Why having a pint with your biking hero can be utterly brilliant
Chew the fat with a genuine two-wheel legend over their tipple of choice
There is nothing more intimidating than meeting one of your heroes face-to-face. You will have a sentence all planned out, one that will make you sound like a proper fan, but importantly not a stalker. However, when the time comes to put your finely crafted exchange into action, inevitably all that comes out is some awkward garbled words accompanied by a red face. But it needn’t be this way, especially if you can catch up with a motorcycling superstar in a relaxed situation over a pint of beer. Someone like TT legend John ‘McPint’ McGuinness. McPint is a bona fide two-wheeled megastar. With his 23 TT wins securing his status as a legend in the racing world, John’s fanbase extends from your average Joe to other two-wheeled heroes.
In fact, his phone contains Rossi’s personal number as Valentino is a fan of John’s and has even invited him out to his ranch! But the self-confessed ‘northern bricky who is fast on a bike’ has never forgotten his roots. As a youngster, John queued up to get his hero Joey Dunlop’s autograph, never guessing that he would one day stand on a podium alongside the great man and become his team-mate at Honda. And that’s why, if you are going to have a pint with any racer; make it John McGuinness as you are guaranteed to get a ‘yes’ and some brilliant stories while he drinks it. So, at the recent Carole Nash London Motorcycle Show, MCN made two TT fans’ day by not only buying them a pint, but getting McPint over to share it with them. “I’m always up for a pint,” says John as he sits down. “I’m northern, buy me a beer and I’ll sit and chat to you all day long! Although I had a few too many last night and my back is hurting from standing up all day signing books. I don’t mind spending all day chatting to people, but while my leg is fine I broke four bones in my back as well and that still hurts.” Dropping John into a group of riders who he has never met before (aside from signing copies of his autobiography for them a few minutes earlier) doesn’t phase him at all, and he’s instantly chatting away. And with every passing sip of beer the stories get better as John’s enthusiasm and passion for the TT
‘I’m northern, so buy me a beer and I’ll chat all day long’
and racing come out, spurred on by the questions these TT fans have always wanted to ask their hero. “I was at the TT the year you won the Senior, when Dunlop looked like he was going to take all five,” says TT fan John Gray. The next five minutes are taken up with McGuinness telling his new friends how seeing his odds of 18/1 to win when he woke up on the morning of the race made him dig deeper than he has ever done to prove a point. He then moves onto what the Mugen is like to ride and his thoughts on the latest generation of riders. It’s the kind of insight that you only get over a beer and not necessarily when he is addressing a crowd and that makes the cost of a pint worth every single penny. “I love it when people offer to buy me a pint, it’s a really nice touch,” says John. “Sometimes I have to drive home from shows, which is a shame, but if I’m not driving I’m more than up for it.
“I’m part of the old-school generation, I love bikes and I love talking about bikes and what better way to do it than over a beer?” And with that he’s back to his book signing, where he spent three solid days from 9am to 5pm talking to anyone who wanted to chat, and happily signing their books or memorabilia.
So, if you see McPint at a show don’t be afraid to approach him. And if you bring a pint of Guinness with you, expect to hear some fantastic stories interspersed with John’s sometimes not entirely politically correct, but always bloody funny, comments. He appears at many bike shows up and down the land and, obviously, at a lot of race meetings. But try to catch him when he’s not competing if you want a relaxed chat.