Farewell IOM farewell England

Our love affair with the IOM was not meant to end as planned. Our 7.15am arrival at the Douglas Ferry Terminal was met with news that our Ferry was sitting somewhere in the Irish Sea under repair. Waiting for the Ferry were two other Aussie Bikers, Simon & Mitch, both from Queensland and both riding GS BMW's like us. They had started their holiday in Turkey and trekked up the Croatian Coast. It was good to swap travel experiences.

After a long and somewhat frustrating day we departed for Heysham at 11.45PM arriving back in England at 2AM. A chilly fast ride down the M6 to London got us to our friends house at 5.30AM. You know the quality of your friends when they welcome you with a warm hug, smile and a cuppa at that hour.

Tired but excited we got new tyres fitted to the Gray Ghost (a lot cheaper than OZ prices) before setting off to explore the beautiful regions around Buckinghamshire, north of London. The last time we had done a bike run with Peter & Di was 2010 in Austria so it was good to be back in company again.

Thursday saw us ride into London for a visit to the Ace Cafe the '60s home of rockers and the birthplace of cafe racer motorcycles. Plenty of nostalgia here. We then visited the RAF Museum at Hendon. For any plane buff or student of the great wars especially WW2 and the Battle of Britain, then this is compulsory viewing. Access is free and we had a great time exploring the exhibits and aircraft.

Next day the girls visited the town and the boys went to the National Motorcycle Museum outside Coventry and the American War Cemetery at Cambridge. Di took Jane in her BMW Z4 Convertible on a tour of the local area including shopping centres, canal, indoor snow slope, Woburn Abbey and surrounds and her favorite local village.

The National Motorcycle Museum contains over 800 motorcycles from the earliest days of the British Bike Industry through to the current crop. The boys were in 7th Heaven. Many models are unique race bikes as well as 'one off' prototypes. The most valuable is an 'only one in the world' Brough Superior that has been valued at over one million pound.

The American War Cemetery is the only one in Britain and is the final resting place of over 3,000 American airmen, sailors and ground troops killed in the 2nd World War. A memorial wall records the 5,000 + troops whose bodies were never recovered from their final resting place. A very peaceful place and meticulously maintained as you would expect.

Saturday was time to leave our comfortable home with an escorted ride through lanes and villages with names like Saffron Walden, Great Sampford and Steeple Bumpstead. Compulsory stop for coffee and cake at the pretty as a postcard village of Finchingfield.

We now wait in a very Windy Dover for our ferry crossing to Calais.

TT Spectator Bikes

One of the joys of the Isle of Man TT is browsing the paddocks and promenades for the weird and wonderful spectator bikes. Here is a selection from classic British Nortons, Triumphs & Velocettes, race replica sidecar with lights, Gold Wing outfit that held a German family of 5, turbo-charged Yamaha R1, stretched Hayabusa, mini trike, Manx Norton replica monkey bike, well traveled BMWs' and many more. Enjoy.

TT Races Conclude

The much anticipated Senior Race never happened due to a combination of wet roads and mountain mist. This was the first time in the 105 year history of the TT that no Senior Race had been run. It was small consolation to be a part of race history. The Lightweight Race was conducted which gave some reward to those dedicated fans who sat throughout the day waiting for racing to get underway.

Our race fortnight was completed on Sunday under bright sunny skies at the post TT road races at Castletown in the south of the Island. This also gave us the opportunity to explore Niarbyl Bay, Port Erin and Port St Mary. One of the IOM’s famous sea mists blanketed parts of the coast producing some spectacular scenes.

It is hard to believe our 2+ weeks on the beautiful Isle of Man is drawing to a close. We have had a wonderful time with the most obliging and friendly hosts one could wish for. For anyone who has never been here then put it on your bucket list and come. You will not be disappointed.