Fairy bridge is a fairly non description bridge crossing just south of Douglas on the Isle of Man. Legend has it that as you cross Fairy Bridge you should say hello to the fairy's that live beneath the bridge. This will bring you good luck and ensure that one day you will return safely to the Isle. Many of the racers of the Isle of Man TT swear that it is true and most will stop at the bridge and pay their respects before they risk their lives racing around the legendary circuit.
On my last trip there in 2011 I took the time to stop and say hello to the fairy's and guess what? It must be true cause bugger me, here we sipping G&T's in the QANTAS lounge about to embark on our return trip to the hallowed Isle of Man TT.
But wait there's more.
Our trip this time will see us land in London, where we will meet our great friend Bill and his gorgeous wife Elaine, who have very kindly offered us the use of teir much loved DL1000 Vstrom.
From there we will ferry across the Irish Sea to Dublin Ireland and then up into Northern Ireland to tick off another bucket list item the NW200. Another crazy street race through the towns and suburbs of North West Ireland.
After that we will relax a little and spend a couple of weeks exploring all that Ireland has to offer, (but mostly the bars) before heading across to the Isle of Man for the TT.
From there it's back to London to return the bike to Bill, then a flying trip to Barcelona and the Catalunya Moto GP.
We will need some R&R after that so we will take a few days to recover in Dubai on the way home.
That's the plan anyway. It's going to be an Arduous ip. Of course anything can happen and usually does so stay tuned.
If anyone has any tips on what to see in Ireland or where to go. We would love to hear them. Didn't really research this trip much. Hope you enjoy following our trip.
Flight over was pretty uneventful, except for a kid screaming the whole way and the parents doing absolutely nothing about it. Nice work Mum how to piss of an entire A380.
Arrived at heathrow about an hour late and were met by Bill. A big night followed, that included several bottles of Gin and a huge crash by me after falling off a bar stool, resulting in a bruised hip and sore knee. Oh well at least the crashes are all out of the way now. Next day was spent recovering and getting the bike ready to go.
Jet lag ensure we were wide awake at about 3 am this morning, which was kinda good as we were able to get a super early start. Was a bit gloomy as we headed off and before long it started to piss down.
It was about then that we discovered that the gps was'nt working correctly and we took quite a few wrong turns, but eventually we were able to make our way across to Wales and into the beautiful Snowdonia National park. Great roads and the sun came out which was nice.
Stopped for lunch in Bala, and then the bike wouldn't start due to a flat battery. Fortunately I had packed a emergency start pack and I was able to get it going. Only to have it do it again on the road into Holyhead.
I think I have traced it to loose battery terminals and hope that all is good now. We'll find out in the morning.
Booked into a nice B&B with a great veiw over Holyhead harbour and down to the pub for a pint.
Early start for the ferry tomorrow. Hope the bike starts.
Was a bit of a restless night wondering if the bike would start in the morning. Fortunately it fired up without a problem. We think the problem yesterday Was due to not having the correct stickers fitted.
We went for an early morning tour around Hollyhead then boarded the ferry for the 3 hour crossing to Dublin being extra careful not to replicating our boarding of the English Channel ferry a couple of years ago where we smeared ourselves into the deck.
Fortunately weather made for smooth sailing and before LNG Dublin came into veiw.
We arrived in Dublin and went for a quick look around but quickly got pissed off with worlds longest red lights, so headed north, taking as many back roads as we could. Beautiful scenery and great roads even if we did cop a few cold showers.
Our accommodation for the next few days is at the beautiful Port Ballintrae.
We met up with Buzz and Maureen and Richard and Tracey and had an awesome dinner at the aptly named Bayveiw hotel.
Any wonder so many good riders come from round here. As far as I can tell the whole place is just one massive race track. Being on a borrowed bike we are taking it pretty easy nevertherless we are having a get time.
We started out early this morning and headed to the giants causeway. A pretty impressive rock structure apparently built by Fin McCool so that the giant could walk across from Scotland without getting his feet wet. Of course this is complete horseshit and it was obviously caused by some catastrophic major Big Bang shit some bazillion years ago.
I was just happy we got there before opening time and were able to ride all the way down to the causeway avoiding the entry fee because we were too early..result.
Not such a good result at the rope bridge where they slugged us 10 bucks each to walk about 4 billion kilometres up hill and down dale to check out some Ancient bouncy bridge made by fisherman because they were too lazy to row their boats from the nearby harbour. Was a hell of a walk, someone needs to tell these people about segways and escalators I reckon.
After almost dying from exhaustion, we headed off exploring the so called Causeway coast. Spectacular scenery at great roads and also a great midday breakfast at a little fishing port who's name I can neither pronounce or remember.
William Joseph "Joey" Dunlop, O.B.E., M.B.E. (February 25th 1952 - July 2nd 2000), was a world champion motorcycle racer from Ballymoney in Northern Ireland, best known for road racing. Best known throughout the sport as "Joey" or "Yer Maun", his achievements include three hat-tricks at the Isle of Man TT races (1985, 1988 and 2000), where he won a record of 26 races in total. During Joey's career he won the Ulster Grand Prix 24 times and the North West 200 13 times. In 1986 Joey won a fifth consecutive TT Formula One world title. In 2005 he was voted the fifth greatest motorcycling icon ever by Motorcycle News.
Joey was awarded the M.B.E. in 1986 for his services to the sport, and in 1996 he was awarded the O.B.E. for his humanitarian work for children in Romanian orphanages. Joey Dunlop would often load up his race transporter and deliver clothing and food to the trouble spots of Bosnia and Romania. His humanitarian work was done without drawing attention to himself.
When Joey Dunlop died on Sunday 2 July 2000 at an obscure road race meeting in the pine forests on Estonia’s Baltic coast, it was a multi-dimensional tragedy. The loss belonged to the Dunlop family, to Joey’s friends, to racing and to the whole of Ireland.
