With the Military Road under threat of imminent closure at Brook due to erosion, a group of Island motorcyclists are lobbying for the road to at least be kept open to bikers with the installation of ramps so they can jump the gap Evel Knievel style.
Rolf O’Pail of Ryde contacted VB to say he’s furious at the potential loss of one of the most iconic roads in the country.
“Bikers come here from all over, and the ride along the Military Road is one of the most spectacular and exhilarating you can get. It would be a tragedy to turn it into a dead end at Brook and cut out those sweeping bends.
“With a motorbike you can easily get up the momentum to bridge the gap. All it would take is a ramp either side and traffic lights to give you the go ahead, to prevent any mid-air collisions. It would make the road even more of an attraction.”
Mind the Gap
Smith is spearheading the Military Road “Mind the Gap” campaign and has written to the Council, hoping they will recognise that it’s a cheap and easy solution that will save the road for at least some of its users.
But he sounded a note of caution regarding the thousands of scooterists who visit the Island each year. “Scooters just wouldn’t have the power to get across, and I wouldn’t recommend they try it,” he said.
Image: teadrinker under CC BY-ND 2.0
