Upcoming Overseas Trip
- Thread starter Giggles
- Start date
Got the SaddleSore done yesterday. Got away at 3am and got back by 11pm. Clockwise route. Straight forward day with beaut weather. Spectacular scenery for the main part. Documentation ready to go (no idea what happened to the spot track from Edinburgh onwards for a bit). Thanks to the UK IBA guys for advice on local conditions etc.
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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.
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.
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TT 2023 - Race Week
This year the organisers changed the race week in a number of ways. First up, there was to be a warm up lap each day for the any solo bike in any class (even if that bike wasn't going to race that day), second, they wanted to to put more races on with 2 races for each of Superbike, Superstock, Supersport and Supertwins. The sidecars also had 2 races. This meant that there were just 2 rest days which could be used if there was a race day missed. The big problem with the change was that the Senior TT, the one everyone wants to win, got pushed back from the normal Friday to the following Saturday. This issue was that this was done after almost everyone did their ferry and accommodation bookings (thinking that the Senior would still be on the Friday as the change had not been announced). There was plenty of grumbling about this and the ferry from the IOM was full of bikes, me included, that missed the most prestigious race of the week. The best thing to come out of it will be that the accommodation houses will realign to this new schedule.
Over the week just 3 riders pretty much cleaned up. Michael Dunlop won four then Peter Hickman won 4. Dean Harrison finished either 2nd or 3rd in every race. Dunlop is now just one win behind his uncle Joey Dunlop. The Birchall brothers won both sidecar races to make it (I think) 11 in a row. They get the award for the loudest bike of the week with Michael Rutters ex MotoGP bike in the Superbike class getting a very close second. There were the inevitable spills with plenty of skin left on the course, a few bones needing mending with just the one fatal accident in the first Supertwins race at Alpine Cottage which is maybe a mile or so before Ballaugh Bridge. RIP.
Our little team continued to move around the course to view the races. After Ballaugh Bridge, it was Ginger Hall, then Hilberry, then Creg Ny Baa, then the Bungalow then Bradden Bridge last of all. All the corners were different and we were happy with our selection. Easily the scariest place was the exit to Creg Ny Baa. You sit on a flattened hedge, with your legs dangling on the road side, and the riders are accelerating hard down towards Brandish. A couple of them really hugged the gutter so you got the full experience....
One yarn I'll bring home is from the day I was at Ballaugh Bridge. Iconic location with the jump off the bridge. I couldn't get a decent place to watch and things were getting rather pushy amongst the crowd. Stuff that. I headed over to the other side of the road to where the pub is and you don't see much. So I headed back over the road and knocked on the door of the last terrace house and asked if I could watch it from there. Sure. They said I was the second surprise Australian visitor since 2019 when sadly a racer hit the front of their house, set it on fire and didn't survive it. I made sure I never turned my back when the racing was on just in case.
Overall the fortnight at the TT was everything I had hoped for and I cannot fathom just how big the balls are of the riders that do it at any half decent speed.
Highly recommended.
Peter Hickman Supersport missile. They were directed to do a dyno run by the organisers.
Prime location at Ballaugh Bridge.
The Ginger Hall. Just after Sulby Bridge. There was a 3 hour delay at the start of the day after a local fell off the road in her car at the 33rd Milestone and down the hill. Seemed to be a lot of Aussies there.
Joey Dunlop statue near the Victory Cafe at the Bungalow. He really is revered here.
It was a little shambolic on the boat on the way out.
This year the organisers changed the race week in a number of ways. First up, there was to be a warm up lap each day for the any solo bike in any class (even if that bike wasn't going to race that day), second, they wanted to to put more races on with 2 races for each of Superbike, Superstock, Supersport and Supertwins. The sidecars also had 2 races. This meant that there were just 2 rest days which could be used if there was a race day missed. The big problem with the change was that the Senior TT, the one everyone wants to win, got pushed back from the normal Friday to the following Saturday. This issue was that this was done after almost everyone did their ferry and accommodation bookings (thinking that the Senior would still be on the Friday as the change had not been announced). There was plenty of grumbling about this and the ferry from the IOM was full of bikes, me included, that missed the most prestigious race of the week. The best thing to come out of it will be that the accommodation houses will realign to this new schedule.
Over the week just 3 riders pretty much cleaned up. Michael Dunlop won four then Peter Hickman won 4. Dean Harrison finished either 2nd or 3rd in every race. Dunlop is now just one win behind his uncle Joey Dunlop. The Birchall brothers won both sidecar races to make it (I think) 11 in a row. They get the award for the loudest bike of the week with Michael Rutters ex MotoGP bike in the Superbike class getting a very close second. There were the inevitable spills with plenty of skin left on the course, a few bones needing mending with just the one fatal accident in the first Supertwins race at Alpine Cottage which is maybe a mile or so before Ballaugh Bridge. RIP.
Our little team continued to move around the course to view the races. After Ballaugh Bridge, it was Ginger Hall, then Hilberry, then Creg Ny Baa, then the Bungalow then Bradden Bridge last of all. All the corners were different and we were happy with our selection. Easily the scariest place was the exit to Creg Ny Baa. You sit on a flattened hedge, with your legs dangling on the road side, and the riders are accelerating hard down towards Brandish. A couple of them really hugged the gutter so you got the full experience....
One yarn I'll bring home is from the day I was at Ballaugh Bridge. Iconic location with the jump off the bridge. I couldn't get a decent place to watch and things were getting rather pushy amongst the crowd. Stuff that. I headed over to the other side of the road to where the pub is and you don't see much. So I headed back over the road and knocked on the door of the last terrace house and asked if I could watch it from there. Sure. They said I was the second surprise Australian visitor since 2019 when sadly a racer hit the front of their house, set it on fire and didn't survive it. I made sure I never turned my back when the racing was on just in case.
Overall the fortnight at the TT was everything I had hoped for and I cannot fathom just how big the balls are of the riders that do it at any half decent speed.
Highly recommended.
Peter Hickman Supersport missile. They were directed to do a dyno run by the organisers.
Prime location at Ballaugh Bridge.
The Ginger Hall. Just after Sulby Bridge. There was a 3 hour delay at the start of the day after a local fell off the road in her car at the 33rd Milestone and down the hill. Seemed to be a lot of Aussies there.
Joey Dunlop statue near the Victory Cafe at the Bungalow. He really is revered here.
It was a little shambolic on the boat on the way out.
The owners said that the padded thingies were only put in after the bad accident in 2019. The race line is to hug the entry to the bridge to the right (as you look at it) then land the jump, lean to the riders right then accelerate past the pub. Looking at it on the day, it must have been a really big mistake to finish up where he did.
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