The crash happened three laps into the race, just as it began to rain again. Eye witnesses described the 125’s rear wheel stepping out part-way through the last corner, a left-hand bend where the surface is quite flat and water tends to lie. Joey corrected the slide, but was by then running out of room. This was deep in the pine forest where there was no run off, and a crash was inevitable. Joey got rid of the bike, which wedged itself between two trees, snapping in two. Parts of the machine struck two spectators, but their injuries were mild. Joey struck another tree. He died instantly, although attempts at resuscitation were made as a matter of routine.
The above was copied from the website.
http://www.joeydunlop.co.uk/index.html
Check it out to find out more about the Man that was Joey Dunlop. They don't make em like him anymore.
To visit his a garden of rememberance has been on my to do list for many years and it was great to finally do it today.
We also paid our respects to his Joeys brother Robert Also tragically killed while racing at the NW200 in 2008
Roberts 2 sons William and Michael will be racing at the NW200 this weekend.
Was quite a somber moment, so a drink was in order and what better place than Joeys bar. Now run by his wife and daughters.
Bumped in to another road racing and TT legend John Mcguiness while there and Sam was happy to pose for a pic with him.
Was a great experience.
From there we headed off for a map of the circuit stopping of to pick up our passes and check out a few of the bikes.
William Dunlop and lady racer Maria Costello also asked for pics with Sam
While I posed for a pic with my new best mate Dan Kruger who is mates with my mate Sammo from China. Will be following Dan with interest both here and at the TT.
Had another beer in the paddock lounge then headed back to the house to meet up with others for fish and chips.
Had a cruisey day today. Bit of a sleep in then a huge breakfast at a local cafe.
The Bushmill Irish Whisky Distillery has been producing Whisky since 1608. Do the maths that's over 400 years. Bloody amazing. We did the tour of the distillery which was interesting but a lot of it was not operating and pics are not allowed, so not a lot to sure. We did get a free sample at the end so that was nice.
Had heard about this hedge known as the dark hedge, but it was a it of dissapointment.
Decided to head into Ballimoney again to check out the NW history display at the Museum, which was pretty cool.
From there it was back through the hedges for another lap around the track.
Saw a bit of exotica parked on the side of the road. A very rare Ducati Desmosedici. Basically a Moto GP bike you can register. Very rare and very very expensive.
We decided we needed to discover a proper Irish bar and found this classic at castle head.
So Irish we couldnt understand a word anyone said. It was like we were on another planet. Was a good laugh with the local yokels though.
More back blocks and lovely scenery and some wierd shit along the way.
Found a big mozzie in Murphys Pub. Possibly the worlds most dingiest bar.
Then more great back roads back to Joes bar which was going off.
Had a great time chatting with the locals, then an early night. Big day tomorrow.
Today was the main event. Day dawned bitter to cold and rainy. Was a few delays due to the weather but what a fantastic time we had. Brilliant racing.
We made lots of new friends.
We rugged up in everything we had, and the weather sort of held off. By the jingo sit was cold though.
Major winner on the day was Mr Sad sack Michael Dunlop. His brother William also won a race, which was nice.
The start of the main race.
Aussie boy Josh Brooke's looked set to win the main event leading most of the way, but ran off the road and ended up second.mstill a great result that Tracey & Sam were vert excited about.
Josh reckoned the Aussie chicks were Spain in the ass.
The touring part of the trip started proper today. Typically it was cold and wet.
Headed off in search again of the the adark Hedge which we though we had found the other day, but in fact hadn't. The real Dark Hedges is much more spectacular and apparently the area gas been used in many fillums.
After a nice Vrekky we headed north to do some exploring. The rain conveniently stopped briefly allowing me to fix a flat tyre.
We travelled up the Wild Arantic way through more postcard scenery. I fear I am going to run out of superlatives to describe thus trip.
Had a pint and a great time at a little pub near Killybegs. The locals were hilarious and took a shine to Sam.
This bloke reckons he had stirings he hadn't felt for years.
Then back through some brilliant roads to McGuires Bridge where we are staying with Dorothy who is a Friend of Maureen's and who also doesn't have a garage, so we tried to squeeze the bikes in through the front door.
Unfortunately the didn't fit, however the heinous very kindly let us store them in her garage.
Then off to the pub for a pint. As you do in these parts.
Had a great time couchsurfing with Dorothy. What a legend she is.
Headed into Inneskillen cause the bike needed a new rear tyre and brake pads. Awesome service from the Suzuki shop that had it all done before we could find a coffee shop.
The other day we thought we at the most northern point if the island but in fact we weren't even close, so we made the dall to head north again. Weather was patchy to say the least.
Unfortunately the Squealing pig at Muff was closed. As was the drunken Duck, which was a bit sad.
Was pretty bleak and barren at Mailen head, so a warming pizza and pint was called for at the Farrin Head Inn. Northern most pub in Ireland.
We said goodbye to Buaa and Mareen, who were headed back to Dorothy,s, while we headed for Sligo, where we sre couchsurfing with Mossy. Very cool Irish school teacher.
Checked out a few of the sights in Sligo including a 280 year old pub complete with thatched roof. Very cool.
Some of the modern houses are ok as well.
Also couchsurfing with us are Marylyn and JP from Canada.a great night if sharing the Craic.
Thanks for Hosting us Mossy. We had a great night.
Wettest day of the trip today. Started out ok and armed with some directions from Mossy we headed off to explore the spectacular hills around Sligo.
First stop was Yeates Grave. Apparently a famous poet who grew up in the area. I'd never heard of him, but then I'm not big on all the Kulture and stuff.
We climbed to the top of a huge mountain through some very thick fog, all the while dodging multicoloured sheep. Or they might be goats. Not sure sure..... weird looking things.
Would have been a great veiw from the top I reckon, but even half way up was spectacular.
The top was socked in a soupy fog.
