Getting to the Isle of Man and Week 1
Once you have decided to visit the IOM for the TT there are a few big decisions to be made. The first is whether you are going by motorbike, accommodation and ferry tickets. I checked out renting a bike but once you say you are coming here then things get very expensive very quickly. I then checked freighting and that was the most cost effective. That said, the Tenere was going to be away for about 6 months out of 8 due to shipping and so on. Accommodation was straight forward. I asked some Brit friends whether they'd be interested in joining me and five did so.
Our ferry was booked for mid morning on Saturday 27/5. We rocked up nice and early and it was straight through for us. They pack you in like sardines and the bike has to be put on the side stand next to a railing where they tie a rope from the railing, over the bike and to the (in my case) right hand footpeg. Basic, but it worked.
The voyage to the IOM lasted about 2.5 hours then it was down to the innards downstairs to untie then start up once we were told to do so. Rolled off and onto our accommodation just 10 minutes away.
We were all keen to do a lap on the day of arrival and we did that. It was amazing to finally see all of these famous locations I had heard about over the years. Bray Hill, Quarterbridge, Union Mills, Ballagary, Crosby, Kirk Michael, Ballaugh Bridge and so on. These roads are all policed and speeds varied between 30, 40 and 50mph. Once you get past the Ramsey Hairpin the mountain road becomes one way and a mile or so further on becomes unrestricted. So we stuck to the left land and had other riders go whizzing by at ballistic speeds.
Sunday was a day off then practice occurred on the Monday, then qualifying sessions for all the classes begin that last until the following Friday. The rules are that every rider has to qualify for each class (Super Twins, Super Sport, Super Stock and Superbike) by doing 2 laps within 110% of the 3rd fastest rider (if it were the fastest rider then half the entrants would not qualify). Newcomers get to do a speed controlled lap with a top level rider, then have to do 5 laps within 112.5% of the 3rd fastest. If you do not then you get comforting words and get to have another go the following year.
We decided to work our way around the circuit with the Monday at the bottom of Bray Hill, then Union Mills, then Gorse Lea, then Kirk Michael then Ballaugh Bridge. You can sit anywhere except where there are signs not to. These are generally where an out of control or crashing rider would cream you.
My initial impressions are that the racers are crazy. They are going flat out with no regard to the gutters, walls, trees and houses that line parts of the course. It is not hard to see why any mistake here can be your last one. During the first week there were just a few falls with some broken bones and some skin lost.
The second week will be race week and a report of that will follow.