ABC Tour – Cameron Donald, Cruising the Course

FRIDAY

Friday is the last day before racing finally starts and the island is really getting busy.

It had been arranged by Dave Milligan and Grant Roff (Groff from Two Wheels magazine) for the Aussies to meet at the start/finish line to meet Cameron Donald and go for a ride around the course together.

There was quite a contingent of Aussies present, many wearing their “Get Routed” tee shirts.  Cameron came along on his trials bike and signed lots of clothing and helmets.

I had a cap signed, and Mick had his tee shirt signed.

It was impossible for everyone to keep together as we went for our ride, but I got some pictures as we went along. Here is the hedge we sat on at the first day’s practice.

I don’t think the little wire fence would have saved us on Tuesday at Ballacraine.

Here is Ballaugh Bridge and the Raven Pub from the road.

Meanwhile, normal traffic still shares the race course.

Ginger Hall is where quite a few Aussies are staying and where we watched the final practice on Friday.

The plan was to ride around the course and then had lunch at Peel.  Unfortunately, the mountain section was closed due to a traffic accident, so we left the group at Ramsey and went to Point of Ayre at the very north of the island.  We try to get up here each time we visit, as it is a beautiful spot.

It was a glorious afternoon to just sit in the sun and take it all in.

As we have done each time we have visited, we wrote  our special message with the shingles.

No sand here.

Then it was to Ginger Hall to wait for the start of the final session of practice.  Our Kiwi neighbour, Bruce Anstey, set the fastest lap so far this year, averaging just over 131mph (not kph) around the course.

The side cars finally had a good practice session.

Now everyone is ready for a big day of racing on Saturday.

ABC Tour – Castle, Countryside

WEDNESDAY

The weather here has been pretty good, but it had still been grey and breezy.  The sun finally made an appearance on Wednesday evening for a little while.  Thursday morning was once again grey.

We decided to have a day at Peel, which is on the other side of the island, and after Castletown, is our favourite town on the island.

There is a working harbour with lots of fishing boats.

There are also lots of pleasure boats.

The streets are crooked and narrow.

We had a lovely lunch in a little cafe.  I had lamb cutlets and veges.  It was such a wonderful meal to find on a menu.  While we were there the sun started to come out.

We went to have a look at the exhibition to celebrate 100 years of the Mountain Course at the House of Manannan.   You can get a multi site pass for all the main Manx tourist sites at a reduced price.  We weren’t going to worry about it this time, as we have seen most of them before.  However, we discovered that our National Trust membership gets us in, as does English Heritage membership. What a bonus.  Therefore, as it had turned into such a beautiful day we went over to Peel Castle and just had a wander around in the sun.

It is a truly beautiful place.

Next stop was  an ice cream, sitting by the beach, watching the world go by.  It is actually a lovely sandy beach and there were quite a few kids were having a great time playing in the sand.

It was beautiful looking across the bay

We ran into some friends in Peel and took them for a ride down the coast road towards the south of the island. Just gorgeous.  This was the first day that we had actually seen the sun and felt warm.  The island was looking its very best.

Then it was time for the evening’s practice session.  Our friends hadn’t watched from a really fast spot as yet, so we took them to the bottom of Bray Hill, not far past the start line.  The bikes come flying down a steep hill then have to take a right hander and disappear up the next hill.  It is an awesome spot to watch from and amazingly fast.

The start of practice was delayed due to a traffic accident and the sidecars came out first.  Unfortunately, during the session there was an oil spill and the rest of the evening’s practice was called off without the solo bikes even getting on the road.  This is really making it difficult for some fellows to qualify for the racing next week.

As we got home early we went for a walk around Castletown in the lovely evening weather.  These photos were all taken between 9.30 and 10.00pm.

 

More soon.

ABC Tour – Crikey They’re Fast, Closer to the Edge

MONDAY AND TUESDAY

The first race practice for the TT was on Monday night.  We like to go to a different place around the course each night to watch.  There are lots of places to spectate from, all different, all good.  The main ones are published in a little booklet, but as you go around you notice people in fields or sitting on hedges, and wonder how they got there. 

On Monday Al took us to one of these hedges.  He advised that it would not be a good idea to take the sidecar, as we had to go down a little narrow lane and it would be a problem if we met another vehicle.  Therefore, he popped me on the back of his Triumph and Mick rode is KTM.

This is how you get up onto the stone hedge.

The only problem was that none of the ladders were there when we arrived.  It was quite comical seeing the boys getting me up there.  This is how close we are to the action. 

Al was clowning around.  As you can see, we didn’t have a very wide spot to sit on.

In a break from the usual format the sidecars came out first.  As some of them went past you could feel the whole wall move.

Apparently the solos go past at about 170 mph (not kph).  I love this photo Mick took. You really get a sense of how fast they are going.

On Tuesday we went into Douglas with Al to see the 3D movie “Closer to the Edge”.  This is a documentary of last year’s TT and is fantastic.  I believe it will be showing in Australia as well.  There were quite a few Aussies at the cinema.

Douglas has a really attractive Victorian era promenade.

After that we had a little look around the pits.  Unlike most races the public can just wander around the pits without any special passes or entry fee.  We met Milky Quayle, who is a previous winner and a mate of Al’s.  We also saw a few other riders in the distance.  This is Guy Martin’s pit.  He is a real character and everyone wants him to win his first race this year.

In  the afternoon we visited the Fairy Bridge with Olga.  You must wave to the fairies when you pass or it is bad luck.  As you go by, you see that most people do.

For practice we headed to Ballacraine, which is another place we have never watched from before. It is a right hand corner between two buildings.

Once again we took lots of photos.

We are still amazed at how close we can get to the racing.  No where else has anything like it.

