lost without it. Although the 2022
race's economic impact has yet
to be measured, the last time
the race ran in 2019, it bought in
around $45 million to the local
economy. The island's popula-
tion explodes during those two
weeks, with bikes constantly
coming and going via the Steam
Packet ferry that takes riders
from Liverpool in the UK to the
port of Douglas on the Isle of
Man and motorcycle nirvana.
The people come to watch
something extraordinary.
Nowhere else can you get so
close to riders doing 185 mph,
the rushing wind bringing a
delayed cacophony of noise like
a fighter jet breaking the sound
barrier.
To sit at Hillberry and watch
Hickman, McGuinness, Dunlop
and Harrison whiz past so close
you could touch them is a sur-
real feeling. However, from the
handlebars, it feels like you're
the artist in a constantly evolv-
ing water painting. Colors blend
from the trees to the fences and
various buildings, and you can
see the look of exhilaration and
terror on some spectators' faces
as you sit up for braking—not
because you're looking for them,
but because they are so close,
you can't not see them.
AS GREEN AS
THE HEDGES
2022 was my first foray at the
Isle of Man. Having spent the
past three years getting fit by
racing as much as possible in
Southern California, I felt I was
ready to take on the TT chal-
FEATURE I 2022 ISLE OF MAN TT: PART 1
P106
Flying through the
air at 140 mph.
Hickman is certainly
spectacular to
watch.
lenge. But I'll freely admit it was
one I completely underestimat-
ed. The battering my body took
was far different from what I was
used to on the short tracks of
America. My shoulders, in par-
ticular, took such a hammering
after the first night of practice I
could barely lift my left arm.
The constant jackhammering
the circuit imparts, first to the mo-
torcycle and then to the human
body, cannot be overstated. You
need to use your ankles, knees,
hips, wrists, elbows and shoul-
ders all as independent springs,
constantly moving and adjusting
