It's hard to believe that since the curtain came down on the 2019 road race season there's only been 1 road race in the national series with thanks to the perseverance of the organisers of the Cookstown 100. However that race was the first time we saw CMRVC Clubman Mike Browne show his mettle on board the RK Racing Burrows Engineering Yamaha R6. Luckily for us, Mike took some time out of his busy work life to keep us up to date on the season ahead. What I meant of course is I was talking to Mike while he was mowing a field in the office of the Fendt so we very much appreciate him giving us his ear for the chat!
Working on his uncle's rural dairy farm certainly keeps him busy the whole year round despite the pandemic, but he has found a new a way to keep sharp with a new grá for pedal power having taken up cycling. Thankfully for us he hasn’t swapped the leathers for the Lycra just yet but Mike is fortunate enough to have a patch of scrub land which doubles as his a motocross track in his backyard so to speak and that’s kept him bike fit during the forced lay off. While fitness isn't the be all and end all for him he maintains a good 20 minute blast on the motocross bike is all he needs to keep the eye in for the roads.
Looking back now it's hard to imagine how the 2020 season would be decimated so badly but such is the nature of what we're living with. The Cookstown & District Motorcycle Club were fortunate to run last year and we saw Mike don the RK Racing leathers for the first time in anger. Since then has there hasn't much opportunity to run the bikes again but a trip to Kirkistown for a track day last month proved invaluable for Mike and team mate Paul Jordan ahead of the reduced road racing season. Speaking about the track-day he confessed to feel nervous enough about throwing the leg over again after the layoff but after a couple of laps it felt like he was never out of the seat and the times were improving as the laps added up.