On The Pegs June 2019 - Volume 4 - Issue 6 | Page 101

On The Pegs Vol. 4 Issue 6 - June 2019 101 The parties started early in the week and were held within the old City Walls - defensive 3.4-kilometre walls from the 13th and 14th centuries. Visby is the best- preserved medieval city in Scandinavia. The riders did the cultural walk during the day and visited the local bars and restaurants after sunset. The most indulg- ing food and drink venues were gathered near the ‘Gunpowder Tower’, which was erected by the harbour in the 12th century. So, no calm on the Savannah! The track was a 16-kilometre circuit on ordinary roads, which were only closed off during race day. But during the practice sessions, the riders had to take the risk of encountering traffic as the organisers took no consideration to formalities such as safety or risks. Mind you, officially, practice was not allowed, but who could afford not to learn this 10-mile circuit in advance? The island of Gotland consists mainly of limestone and consequently the roads were full of dust from lime deposits. The track was sometimes dusty as a true smokescreen, which hampered the riders’ visibility. It is also important to men- tion that the deposits from limestone were an effective power-source killer as the material tended to clog the breathing of engines. Consequently, it would be of great importance to be among the leaders when the flag dropped. The