KEY POINTS:
Oamaru will have its own world's fastest "weather girl" next month as Eric Shepherd jets off to attempt a motorcycle world land speed record in Bonneville, Utah.
Mr Shepherd said riding the KR1S 250 Kawasaki on the salt flats will be the epitome of his career and the ultimate way to retire from racing.
The Bonneville salt flats are the same place Invercargill man Burt Munro in 1967 set the fastest ever officially recorded speed for an Indian Scout motorcyle, told in the film The World's Fastest Indian.
Leaving his day job as the "weather girl" on Oamaru's television station 45 South, Mr Shepherd will be away for 10 days from August 7.
Describing himself as a "Kawasaki fanatic" he says trawling through internet sites on the subject led him to meet "lots of other fanatics".
Two years ago he went to America and was asked to source a bike in New Zealand that was not available in the USA.
Eighteen months after shipping the bike to its new owner, Jim Manning, in Los Angeles, Mr Shepherd found out he was taking four bikes to Speed Week in Bonneville.
"I laughingly said to him do you want a pit crew?' and he said yeah, no problem'. Then he rang me up and said he was going to put me as a driver on one of the bikes."
Riding on the 250cc bike, they aim to clock 217kph, which would beat the current world record of 207kph.
They will be going for four different records with four different capacity bikes and a new rider for each bike.
"I have been riding bikes since I was 17 years old so it is time to retire and this just seemed like a wonderful way to put a full stop to my career," he said.
"For a speed freak Bonneville is the ultimate - it's the epitome."
Mr Shepherd said he had never been to the track before but had seen hours of footage on television.
"I never imagined I would ever get the opportunity."
He will spend 10 days in America with seven days of solid riding.Mr Manning has agreed to pay for all the flights. "I want to thank 45 South for helping me get over the last hurdles and for going out of their way to make it happen," he said.
- OAMARU MAIL
