Now, something that might come as a surprise, is just how different these bikes are compared to the more familiar ones back on Earth, their size being the most obvious characteristic. They're huge! About as long as a bus, their elongated shape looked like a cartoon description of a motorbike going at fast speed. With two equally large wheels placed at either end it was hard for any bystander not to feel a little bit intimidated by these impressive machines. This almost comical size, was of course a deliberate design feature.

Traversing the Moon's surface does come with its fair share of problems. Apart from the lack of things to say while playing eye-spy, the main issue was gravity, or the lack thereof. Since everything only weighs a tiny slither of what it normally would, the addition of an engine or electric motor becomes quite a complicated process to get just right.

Because of the almost non-existent weight, the amount of power required to get something moving, is much, much lower than back on Earth. This could result in some very treacherous situations.

Every racer knew the stories of early designs for Luna rovers and bikes that were dangerously overpowered, making them almost un-drivable. The slightest touch on the throttle could send them souring into the sky, as the smallest incline in the terrain would act as a stunt ramp, making it more accurate to call them gliders rather than rovers. The first obvious change was to make any engine or electric motor much, much smaller. Vastly reducing the overall power making them safer to use. Another solution was to make the rest of the vehicle as big, and weighty as possible. As the heaver it was, the less likely it and the driver where to be sent flying off into space every time it reached the top of a hill.

These masters of engineering were this ridiculous size for that same reason. Their body work was designed to be as cumbersome as possible. Made out of heavy metals and having body work panels that were only there to add extra weight, these bikes reached a staggering 10 earth tonnes. Making them the equivalent of 1.65 tonnes once they made it to the Moon. That's pretty damn heavy for a bike!

However, small engines and a ridiculous weight didn't solve everything. Along with avoiding unwanted flight there was the simple matter of torque.

Torque is the term that's used to refer to how much turning power something has, a wheel on a bike for example. The higher torque a wheel has, the easier and faster it will spin up. On earth heavy vehicles require a lot of torque to get their tremendous weight moving from a standstill. On the Moon however, no vehicle came close to the weight of ones found on earth relative to their size, meaning even a low powered car would still have far too much torque then was required. For any Luna driver who wishes to maintain control, a fast spinning set of wheels could cause the subsequent rover, buggy or bike to lift off the ground, losing contact and control.

It's not a life threatening mistake, as all the driver had to do was anxiously wait for the wheels to touch back down before continuing to drive as normal. However in a race environment, that can be the difference between winning and losing. So along with looking like the world's longest model kit, these modern bikes also had a special gear box that allowed for low torque accelerations.

Along with these alterations, the bikes were also fitted with a fast spinning gyro that was placed in the heart of the chassis. This combined with the low power retro thrusters covering key areas of its surface, allowed these cumbersome bikes to make controlled turns in the low gravity. Using these devices together allowed for directional changes mid-flight. These bikes were the cutting edge of fast Moon travel, making expeditions across the rocky surface a relative dream. However they were only as good as the rider controlling them.

Suddenly (Or as sudden anything could happen under 1/6th gravity) Marvin was moving at an uncomfortable speed towards his bike. Toppling over forward as a pressure could be felt pushing him from behind. Relatively quickly, he grabbed the bike itself for support, only having to use one arm to hold his weight. All he had to do now was just wait until his feet found the floor again. Turning around to confront the cause of his tumble, he wasn't at all surprised to find Lukaz Kowalski striding past in his bright red suit.

"Excuse you!" Marvin huffed, opening communications with Lukaz so he wasn't just speaking to himself.

"You were in the way." Lukaz retorted, disinterested in the conversation.

"Yeah sure, I was in the way on this wide and open race track. There couldn't possibly be enough space for two people to walk side by side!"

"Yes there is, but you were in way." Lukaz retorted.

"Saying, please could you move, or sorry pardon me, beneath you is it?"

"Not at all. Just seeing a driver of your standard sharing the start line with me is insulting. Makes me forget my manners." Lukaz responded, continuing to walk ahead.

"Well you know what they say, manners make the man."

Lukaz simply chuckled under his breath before cutting the com-link.

Marvin swore, what a foul piece of human waste that man was. Ever since he had come onto the circuit he had been a cause for concern. He started his racing career at a young age. Seeming to have a proficiency for the sport; quickly climbing to the top of every league he was put in. Eventually reaching the professional one he was in now. As well as this impressive feat, he had also managed to get a placement with the top team on the circuit, simply named COSMOS.

COSMOS, like every other team, was a private company that desired to be the biggest and best space-faring group of the 21st century, and due to their essential monopoly of all interplanetary travel, they had the funds to reach that goal. Their support teams and drivers got everything they could ever need, regardless of the cost. So a fresh racer like Lukaz showing up and getting a placement with them was a hard pill to swallow for the majority of the racers who had been working the circuit for a long time.

