31 replies to this topic

[dbw]

after reading the "tank slapper" thread, i remembered my favorite motor racing jargon....amid "heavy wellies" and "cracking the ton"..i'm fond of the bikers term for a "big off"..."eating the peach" they would say...any others out there????[ why do i suspect the motor press is responsible for a lot of this stuff...]

[Ray Bell]

What intrigues me with such expressions is their genesis... where on earth does this one come from?

[Bernd]

Well back when I was young and stupid I had a colossal shunt on a trail bike. I was coming round a blind kink at about 90KM/H or so and went straight into a log that some nice soul had placed directly across the trail, obviously hoping to kill some poor bastard. The bike went head on into the log and the front end literally stopped the rear and of course me kept going! We that is the bike and I cartwheeled about 20 or so metres before landing fortunately on my back (well mostly) The bike which was incidently completely smashed beyond hope of repair went quite a bit further. I dislocated my shoulder, broke 3 fingers, tore all the tendons in my knee and had massive bruising that kept me flat on my back for about a fortnight. Without a doubt if it wasn't for my fortunate landing I would have been killed.

The only fortunate thing to come of it so says my Mother is that I have never ridden a Motorbike since.

Oh to catch the kindly chap who placed that log there!

[Ray Bell]

And the expression covering this is???

Good job it wasn't the oaf who placed the wire across the trail at neck height... don't you think.
This happened, from memory, at Villawood/Georges Hall and also on the Sunshine Coast.

[Bernd]

How about watch out for the Psychotic Motherf#*&ers

I honestly don't understand some people, I have heard of the wire incidents. One occurred near my school fortunately the 'person' had used a thin rope and not a wire so the only harm to the poor lad was a VERY badly bruised throat and a sore neck, the incident kicked up a community outrage and the perpetrator was caught by the authorites of course becuase he was juvenile nothing happened to him.

In my mind to do something like that accounts to premeditated attempted murder.

[moody]

...is this sort of thing the reason I never see a motorcycle policeman after dark...I can't remember seeing one, ever....

[Mike Argetsinger]

Wow! "eating the peach" - that's a great one - I've heard of the peach perch with respect to a motorbike and I thought for a minute this referred to ... well, maybe we won't go there! I have nothing so original to offer but here are some that you hear all the time around the track - - "stuffed it" "stuffed it big time" "pranged it" "going hairy flatters" "when the flag drops, the bull s**t stops" "last of the late brakers" "really tweaked" "there are only two kinds of drivers at Indy - those who have hit the wall and those who are going to hit the wall" and everyone's favorite "I was killing him through the twisty bits but he just powered away from me on the straights"

[Ross Stonefeld]

Yeah im with Mike, I thought it was something else.


Must be all that time spent with Pete

What did Garner's team owner say at the begging of Grand Prix. "dont stand it on its bloody ear!" or something? What the heck does that mean

[Darren Galpin]

Turn it on to its side, as ears are normally located on the side of the head....

[Barry Boor]

[desmo]

I wonder what T. S. Eliot's Prufrock would have thought of the expression, "eating the peach" in that context?

[SteveB2]

The Allman Brothers' released a classic album in 1972 called "Eat A Peach" (One Way Out, Melissa, Blue Sky, etc). I've wondered what the album title meant. I guess I also assumed it was of the "nudge nudge wink wink, say no more" nature. A strange thought occurred to me though. Since Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle crash (in 1979?), I was wondering if the term relating to a big motorcycle crash was some kind of homage to Mr. Allman. Stranger things have happened. Pure wild conjecture though. Does the term pre-date 1972? If so, then I guess it's the Allman Brothers' reference to their biker lifestyles.

[dbw]

i can't remember the source of the colorful term in question but it had to do with an early isle of man motorcycle race.....probably early on.....

[Bernd]

Come on!!!!!!! Surely some others have had huge shunts it is Motorbikes we are talking here after all, shunts come with the territory.

[desmo]

The title of the Allman Bros. album of that name was inspired by the T. S. Eliot poem I alluded to above and specifically the line "do I dare to eat a peach?"

And R&R records don't come much finer than that particular one.

[Darren Galpin]

Eat a peach is certainly a double entendre. Remember the Stranglers song "Peaches" and the line "walking on the beaches looking at the peaches"?

[desmo]

Darren, I have little doubt that you are right about that, and Bernd I am happy to let my youthful indescretions fade away into the mists of the long ago past. I can remember coming to in a ditch and the first thought I had was honestly to worry about how the lovingly restored and polished alloy tank on my trusty BSA had fared. I hope no one else here was that stupid!

[Ray Bell]

Wrong again, I'm sorry to report, des... if we come out of it even half alive, we first worry about the machinery!

I remember a friend's wife bundled up his Clubman in a sprint once, and inside the ambulance she was crying and saying how she'd wrecked his car...
"It's all right," I told her, "Quinton will help you build a new one."

