An Amazing Trip to the Isle of Man!

 Dear Family & Friends,

For our first week of our vacation we went to the Isle of Man for the Manx TT and Classic TT motorcycle races. A fantastic event, specially the Classic TT for classic motorcycle enthusiast like me. There are races, shows, displays, and amazing motorcycles where ever you go.

I love this event because it’s a great combination of extremely fast modern motorcycle and graceful classic bikes racing. There is motorcycle shows and enthusiasm all over the island . The riding skill is amazing. Motorcycle racing on this island started in 1909 and is part of the culture here. The down side is racing on these narrow stone lined streets is extremely dangerous and every year riders lose their lives. On average 5 fatalities a year. In the five days we were here two riders died which makes me feel guilty for enjoying it so much.

The island has lots to offer other than motorcycle racing. People have lived on the island almost 10,000 years. So there is a lot of history here. It is its own separate country with very low taxes so it is a home to very wealthy people. Its hay day was the 1800s, when it was a very popular resort for the Victorian Era wealthy. Tourism died out when transportation to warmer areas of Spain and France became the vogue. Then in 1909 the TT races revived the economy. There are four main cities all with seeing, Douglas, Castle, Peel, and Ramsey. The island is on 40 mikes long so it’s easy to see them all. Currently Douglas is the capital but the cities take turns being the capital.

People from the Isle of Man are called Manx Men and the three legged emblem stands for “you can’t knock a good man off his feet”.

Hope you enjoy the photos.

Jason

To get to the Is.e of Man you take a ferry from Liverpool . A few blocks from the ferry station is where The Beatles started so there is lots of tributes there.

The actual club where it all started for the Beatles as well as other famous bands.

On the ferry leaving Liverpool.

Our ferry about to dock at Douglas, Isle of Man.

Lots of Victorian era style!

The Manx emblem is every where..

If you want race event swag it’s everywhere! Expect to see me wearing some when I get home.😁

Near where we stayed. Made for beautiful evening walks along the ocean.

A little known fact. While the famous Bee Gees were raised in Australia they were actually born on the Isle of Man!

This is the famous Fairy Bridge. Riders drop Colin’s here and wish for good racing luck. We dropped a few coins and wished for good health for our family members who don’t have it.

Enjoying fish and chips by the castle in Castle.

Our first stop on our drive around the island was the quaint town of Castle which actually features a mile Al castle in town.

Ok the photos aren’t in order. This is the Victorian Era Opera house in Douglas still actively used for opera and other events.

This large castle was in the town of Peel. It is just a ruin today but was originally built to keep the Irish out. I guess illegal immigration is a very old problem…

This store had a great motorcycle museum in its basement. Did I mention motorcycles are very popular here?

Exploring the castle at Peel.

The famous start finish of the racing. Time for some motorcycle pictures!

The gentlemen that owned this 90 year old motorcycle did not just display it. We saw him riding and racing it all over the island while we were there!

Classy guy..

Every where you go on the island there are really great motorcycles parked everywhere.

Let the racing begin! This is the famous Ramsey corner where the race goes right through the center of the town of Ramsey.

From the latest racing bike to this 70+ year old Velocette are racing.

This is a critical jump on the track. The speed you take it makes a big difference in lap times. Two lap records were broken while we were there and it was noticeable right here how much faster and smoother they were.

On Sunday tgere is circuit racing on a track in Jerby. This guy rode his Norton there and then raced it!

Our last night in Douglas there was a huge classic motorcycle show along the ocean front promenade.

On our last day tgere the main event was supposed to run at 11am and our ferry sailed at 4pm so we thought we had plenty of time to see it. We waited and waited but do the changing weather and on and off rain the main event wasn’t run until 6pm that night so unfortunately we missed it but we still had a great time!