Found a couple of beautiful waterfalls but didn't spend a lot of time the as it was really pissing down. This stage.
Stopped in a nice little pub right on the beach.
The area around there was surprisingly like northern NSW. Even the place names.
In Ballina we spotted a nice little fixeruperer
Lick of paint and that rusting hulk would be good to go I reckon.
The traffic over here in the small villages are chases. At the school pick up they all just stop in the middle of the road waiting for darling little Johhny and Lizzie to finish class. Never mind that trucks and buses and touriing motorcycles with big fat panniers are trying to get passed.
Checked into a very nice B&B in Westport with a nice veiw from the window, and had a but of a snooze, then while heading into town we met up again with Buzz & Maureen.
Was great fun. We had absolutely loved it. The tiny room gave it a great atmosphere. And the musicians we great characters.
They we still going strong when we left, to the strains of Dirty Old Town.
Had a lovely brekky in the conservatory then fuelled up and headed off into the rain again.
First stop was the coffin ship memorial to the famine of 1845
Sam reckons she is going to nude up for. A swim in the Atalnatic. Should only take a few hours to get the 6 layers of clothing off.
Discovered that the road verges can be by soft.
Luckily we didn't have to call for help.
Loads of castles and olden day stuff and that.
We went through a bizarre area known as the Burren. Huge moon scape with nothing but limestone rock as far as you can see.
I think it's she they make the rock for the beautiful stone houses you see everywhere. Some of them are very nice
Got to the cliffs of Moher, just after closing time,meh icy was good as it meant we didn't have to pay. The sun also came out for the first time.mwas pretty spectacular,Mexico was just as well cause you have to climb. 1 billion stairs to get to the viewing spot.
A huge day. I think we did about 600 klms. Pulled up in Limerick at about 9 pm where we are couchsurfing with Pablo from Spain?
We headed for the Dingle peninsula today. Spectacular is an understatement .. Passed through some very pretty villages and big landscapes.
And some brilliant roads
Connor pass was a highlight.
Waterfalls literally cascading on to the road.
Had a little picnic stop on the cliff top.
Headed back into to Dingle for lunch, has a but if trouble trying to decide which pub to go to so we went to them all.
Was a very nice crab salad.
Also discovered Creans Dingle bay lager, which I like very much.
Inch beach was next. I think it's called inch beach because that's what size everything shrinks to when you go for a swim. Could be wrong not sure.
Asked in Sammys store but they just thought I was an idiot.
Didn't even get bogged. Bill look away now.
Made the rookie mistake of going into Killarney. Traffic was horrendous so we had and ice cream.
Then of to Ballymeekeera where we are couchsurfing with Mike at his rustic rural cabin. He is also going to take us for a rude tomorrow so am looking forward to that.
The best part about couchsurfing is meeting the locals, having show you around their favourite areas restraints etc.. When your host has a motorcycle it's even better.
Mike is a triumph nut and has a few in various states if disrepair scattered around his garage.
We stayed in his fabulous little shack. Out in the bush in the middle of nowhere. This guy is living the dream.
Mike very kindly offered to show us around. The sound his a Thunderbird makes is awesome.
He took us over the spectacular Molls pass. We would never have gone here if not for Mike.
He gets along alright too.
Not bad for an old bloke
Once again stunning scenery on the Ring of Kerry
Came across this fella.
And had lunch. It's tough to be king.
Sadly we left Mike after lunch. Thanks mate we had a ball
And then the rain started. Absolutely pissed down.
We had been searching for Irelabds highest pub, but kept missing it. Eventually we found it by accident after taking a wrong turn.
Was also Irelands coldest pub, so a couple if Irish coffees were in order.
We had received a message from our friend zeal that she was going to be in Iinsale, so in the pouring rain we headed for there only to discover that when we got there she was too tired to go out.
Never the less we had a great night. The best if the trip do far.
We are loving the Irish music.
These guys were brilliant. They even sang skippy the bush kangaroo for us. Nearly made me cry.
Was a bit of a dusty start today. We had a great time last night.
A big full Irish brekky had us feeling much better and we set off through more Tree tunnels for Irelands most unhygienic tourist attraction at Blarney castle. Legend has it that if you kiss the Blarney Stone, you will blessed with the gift of the Gab.
I reckon more likely scenario is that if you kiss the Blarney Stone you will gifted with hepatitis B or stephlocois. Sam was insistant that she was going to do it any way. Coincidently we just happened to run into Buzz & Maureen, who very kindly gave us their entry tickets. Thanks guys.
After climbing up a narrow spiral rock staircase you get to the top of the castle where a dirty old man feels you up while you lie back and think of England and kiss the stone.
So Sam now has the gift of the Gab.........great like she doesn't talk enough as it is.
Also had a scary moment when a dick head stupid American dropped his phone from the top of the castle, narrowly missing Sam.
Was the coldest day we have had today. Had to break out the extreme weather gear. ABD also had to stop at a crepe store in Kilkenny.
Headed fir Wicklow gap, where were hit with a huge thunder storm. Was pretty cool.
We also came across some very naughty curves
And a very nice waterfall.
Sally's gap was wet and extremely rough, but well worth the visit.
Then a fun blast into Dublin where we have met up with Richard aNd Tracy in a very nice B&B.
Went out for a few beers ABD dinner at a local out, but a rekativky early night.
Our digs in Dublin were pretty swish and was great to meet up with Dick & Tracy again.
We had a great dinner in the local pub then back home for an early night.
Apparently no visit to Dublin is complete without a visit to the Guiness brewery. Impressive place, but quite frankly, I don't see what the fuss is about with the beer. Tastes like shit I reckon. Give me a good lager any day.
The other guys learnt how to pull a perfect pint.
The gravity bar at the top is very impressive with great views of the city.
We did a quick lap of the city and came across this fella. Who needs OHS &S
Was a beautiful ride through the countryside in the pissing down rain.
And battled the Belfast traffic to arrive at our B&B for the night.