However that wasn't the main issue. Initially Lukaz distanced himself from the rest of the racers, not going out for a drink after a training day and getting changed at a separate time from everyone else. Marvin didn't mind this particularly, deciding if that's what Lukaz wanted to do, then there was no harm in it. Perhaps he just wasn't a very social man and that wasn't cause enough to hate him.

The big problems started a couple months after he had arrived. No longer was he just a quiet social outcast, now he was an arrogant and superior one. Lukaz was one of those people that had an ego that required constant inflation, or else it would sag and wither away like a week old balloon. Under normal circumstances these sort of people are not an issue, as they very rarely receive the praise and affection that is required to maintain such an insecure mind. However being a world class racer, come with the required attention.

Maybe it was the fact he was placed with COSMOS, or maybe his rapid climb to the top had warped his ego, but Lukaz now truly believed he was better than everyone else in almost every way. He began demanding specialist treatment from the race organisers, better accommodation, more free time and even sitting away from everyone else during a press conference.

Every other rider would sit on a long bench with various cameras pointing at them all answering the bombardment of questions that came their way. The precious prince that was Lukaz Kowalski on the other hand had his own private bench placed as far away from the rest as possible.

Now, some of the other drivers had theories that this wasn't Lukaz's doing; suggesting that COSMOS were taking the lead with these decisions and that he had no say in the matter. Marvin didn't share in their suspicions. Other COSMOS racers in the past had never got this treatment before. Lukaz was the anomaly.

As well as having such an insufferable personality, there was another reason Marvin hated his self-righteous guts. He was Marvin's main competitor. Marvin didn't like to toot his own horn, but even he had to admit that he was one of the best riders on the circuit, and until in the introduction of Lukaz he had been in place to win many of the upcoming competitions. Lukaz's involvement had started to impact on his own results. He frequently found himself stuck behind his bright red bike race after race. But not today, today he was going to win.

Marvin allowed his anger to subside before mounting his bike.

"Well...that was interesting, are you two working on a theatrical production or something?" a voice echoed through Marvin's speakers, his HUD display showing it was his manager, Jerry Phelps.

"Shush don't tell anyone, it's still in planning!" Marvin said as he reached the top of his bike. Moving slightly to the right, he found the seat and mounted it just like someone would a horse saddle. Only much slower. "So far it's just Lukaz dancing around the stage being a **** for two hours."

Jerry chuckled, sounding like an engine that was struggling to start up. "Lukaz won't find that very hard to do, the man's a natural ****! Just another one of his many skills I suppose." Another chuckle. "So what's your role in this production?"

"Oh I just get to review it at the end, saying how much of a **** he was."

"Sounds like a dream job to be honest! Anyway we can discuss your future career options as a play critique latter, we have a race to win!"

Indeed they did, all the faffing about was coming to an end. Looking over his shoulder, Marvin could see that almost every other rider was in the same position as him; aloft their stretched comical bikes. As well as this, almost every support team had also vanished leaving an eerie stillness to the track. a stillness that even seemed strange on The Moon. Marvin's team had already done the pre-race checks while he was getting changed into his walking advertisement, there was very little left to do before the race began.

Marvin set about strapping himself in, attaching a safety line from his suit to the bike itself ensuring that he wasn't just going to float of like a confused ragdoll should he loose his grip on the handlebars. After tying down the loose end of the strap, he reach around to his waist and pulled out a short cable from a small fold in the spacesuit. He plugged the cable into an interface on the bikes control panel. This was his connection to the machine, as well as changing colour, his HUD display was suddenly filled with information about his bike.

The current gear selected, the temperature of the electric motor and surrounding chassis, the quality and temperature of his tyres, anything and everything you could ever want to know. Most of it he wouldn't be needing. Useless, something went extremely wrong mechanically, the exact viscosity and temperature of his brake fluid was not going to be of concern. Apart from his speed, distance from the ground and oxygen supply, the rest wasn't currently needed. So the irrelevant information left his view. To replace it, a message popped up on his display in bright green letters stating "Prepare for race start."

Marvin responded by starting up the electric motor and gyro that was placed at the heart of his gigantic bike. His HUD changed colour once again, telling him the engine was active. He could feel faint vibrations from the gyro moving up through his body as the bike began to rumble with life.

"Right then lad. It's all led up to this. You win this. Then you have a world championship under your belt! Plus more importantly, I have placed quite a large bet on you winning. So if you don't, that means you owe me a holiday." Jerry joked.

"You been gambling on the job J? Professionalism is your middle name." Marvin sarcastically replied.

Marvin leaned forward and took hold of the clunky handlebars, feeling them respond to his grip with just the right amount of resistance. He was in his element once again.

He was ready, and so was everyone else. The track was now clear of support teams. Marvin focused his view onto the large set of traffic lights that hung over the start line, anxiously awaiting the red to change. Go green. Any second now. The seconds ticked by agonisingly slowly in the strained silence. Everything on the track was still, again this still seemed strange, even for The Moon. Once again, the universe had been put on pause. Then suddenly, breaking the eternal freeze, the lights changed and the race began.