Quinton and Sara now live in Dickensen, Texas, their Clubman days long gone, but he sure did help her build the replacement...

[ZippyD]

And to add another double entendre lets not forget Steve Miller:
"Really love your peaches, want to shake your tree."

Boy, They don't write 'em like that anymore. What a shame.

;-)

[fines]

OT, I think Duane Allman died in 1972 already, and another member of the band also died in a bike accident. Funny how this has led to the mention of some very fine pop songs!

[dbw]

wow...we can be very literate and pop musical here....after many calls to my 2 wheeled friends, the consensus was that
"eating the peach" is the result fo a major shunt involving a trip over the bars head first with a rapid stop against some solid object...what modern ski folks call a "face plant"...[early penny-farthing cyclists called it a "header"
and, well, mine involved a BSA goldstar with a speedway prepped engine,stock brakes,a decreasing radius turn in the local foothills,and a long strip of armco..;result?? 14 weeks in a leg cast, cuts& bruises,a major headache[had a helmet] and a bit of an arthritic ankle 30 odd years on.
hell.."visions and revisions"later,i never did like the allmans...except for "jessica" of course.[did i cover all the topics?]

[SteveB2]

I looked it up. Duane Allman died on Oct 29, 1971. He appears posthumously on Eat a Peach though. The bassist, Berry Oakley, died on Nov 11, 1972 in Macon ,Ga, three blocks from where Allman died.

OT, How about "I love your Georgia peaches, make me feel right at home." from "They call Me the Breeze" by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Those southern rock band seem to have a thing for peaches.

[desmo]

Actually, that song was penned by one J. J. Cale and can be found in it's original form on the album "Naturally". Another recording which I most highly recommend.

Well we've well and truly gotten off-topic now. Apologies.

[Don Capps]

Duane hit a truck carrying peaches....

Or so the legend goes...although I always thought the inspiration for the album as the T.S. Eliot line.

[desmo]

Dickie Betts the #2 guitar player for the Allmans ascribed the title to Eliot in a 70s interview in Guitar Player magazine if memory serves. I am sure Don's wise sig should be referred to here though.

[TNSFH]

Here is a story of a race I ran about 15 years ago where I "ate the peach" at least twice.

It is posted in the Paddock Club.
http://www.atlasf1.c...?threadid=14075

[Stefan Ornerdal]

Not exactly peaches but...
"I want to squeeze your lemon 'til the juice runs down your legs"
Led Zeppelin, about 1970.

Ouch.

[SteveB2]

The lemon line is from (IIRC) "Travelling Riverside Blues" by the legendary delta blues man, Robert Johnson. I'm always amazed he recorded a lyric like that in the 30's. I couldn't pin down when LZ re-recorded it.

[dbw]

at last! truly a nostalgia forum!you go guys!

[Stefan Ornerdal]

The Led Zeppelin recording is 'Whole Lotta Love', around 1970 - I think - my vinyl records is stored in/at/on the attic... Robert Johnson was great, isn't Rolling Stones 'Love In Vain' a Robert Johnson song?
Back to racing - Does anyone have any information about the race tracks "Turnberry" in Scotland and "Sembach" in Germany or Austria? Both have staged F2-races. Track length, track map or at least, where is these places? I can't find them on my (very) good roadmap!?

All The Best
Stefan

[Mike Argetsinger]

Stefan - I have very little information on Turnberry but I raced three times at Sembach - in 1971, 72, and 73 - I also was there for a race in 1969 but didn't race because my car wasn't ready. Sembach was a Flugplatzrennen (airport circuit)close to the village of Sembach, Germany. Sembach is near by the larger town of Kaiserslautern. As I write this I am looking at the "Ausschreibung und Einladung" (essentially the regulations and entry form) for the 1973 race on May 5-6. Included in the booklet is a very detailed map of the circuit. The length of one lap was 5.610 km and the longest straight away was 2.140 km. I remember the track very well and can still do a "mental lap." It was quite good as airport tracks go because there was a change of elevation between the long straight (runway) and the upper portion - hence there was some feeling of up and down hill which most circuits of this type are lacking.

As for Turnberry - I have not been there and have no information on the history of the circuit - but it is located on the Ayrshire coast of Scotland. It appears to be not much more than 50 miles southwest of Glasgow. You should easily find it on your map. I know it was used in the early 50's - and quite likely earlier. Certainly one of our UK experts can fill in the details.[p][Edited by Mike Argetsinger on 01-21-2001]

[desmo]

Stefan, not that it's important but the LZ song from which the lyric is taken is actually "The Lemon Song" from their second album. Of course stolen from blues legend Robert Johnson as pointed out above.

I promise not to post on this thread any more unless I detect any more pop music trivia inaccuracies.