The walk into town nearly killed us but the Titanic exhibition was well worth it.
The highlight by far though was the cab tour of Belfast. The cabbie gave us a great commentary of the troubled history of the city and took us to many of the places where the troubles occurred.
We went through the gates that still separate the catholic from the Protestants.. Saw heaps of the Murals outlining the history and even cam across a protest being watched over by heavily armed police.
Was quite sobering and we both learnt a lot about the city's chequered past.
Bombay st was an eye opener.
The trashed Belfast court house and prison
Sam and I really enjoyed the tour although it was a but disturbing. Our Cabbie Michael was brilliant.
Dinner at a local pub and into bed. It's a big day tomorrow.
Sam and I have really enjoyed Ireland. The people are fantastic, the food and beer great, and the scenery brilliant, but when a window opened allowing us to get into the Isle if Man a few dates earlier, we had no hesitation in jumping through it. Fortunately our house host Steve was happy to have us cone early as well.
We made our way to the Belfast docks only getting a little bit lost and boarded our ferry along with several hundred other happy campers.
Met Aussie world traveller Martin who coincidently we had met previously in Australia.
The bikes were strapped down and we gently eased out if the harbour under a sunny sky.
Straight into a pea soup fog. The waterways like glass and it was a very eery sensation as we passed other ships in the fog.
Met up with Joel and Ken from Ireland on their first trip to the Isle. The Craic was great. Will be trying to meet up with boys again at Peel for a crab Bap. (Sammiches)
A few hours later, the holy Isle appeared from the mist. Was a great sight.
We we jet by Steve who took us on a little tour of Douglas, then up to his fantastic house that over looks Douglas where we will be staying in fir the next 2 weeks.
Sam and I then headed for the grandstand for a quick walk around,
This guy is starting think he has a stalker.
The soon to be released Norton domain racer looked fantastic.
So dud Cam Donald's norton race bike.
Type Nortons were very cool but nit as cool as this guy
And Sam bragged her way into the Tyco pits
The famous score board.
Bray Hill is one of the scariest parts of the circuit And a great first up place to watch the bikes scream down at over 230 km/h.
From her VIP vantage spot, Sam reckoned a little bit if wee came out when the first bikes went past. It sent tingles down my spine.
After the super bikes practice we headed for Quaterbridge. Primarily because there us a pub there, but it is also a great place to get close to the bikes as they fly past.
Have beer and radio and crazy bastards on motorcycles zooming past just inches away, am happy chappy.
The sidecar practice was red flagged due to a crash.
Then as the sun set and turned Sammy into a Ranga. We headed back to the house and collapsed into bed exhausted.
Had a great day today and a couple cool experiences. Started early with our first lap of the famous circuit.
Won't post all Sammys pics as she took over 300. The course is 66klms around. The top riders do it in just under 18 minutes. We took an hour and a half.
The start finish line with the famous score board on the right and the grandstand on the ieft.
Bray Hill. It's scary enough at 60klms let alone 230.
Quaterbridge
Ballacraine
Laurel bank
Black Dub
The infamous Ballagh bridge.
Had a very cool thing happen, when John McGuness passed us his road bike out for an early morning lap. He was just cruising and we were able to latch on and following from Sulby pub to Ramsey, where he pulled of and gave us a wave. Was very cool.
See ya John. That was fun.
Heading up the mountain
Bungalow
Crag ny Baa. A pint here would have added too much to our time.
And back at the grandstand to the cheers and admiration of our fans.
The paddock
We stopped to say hello to the fairies. We are now guaranteed a safe return to the Isle one day.
Whacked a new front tyre on the bike as well.
Then went if to explore the southern half of the island. It's a very beautiful place.
Craigneish village where the locals live just as they did hundreds of years ago.
Beautiful Port Erin
Breakfast of Champion fat pigs.
The single track over here is paved. Very civilised.
We needed to meet our friend Amanda Jane at the ferry, but where having do much fun I neglected to look at the fuel gauge.
Fortunately these guys came to our rescue with a litre of fuel.
I can highly recommend the services of Reynolds and Turner if you need your car repaired. Great blokes and wouldn't accept any payment for the fuel. That's just how they roll.
We had decided we needed an early night and would skip the Practice session tonight, which was just as well as it was cancelled just 10 minutes after the start due to a crash. Fortunately the rider was not seriously injured.
Sam cooked up a brilliant dinner and into bed by 8.
An early night was just what we needed. Got up early to a reasonably clear sky and set off for our morning lap.
.
It's starting to get busy on the island
When I was last here in 2011 I met Peter up at the Bungalow. Peter lives here on the island and is an excellent photographer. Since then we have kept in touch with Peter sending me pics etc.
it was great to see him again over morning tea at his house at Greeba castle.
We hoping to spend a session watching the races with Peter one day next week.
We needed to get back to the Grandstand to meet glen and Amanda, and Peter gave us an excellent tip on a back road.
Chaos at pit row. Couldn't get a park.
Luckily these two lovely girls came along and pointed me in the right direction.
Met Gary Johnson, who very kindly signed mt helmet and one of his fingers for our friend Irena.
The girls took a couple of bikes for a spin.
Gate crashed our way into the Norton pit to meet Cameron Donald, who is awesome.
His bike is pretty trick as well.
Off then to the famous Crosby pub for a pint and dinner before settling in to our spot amongst the hedges to watch then evening practice session.
It was cool.
We got upgraded to the VIP suite, which was a fantastic spot to watch the bikes go past. I think they are doing about 250 km/h when they go past here. The bikes are on one wheel. Our crappy little camera and crap photography skills we're not match for them, but you get the idea. The ground actually shakes as they go past.
Brilliant stuff.
We had so much fun , we nuded up and ran naked through the meadow.
Hers a shot of Sam just before she got her kit off.
And hers a shot after she and Amanda got their kit off. Told ya I was a crap photographer.
