The most uniquely atmospheric part of competing at the TT/Manx. I used to pay for the extra ACU insurance, gaffer tape a torch onto the tank, fire/warm up my TZ350 outside my folk's house then ride down to scrutineering from Birch Hill as the sun was coming up, the paddock/start line at those hours was a very surreal special place to be before setting off with lots of knowing excited looks between all the riders and mechanics - there was none of the daytime hustle n bustle just a load of us up early after little sleep, gagging for it and ready to go. The hairs on my body stand up just thinking back to those unforgettable precious early hours on my really crisp little 2-stroke racing bike, coming up out of Glen Helen onto Cronk y Voddy was my fave bit - a high speed wakey wakey out of the shadows.