Wednesday morning was a quiet one for me, but Mick went into the Pits again and found that many of the Aussies were there and it had been arranged for them to meet Cameron Donald.  Cam is the only Aussie racing in the TT this year.  He has already won a couple of races in the past and in 2009 set the fastest ever lap until then during practice. He is certainly one of the favourites for a win and a really nice bloke as well.

In the afternoon we went and found Silverdale Glen, which was a really popular spot to visit by holiday makers in the past.

There is a carousel that is powered by a water wheel.

It still has the original old horses.

The glen itself is really pretty.

Then, in the evening it was off to practice again.  This time to Ballaugh Bridge.  We have been there before, but it is one of the most spectacular places to watch.  Many famous TT photos have been taken here.  This is why.  Guy Martin was flying. 

The sun was in a really bad spot for photos, but that didn’t matter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the riders have a different technique in approaching the hump back bridge.  Yes, the sidecar is completely off the road.

Then they have to go past the corner of the pub.

Yep, spectacular.

ABC Tour – Castletown, Classic Bikes

FRIDAY TO MONDAY

When we come to the Isle of Man we stay at Castletown, which is at the south of the island.  The TT Races are in the northern half.  Castletown was the old capital, and of course, there is a castle, which is still used as the courthouse.

The cottage we stay in is from the 1700s, but you wouldn’t know it, as it is rendered white and has a modern fitout.  It is the perfect place to base ourselves, with everything we need and being in walking distance to shops and for Mick, most importantly, the Glue Pot pub.  This photo of the Gluepot was taken a bit after 10pm.  The days are getting really long now with sunset just before 10pm.

It is so nice to be able to sleep in, hang around the cottage in our tracky dacks and just have cereal and toast for breakfast.  It is lovely to eat out all the time, but it is also nice to have simple fare at home.

The motorcylcing fortnight kicks off with the Pre TT Classic Races, which run on a 4 mile course at Castletown, just a short walk from where we are staying and practice started on Friday night, after we arrived.

This was followed by more practice on Saturday afternoon and racing on Monday.

It’s really hard to take photos.  You get lots of a track with no bike.  Or the bikes are going so fast that they are just a blur.  You would need an extremely fast shutter speed to catch them side on.

The sidecars are always spectacular.

I just love the way this passenger swings out his leg.

There were no events happening on Sunday so we had a really lazy day. 

Apart from the motorcycle racing, the attraction of the Isle of Man is to catch up with friends we have made.  Mick had a rather late night at the Glue Pot with his mate Al on Saturday and then on Sunday we made the trek to Ramsey at the top of the island for roast beef and Yorkshire pudding with Lou and Tony and their family.  It was so nice to see them again.  Of course, we forgot to take a photo.  Another time.

Monday was a busy day, as after the classic races, the first evening of practice for the TT took place.  How it works is that during the first week there is practice from Monday through to Friday each evening from 6.30 to 9.00.  Then there is racing the following week on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  This is followed by another day’s racing at Castletown by the TT riders on the Saturday. The races are scheduled for every second day to allow for inclement weather.  There are heaps of other events planned for the non racing days, so it is a very busy fortnight.

ABC Tour – Cavern Club and Crossing

We have been on the Isle of Man since Friday, but have had a few internet access issues.  I think they are now sorted, so now I can finally do a bit of a catch up.

To follow on from my last post, we left Whitchurch last Thursday and headed to Liverpool to catch the ferry to the Isle of Man.  It was a whole 36 miles, and we didn’t have to catch the ferry until the following day.

Our wonderful B & B hosts at Whitchurch were once again really helpful.  Firstly, when we asked their advice on where to stay in Liverpool, they put us onto the laterooms.com website (similar to our Watif.com).  They found that the Crowne Plaza had rooms at 79 pounds (usually 275 pounds).  We booked straight away.

As we were leaving, Lesley mentioned the “Walk Mill”, which was on our way.  It is a new flour mill built on the footings of an old mill which was mentioned in the Doomsday book.  They stone mill flour and make great coffee and carrot cake.

The weather was not too bad on our ride, after a wet night, but as we neared Liverpool the wind started to pick up a little.  We found our way to the hotel, only to find that it is literally over the road from the ferry terminal and had great secure parking.  What a great find.  Thanks Dave.

As we started to unpack, it started to rain, so once again we hopped on a big red tourist bus to have a look at Liverpool. 

The rain stopped when we hopped off and we then went for a walk and wandered around the famous Beatles areas.  You have to take the corny, touristy photos.

The famous cavern club.  No, we didn’t go in, just walked past.

We saw a “Ferry Cross the Mersey”.

By now the wind had really picked up and you could hardly stand in it.  The evening sailing to the Isle of Man was delayed a couple of hours due to the weather.  By the way, while we had been having relatively good weather down south, it had been horrendous in Scotland and Ireland where many of the Aussies had ridden their bikes.  We heard of some that had to abandon the idea of riding on some days as it was just too windy to be safe.

Fortunately, the wind had dropped a fair bit by the morning and our ferry proceeded on schedule.

The ferry is the Manannan, which was built in Tasmania.  She was only added to this run in 2009 and was nice and stable.  I’m a terrible sailor, so I wasn’t looking forward to the crossing, but I took a tablet and also put on the travel wrist bands.  I don’t know which worked, but I was fine.  What a relief.

While we were waiting to board, a fellow pulled up beside us and said that his clutch cable had just broken.  Fortunately, we carry a spare, so before we had to board, the problem was fixed.  Then, when we went to start our bike to board, there was nothing.  We had blown a fuse and had to push her onto the ferry.  The fuse was replaced before we set sail, so all was good.

There were three sidecars on the ferry.

Then, before we knew it, we were here.

It was great to be in a familiar place.

The famous race festival has now begun, so more soon.