Plus I got distracted by this.
Back home for a beer with Steve and into bed. Exciting things happening tomorrow.
We thought we would try a few alternative jeans and went in search of suitable means of transportation.
First one was fun but a little slow for my liking.
Sam wanted to try a more adventurous option.
But the fact is you can't go past the best RV vehicle ever invented. In this case Bell Jet Ranger
We strapped in and set of for our high altitude tour of the TT circuit.
It was brilliant
It was stupidly expensive and we will have to eat vegemite sammiches for the next 6months, but we couldn't help ourselves or forgive ourselves if we didn't do it.
After our flight jumped on a much slower vehicle for a lap of the course.
It was a a great tour commented by ex racer Chris Palmer and TT commentator Roy Moore.
The Craic was brilliant. With the guys outlining all the points of interest and history etc.
Unfortunately the tour was cut short at Ramsey after a series of crashes on the mountain closed the course.
The boy racers are at it again, smearing themselves into the mountain at every opportunity. Six deaths so far apparently and it's only the first week.
When we eventually made it back to the grandstand we went for a walk around checking out the sights.
Sam met Bruce Anstey, who had just been out getting some biscuits for coffee.
Can you imagine a Moto GP racer doing that.
The bikes he are amazing better than any bike show you have ever been to.
I love getting up close to the bikes and stuff.
Big night was in store so we headed home stopping for a leap at Ago's
Our host Steve had told as the Eighties band The Human League were playing and we put our dancing shoes on and headed into the Gaeiety Theatre for what was an awesome night.
Just fabulous singing and facing.
Great fun in a great setting.
Thanks Steve and Elaine for dragging us along.
Was just fantastic.
After the show we headed for the bushs beer tent trying to stay out if trouble on the way. Sam couldn't resists a pic with the Bobbies.
Bushy's was just ridiculous with wall to wall people so Sam and I headed home at 12.
Then I got up again at 2.30 to go to the ferry to meet Buzz &Maureen who have arrived from Irland.
Mad Sunday is when the course us opened up and thousands of loonies from all round the world take to the track. It is absolute mayhem.
We decided to try and avoid the chais by doing an early morning lap. Was a wise choice. The weather was fine and clear at that stage.
Me at the Gooseneck. You can see fog over the water in the background.
Buzz on the land barge through quarry bends.
Sulby pub blurs past.
Buzz scraping the land barge through signpost corner.
Buzz scrapes the land barge through Ramsey hairpin.
The fog started to close in on top of the mountain, but we were able to make it over before the road got closed.
Weird shit abounds all over the island. I have no idea what this is about.
We stopped at the Joey memorial at the top of the mountain.
And at Creg ny Bar
The fog really set in after our lap, so we headed to Murrays bike museum for a cuppa. Stopping at Castketown fir a little walk around the castle.
Was a real pea souper.
Murrays was a laugh as it always is.
Heading for Peel and we decided to stop fir a pint at the Twynewald hill .
I always say you never meet any interesting people in a cafe and so it is.
Standing next to me is Aussue motorcycling legend Phil Lovett.
We gad a great time chatting to him and his nares about all things motorcycling.
Great a Craic and an honour to meet him.
We had lunch at the Creek inn at Peel and watched the moto GP race.
As I always I got hit on by the Milfs. This one was from a Holland and tried to give me a nipple cripple.
We wandered around Peel doing a spit if weirdo watching, then headed fir Onchan stadium to see the world Famous Purple Helmets as they perform their cunning stunts at speeds approaching 100mph.
If you gave never heard of them go to you tube and search. It us hilarious stuff.
Was a great show. I honestly thought Sam was going to pee her pants she was laughing so hard.
Afterwards we met them all and they asked me to audition fir rage team.
A foggy start meant a delay to the days racing. We had a big breakfast and then went down to the grandstand for a look around.
Buzz and Sam thought this thing was cute.
I on the other hand thought these things were much cuter.
We set if down Bray Hill to get to our veiwing spot for the day.
Through Braddon Bridge
We selected a lovely spot in the hedges at the top of Barregarrow and claimed the hedge as our own .
And then the races began. Spectating from here allowed us to see some of the craziest riding I have ever seen. Spectacular stuff that the pictures don't do justice. Massive tank slappers, high speed wheelies, near misses with the gutter just in front if us. crazy crazy stuff.
Was brilliant.
The road home was chaos. Bikes and cars everywhere.
So a had a nerve calming beer stop at the Railway inn.
We headed to Ballugh fir a very nice morning tea at that TT cafe.
Was a bit if traffic on the way.
We took a short detour up a beautiful mountain rids to scope out tomorrow's veiwing spot.
On the way back down we came across this at Sulby crossroads. Is a common site. Fortunately in this case the lady wasn't too badly injured.
We claimed our position on the side if the road in a farmers front yard and met up with our a friend Peter and his Son Sam.
Thanks fir a great day guys, we had a ball.
Sam let me try out his flash camera, but it was all too hard for me.
Have received a complaint about my awesome video skills, so Steve these are for you and get stuffed. :-)
Sammy the beer wench felt right at home.
Met this guy who is coming to argus babe and asked me fir a job. I told him I'll get back to him. Bloody clown.
It is an long established tradition that you must have a Crab Bap (sammiches) at the spectacular Peel castle, do that was next on the agendas. I broke tradition and went fir a smoked kipper Bap, which then resonated on my fir the next hour. It was the Bap that just kept on giving. Good value at £5. I hit to taste it several times.
This little fella was cavorting ( or whatever seals do ) just in front of us.
Saw some nice bikes back on the prom as we waited forgthe brilliant Red Arrows.
These posties were fitted with 160cc motopsych motors and good fir 80mph. Our posties at home are only good fir 80 km/h
More research required here.
Beautiful old bikes abound.
Had a great dinner at the Queens hotel and met a few of the locals including the mum of three of the Purple Helmets. She is rightfully very proud.
