Tuesday 30th Aug 16
The plan was to set off early to ride a couple of laps of the TT circuit, but awoke to find Douglas covered in sea mist! After a good Manx breakfast and a wander round the mist had cleared and by 11:00 we were on our way. Immediately the descent down Bray Hill from the start line gives a clue what this is all about.. public road. houses, stone walls, lamp posts, pillar boxes, manhole covers and bumpy road surface (they do wrap a piece of foam round the lamp posts)…how do these guys race down here at 150+mph!!
On the way into Ramsey the road is really bumpy for quiet some way..how do you set the bike up for that at speed? Through Parliament Square and round Ramsey Hairpin and the Gooseneck then we are on the mountain section..NO speed limit here ! ..even though my sat nav was showing 60mph..unfortunately the top of the mountain was still covered in fog so took it easy. On way down to Creg na barr decided to stop at the pub on the corner, great viewing point. There was a cop stood there watching the traffic, decided to ask him about speed limit.. he confirmed NO LIMIT. Seemed like a nice bloke so we had a chat, then noticed his bike..a black R1 with various stickers and only clue it was a police bike was a logo on the seat..sneaky!! We had lunch and then set off for an extended loop to take in the picturesque scenery and small towns.. Stopped for tea on the prom at Peel overlooking beach and castle.
Peel IOM
Went back to Douglas via the TT mountain course, very windy up there. Tonight we did a bit of a pub crawl and ended up with pizza in the last one.. The pizza was actually very good.
Wednesday 31st Aug 16
Today is a full race day, we have grandstand tickets to watch the start and refuelling in the pits and also walk around the paddock to see the bikes being prepared. They set off at 10 sec intervals and it’s a time trial to decide the podium. We watched them come though at full speed to start their 2nd lap.. the speeds through speed trap show up on a board, typically around 150mph.
We then moved to the other side of the track to watch from roadside. the bikes are just a few ft. away at full speed .. Scarey. We then walked down Bray Hill and watched near Aggo’s leap (where the big bikes get airborne) They come down the hill full out and at the bottom they hit an undulation, which at that speed can really upset the bike.. we watched one guy get very close to crashing. We walked back via a cemetery conveniently positioned near the finish line! There is a wall with plaques in memory of those racers who have lost their lives on the TT circuit..the caption reads..”They lost their lives living their dream”
Tonight we went to a fish restaurant, very nice place..the lobster was good too! all washed down with Pino Grigio. Another good day, must have walked miles.