I remember waking up in the hotel were were using at the time in Onchan, looking out over the darkened bay and watching for the lighthouse. If you could see it, it was a pretty good indication conditions were good enough to run (this was in the days when the mountain was OK to go if you could see the white lines!). Struggle into the leathers, rouse the girlfriend and head down to the hotel garage where the other riders in residence were already up and about. Not being organised (or rich) enough to have a van the drill was to warm up my TZ350 outside the hotel for as little time as possible then head up Governors Road to the paddock, the lights of the gf's car illuminating my way in the pre-dawn darkness.

In the days before the solid scrutineering bay it was all outside and under arc lights and you needed a coffee or 3 to clear the mist of the previous night's socialising and get some warmth into your bones. By the time the first bikes howled away down the road the sun was peeping over the horizon, catching your eyes at Union Mills as you got back into the groove on a lap where the objective was to learn the course or shake down the bike, often all the more enjoyable for the lack of time pressure.

By the time you got back the rush hour was under way,and with closed roads the way back to Onchan was down the hill, along the front and up Summer Hill mingling with all the commuters, geting back just in time for breakfast!

Those of you who never did morning practice, you really missed something