The red Arrows make the Roulettes look like a bunch of Air Cadets at Caboolture air strip.
And just to finish of the madness of the day, some beach racing, right on the Prom in Douglas.
Do you think this would ever happen on the beach at a Surfers Paradise.
I think not.
Going to head up the mountain tomorrow. It will be epic.
The weather looked fantastic when we awoke this morning. Bright sky's . No winds, perfect.
We decided that today was the day to spend up on the mountain.
The girls decided to catch the horse drawn tram and mountain Tram to the top, while Buzz and I took the opportunity to go fir a ride on our own, just spending some bro time together.
We had a great ride over some brilliant back roads and arrived at the mountain and staked our claim, which instantly drew every Australian from miles around.
Was a but cool, but that didn't stop the racing from going ahead and we witnessed an awesome race won by MD again.
The weather turned halfway through the race, with a think fog rolling in but fortunately they finished before it got really bad.
Trace only had the flag to keep her warm and pinched a hat if a security guard.
After the race we decided to scarpa to warmer places.
Once again the land barge had to be pushed.
We found a glorious little picnic spot
And also met a guy riding up the mountain with his girlfriend on hid cub 90.
Being such a small bike he needed to have a light weight girlfriend. She was very cold so I gave her a hug to try and warm her up. I think she enjoyed it but she didn't say much.
The beer wench at Ginger Hall
And then the rain started. Absolutely pissing down so we made the sensible choice to head back to Douglas. Not sure going over the mountain was the most sensible choice, but we won't fir get it. Freezing cold had rain and thick fog. Brilliant.
Had a great dinner at Jacs steakhouse with tag other guys then home for a long hot shower.
Was a gloomy start today. Sam and I set if through the lanes and backblocks with no destination in mind other than to check out the new house our home stay host is building. It's going to be a spectacular house when it's done and features some of the beautiful stonework that we love.
We're off to speak to the bank manager. Steve reckons £800000 (1.6aud) should cover it
With a delayed start to the days racing we were in no rush and decided end to head north. The track was lined with people even though the sidecars wer'nt due to start for another 4 hours.
Our fans All waving as we went past. Great atmosphere.
Stopped to check out this motel.
Had a coffee at a beautiful spot.
Then visited the worlds best skipping stone beach at the very north of the island. A lovely spot called Point of Ayre
Checked out the B&B lighthouse owned by Jeremy Clarkson
Had another fabulous TT tea at the little hall in Bride.
Sam seemed to enjoy the cake just a little bit too much.
Met a kindred soul in Ramsey.
And then watched the tricycles race through parliament square.
The veiw from the Gooseneck is spectacular on a nice day.
Great Craic with the local lads.
Then a hi speed dash back to Douglas to see the movie "ROAD"
"ROAD" is the story of the Dunlop family. The late Joey and Robert , and Roberts sons Michael and William. It's an amazing, graffic and gut wrenching story. I have no shame in admitting I had a massive lump in my throat and may have shed a tear. A great movie and I highly recommend that you go and see it when it is released in your area.
We needed to lighten things up after the movie so put the beer wench to work.
Then allowed her to let her hair down for a bit.
Trace took to the stage.
Then we grabbed a kebab, before setting off home to watch the brilliant fireworks show from the pachio.
Tomorrow is the big one SENIOR TT DAY. Weather is looking good.
The big day finally arrives and we awake to bright sunshine.
Quick walk around the list to try and catch up with Our mate Dan, who unfortunately decided to pull out.
Bad luck mate, but better to be safe than sorry at this place.
We also got interviewed by Stve Parrish fir the television coverage which was a bit of fun.
Headed for Hillberry to watch the lightweight race and found a telly tubby.
Great veiwing at Hillberry.
Headed up to Creg Ny Bar just in time to see Cal Crutchlow pull a massive burnout right in front of us, so that was nice of him.
We had the best spot in the grandstands with an awesome veiw.
Unfortunately Cam Donald didn't finish, which was a shame because his bike sounded awesome.
Was a brilliant day that I will remember for a long time.
We then switched to after party mode and headed into town.
Watched the presentations for a bit.
My Harem
Met Connor Cummins, who copped an absolute bollocking by the other riders due to him not slowing down at the William Dunlop crash site. Not a good look mr Cummins.
We to see the purple helmets encore show. Just as funny second time around.
The rest of the night is a bit of a blur, but I know we had a good time.
Sadly that's the end of the TT festivities. Bit of a rest day tomorrow, then back to the mainland.
It's not over though. Lots of fun still to be had.
Sadly our last day on the Isle. We awoke to thunder and lightening and pouring rain, but considering the weather we have had the whole time we wer'nt too upset. The sleep in was also very welcome after the big night we had.
The rain subdues, so we ducked into town for a coffee with Glen.
We decided a trip to Port Erin on the fantastic old Stema Train would be a good way to spend the afternoon.
Even got to have a drive.
It was a great trip sharing the Craic with the other passengers.
We had a very nice send off dinner at the Italian resturantand home to bed for an early start tomorrow morning
We have had the best time at The TT. Have made some new friends and are very sad to be leaving and hope to one day return but who knows where we will end up.
Our homestay host Steve has been absolutely brilliant. Thanks mate, you made the trip very memorable.
But we do have some unfinished business, so expect us back one day.
The next phase of the trip now begins. Back to the main land in morning.
Some months ago I sent a request for more info to the CCM factory for some info on their yet to be released 450 cc Adventure bike.
The response I got was amazing and directly form company founder and CEO Austine Clews former British MX champion and now CEO of CCM motorcycles a small niche bike builder based in Bolton.
My enquiry was when and if the new bike would be available in Australia. Austin told me that yes the bike would be available at some stage and when I mentioned that I would be in the area he very kindly invited me to come and tour the factory and have a ride. How could I refuse.
