sort of tractor sounding american bike thing like the rest. But anyway, it`s a night out. As we arrived there were a large group of tractors parked up.(sorry Harleys) At the door of the building there were 2 very pleasant girls greeting people as they entered. (i mean nice looking girls). Inside were a few people that i know, Adrian who has ordered one of these bikes, Ross who has done all my tattoo`s and Paulie who is just Paulie. This time Paulie has hair. It`s the first time i have seen this man with hair. I didn`t reconise him. All the times that i had seen him before, his head was shaved. If you look closely at the picture you will see in the background a flag, but it look`s attached to his head. The beers started flowing (coronita, corona to us in England). I would just like to add that the toilet`s were very different to The Chase pub. There was a band playing, people drinking, Harley talk all around, me and my dad clocking the girl`s. The usual Powell night out. At 11.30 the bike was ridden into the club, tractor noise, artificial smoke on the ground, music on and girls with a enough silicon to supply a window fitter enough for a whole housing estate. They were laid across the bike with legs spread and nork`s hanging out. I still did not get tempted to order a bike. ( i mean Harley) As the night went on, more beers went down and it just ended up being a big piss up. Bird`s , bikes, and beer. Great.

Dad`s 60th and St paddy`s day

Red bull gives you wings.

You can have your cake and eat it.

Pissed up dad

It`s monday the 17th of march. Dad`s birthday was yesterday, but we are celebrating again today. It`s also St paddy`s day so after a meal out with a few close friends of my dad we go to The Dubliner for a few drinks. It`s busy like normal but as it`s irish night we thought we would not get in. We got in and got served, so things were going good. It was full of hats and guiness, and the odd English people. Odd meaning my dad. He has his girlfriend with him ( no, not the one he lives with) They are stuck together all night like velcro. The only time they come up for air is to have another drink. The band who play there are as good as ever. More irish music than normal but this put people in the mood . The whole bar was pissed up, well almost, i decided to drive as it was his birthday party night. There were drinks being spilt, glasses broken, but no trouble anywhere. At 3.30 we decided to leave. As we left the bar there was a girl from Hungary trying to get us in to a strip club. Dad being dad was chatting her up. This is normal in daylight hours, but as the night gets dark and the drinks go down and the glasses come off, it seems to be more popular for him. The girls also look "ok" as he says. Across the street from us is Buzz lightyear, Alias Carl. Clocking what was going on, he shouts over as my dad kisses the girl, " it`s the kiss of death love, the kiss of death". At that point the two seperate and we get in the car to go home. In all, a good night out.