We arrived at the small factory at the agreed time and couldn't believe the reception we received. We we met by Austin himself and his son Mark and also chief engineer Russell.
They gave us a full factory tour which was amazing and I also got to go for an hour long ride on one of the prototype bikes.
It was Amazing. The ride included a mixture of on and off road riding and I had a ball. The bike is brilliant and I will be serious considering buying one when they become available in Aus hopefully in the not too distant future. They were genuinely interested in my thoughts on the bike and even have said they are going to make some changes after a couple of small suggestions I made. It was brilliant.
The bike itself is fantastic. Light powerful and bristling with quality components.
Was an unbelievable morning. But we had to move on, Got lost in Manchester before heading into the Peaks district. More fairy tale scenery, and even a boat tour through an underground lead mine, before finding a room at a historic old pub called little Johns and settling in for a huge meals and lots of beers.
Just like Little John and Robin Hood would do, but without the Lycra.
Our room is known as the dungeon, but it is anything but. Brilliant.
So the Dungeon really lived up to its name with us literally being locked in until 8am, at which time we were allowed to exit our room and go downstairs for breakfast.
Sadly this as to be our last day on the bike, but we intended to have some fun anyway.
First destination was the the Cat & Fiddle road, which is supposedly the the most dangerous road in Britain. I made sure I was very careful.
We headed across Derbyshire to Donnington park hoping to get a lap, but it was not to be.
The museum was pretty cool if your into F1 cars. Unfortunately I'm not, but it was cool to have a look anyway.
The famous Norton name has been resurrected and they are now based in a lovely old stately home known as Donnington. Hall. I tried to blag a test ride on the Domi racer, but it was Not to be.
I have a lust for the Domi racer
Even the 961 commando would be ok.
More fun roads on the way to Leicester, to check out NK racing who are a small engineering firm that specilises in trick stuff for bikes. Especially bits for Yamaha LC's This was an expensive mistake.
What about a RG500 motor into a RG250 frame?
Our team of Albanian Oompaloompahs set to work washing 7000klms of grime off the bike for its return to its rightful owner.
Bill and Elaine, we are forever I debited to you for your overwhelming generosity and hospitality
You too Poppy
So it's back on the bus for us.
We had a farewell dinner with Bill and Elaine at a very cool local old pub and enjoyed some of the local talent.
Thanks again Guys. We really hope to see you again sooner rather than later and good luck with the Renos and the Guzzi purchase.
We said a very sad goodbye to Bill, Elaine and Poppy and caught a taxi driven by the worlds worst driver to the local station and jumped on the train into London.
Spent the afternoon wandering around Covent Garden having a few beers and checking out the street acts.
Got suckered into being the randomly picked idiot.
This guy was pretty cool. We wrapped him 42 feet of chain and he escapedin less than 2 minutes.
. Was a good laugh
Back onto the tube and out to Gatwick airport, where we checked into our very cool capsule hotel complete with adjustable work bench and variable mood lighting.
Had a surprisingly good dinner at one of the airport restaurants and got chatted up by Simone the very cute Bulgarian waitress
Sorry bout the lack of updates. Simple answer is that we have been having too much fun. Literally from sun up to sunset, we have been out and about exploring and creating havoc. Never had the time to type up a blog as we went so am typing this high above India on our way home. Will condense all of our Barcelona and Dubai experiences into 2 separate updates, so they will be pretty big one.
Our flight into Barcelona on Easyjet went well. We were very fortunate to have some members of international rescue aboard our flight, so we felt very secure.
We also had chicken lady on board.
After a little confusion we met up with Buzz and Maureen and picked up our rent a rocket.
Driving a LHD manual car on the wrong side of the road in manic traffic was a bit stressful, but with my awesome driving skills and Buzzs average navigating skills we managed to eventually find our accom which was pretty average, and featured some out there decoration but ok for our needs.
Went for a massive walk to the familia cathederal, which totally trashed us for the next 4 days. Didn't look that far on the map but it was pretty impressive.
Our dear friend Natalie flew in from her home near Nice that night and we picked her up from the airport and back to the area known as Las Rumblas for a drink and a Gin & Tonic ice cream (true story) before heading back to the flat.
Yep Gin & Tonic ice cream. I shit you not. Natty was fizzing.
The Friday morning was spent exploring the city, including the amazing local markets and the very cool Fred Flintstone architecture of some bloke called Guady at Park Guël.
Some of the stuff at the market was still moving which freaked Sammy a bit but she got over it when she saw all the goodies available.
We then headed up to the mountain top Catherderal complete with its own fun park at Tibibado. (Or something like that)
Had lunch on the beach at Barcelonetta, which was very nice. great scenery.
Buzz was mesmerised.
That night was a great time at the Tapas and wine festival sampling all the local delicacies.
The food was amazing and Tapas gives you the opportunity to try many different dishes. We love it.
No idea what this was about but the girls and Dick seemed to like him. I think he was on his way to the show next door.
The amazing fountain show was next on the agenda, where the fountain goes off with lights and music. Spectacular stuff.
A great finish to the day.
Saturday morning me, Buzz and Maureen headed out to the Catalunya Grand Prix circuit to watch the practice and qualifying for the Grand Prix, while Sammy and Natty spent the afternoon catching up in the local village.
Had a bit of trouble finding a park, but soon had that sorted..
Spent the day wandering around the track watching the bikes and taking in the atmosphere.
The walk was gruesome, but At least we had beer and a nice veiw and the promo chicks were all keen to get their pic taken with us.
Was a great day but the best was still to come the following day.
We headed back to the city to do a Segway tour which was great fun. Had a great laugh racing around and foto bombing everyone. I'm gunna get me one of these.
Sunday was race day and sadly we had to drop Natty of at the airport. It was so great to see her again. She is a top chick and we love her dearly. Hope your undies got through security ok Natty xxxxx.
After saying our sad goodbyes and we headed back to the track. We were keen to get into our seats in the Grandstand on the famous Turn 13 and arrived just in time to see Valentino crash in warm up.
Was a great posi with an awesome veiw of the final corner and main straight. We settled in with a nice Paella and smuggled in beer. (Trust me that's not coke in those cups)
The racing in all the classes was brilliant but the Moto GP race in particular was a screamer. It has been described athe the race of the decade with the lead changing several times between the top 4 riders.
The crowd was going wild.
The super freak Mark Marquez was the victor, and it was a brilliant race.
Traffic was chaotic leaving the track, but we eventually made it back and had a great meal in one of the squares back in town under the watchful gaze of Marilyn.
We totally loved Barcelona and will def return one day, but our trip is nearing its end and it was an early morning start to fly back to Gatwick, to connect with our flight to Dubai.
Ok maybe not the final frontier, but certainly our final leg of the trip.
It's just as well Barcelona trashed us. That allowed us to sleep for most of the flight. We arrived in the early hours of the morning and were met by our great mate Jody in his very cool Dodge Ram dual cab pick, which would be our transportation for the week. Very cool truck and if fuel was 30 cents a litre like it is Dubai I would have one too.
Jody took us back to his very cool apartment and we went straight to sleep.
We awoke later that morning to the veiw from his balcony.The pic doesn't show the 45 degree heat though.
Social life for the locals revolves around the shopping Malls. And why not the feature everything you could ever want. Jody took us to the Dubai mall which is just huge.
Hundreds of shops, restaurants, Ice skating rinks, ski slopes, huge cinemas and massive aquariums. Seriously you could spend a whole week in these places. I am not usually a shopping mall person, but I must admit I did enjoy the experience here. Nothing I have ever seen before compares. Simply amazing.
We had a great time wandering around and taking in the sights. Sammy even managed to score a very nice Michael Kors handbag, which the sales assistant assured us was a genuine fake. No problem sir. We compared the price to the real thing later and were pretty happy with the $600 saving and I couldn't tell the difference and it even carried the same amount of shit.
I drew the line at the stupidly priced (and named) Jimmy Choo shoes, though.
Just outside is the worlds tallest building. Couldn't fit it all in the pic. It's big.
U
That evening after meeting Jodys girlfriend Maiher we went back into town to check out the famous Dubai fountain. Nit quite as impressive as Barcelonas but good none the less. Shit, I think I'm am becoming a fountain connosuir.
The next morning we boarded our private Dhowl for a scenic trip up the Dubai Ck
Cool boats. No paddle required.
It was pretty surreal to sail past ols shitbix boats loaded with black market goods bound for Iran then the next moment multi million dollar super yachts. Sammy liked the teak ones the best?
We had the Dhowl driver drop at the Gold and Spice souk.
The amount of gold and diamonds and stuff on display was astonishing. Even more astonishing was the lack of any security. Although everyone gave this bloke a wide berth.
With heat taking it's toll we headed back to the apartment for a siesta, before being picked up again by Maiher and her daughter Shania and as the sun set over the city we were whisked into a very flash hotel for a massive banquet. Sammy felt a little under dressed in her jeans, but at least she hada flash handbag.
Not quite sure how all this came about or even what it was about but I wasn't about to complain and set about getting my nose firmly in the trough. Never look a gift horse in the mouth. (Just in case you have to eat him)
No I'm kidding. I don't think it was Horse or was it? Tasted good.
A beer would have been good, but Any way it was a fun night and all free so I'm not complaining.
Thanks for dragging us along guys.
This is the sheiks penis ( as it is known by the locals) at night. I think it must of shrunk in the cooler temp as I nearly got it all in the pic.
We decided a swim was in order the next morning and jumped into the dodge and headed to the local beach.
The water was like a hot bath, but it was very enjoyable.
Was also surprised at the difference in swimsuits on the beach. Some take slip slop slap just that bit too far I reckon. And some not so much.
We had a private tour to the famous Burjsomethingorhotel in our luxurious high speed water taxi complete with business class epseats and air conditioning. Very cool was like something out of thunderbirds.
That evening we were picked up and taken deep into the desert for a dune buggy blast.
Great fun.
After swallowing most of the desert, we were taken to a Beduin village where we were fed and treated like Sheiks.
Check out this dodgy looking character. Terrorist if I ever seen one.
Fucking Camel nearly threw me off, so I ate him.
No not really but it was a great feed. The entertainment was great as well. Twirling man made me dizzy and the belly dancer reckoned I was hot.
The final day of our trip was spent terrorising other motorists with Dodge and exploring the city some more.
We visited the outlandish Atlantis hotel, with Jody dropping a name a or 2 to get us into the inner sanctum of the rich and wish they were rich. We were the later.
Lots of decadence on display like this 3 million dollar Buggatti Veyron. The worlds fastest production car complete with finger prints in the dust and on the windows.
And rich you needed to be. These 3 drinks cost $57 which is why Jody looks the way he does in this pic
And of course what 7 star hitel doesn't have it's on fish tank?
We had a lovely farewell traditional Emerates dinner of steak and chips at the Hard Rock Cafe before Marhair and Jody dropped us back to the airport for our gruelling 14 hour flight. BTW Emirate' suck as an airline. Even worse than QANTAS .
We had a great time in Dubai. Thanks heaps Jody and Marehere for your outstanding hospitality. Hope we can return the favour soon. Oh and don't worry bout all the animals here Marehere. Most of what I told you was crap. X
And so ends our Epic trip. We had such a great time and met so many awesome people.
Would like to thanks everyone we met for making it so much fun, but in particular to Bill & Elaine for without their over the top generosity of lending us their bike, this trip would never have happened.
Don't know how we are going to top this one, but as usual we are sure as he'll going to try.
We hope you have enjoyed following our travels and hope you at least got a little giggle out of it.
It's great fun bringing it to you even if a little tiring sometimes. Your comments and messages and shit slinging make it all worthwhile.
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