OOh La La France

We chose a ferry crossing to France so we could photograph the white cliffs as we left Dover. We were not disappointed and who could complain about an 18 quid fare for the 2 of us plus the bike. Our crossings in 2010 were taken under the water where views were not an option.

The run south to Rouen was fast and smooth with a brief rain burst the only interruption. We knew very little of this city and were pleasantly surprised by its beautiful setting on the river Seine, magnificent Cathedral and historic city center. It is also the site where Joan of Arc was martyred at the stake.

We left Normandy for a pre-booked Bikers B&B in the tiny village of St Domineuc in Brittany. Our route took us along the Normandy beaches made famous by the Allied Forces D Day landings on 6 June 1944. Sites at Pegasus Bridge, Sword and Omaha Beaches had been featured in stories and motion pictures over past decades and now we were here. A little bit surreal really. We took a bit longer than planned so had a late arrival at our B&B. Our hosts, Les & Kim, welcomed us as close friends even down to the Australian Flag hanging in the garage for the Gray Ghost. We could not have felt more welcomed.

Beers, wines and a sumptuous 3 course dinner followed - we had really landed in a beautiful place. Our intention was to visit Le Mont St Michel on the Brittany Coast so a 2nd day with Les and Kim would have been ideal but unfortunately they were fully booked. They kindly  arranged an alternative B&B in St Carreuc, Brittany run by Ian, an expat Kiwi, and his French wife Sophie. They were also extremely friendly and happily pointed us in the direction of the best biking roads in the region. We had visited Le Mont St Michel en route and must admit that we were a little disappointed. This magnificent Monastery and walled village sits just off the Brittany Coast and is often featured in Tour de France coverage as the peleton passes.
The enterprising French however have been reclaiming the land to the Monastery so that tourist buses can drive up close to the walls. The buses run a constant shuttle disgorging tourists by the bucket load. It now has very much a 'Disneyland feel' to it which does not become the ancient and beautiful architecture. It has lost its island isolation and this has compromised the site.

We decided to explore some more of Brittany but failed to check the forecasts and ran into foul weather on the way to Brest. What should have been a scenic ride over the highest land in the region became a battle against heavy rain and low cloud that cut visibility to about 50 meters.We dripped into Brest and grabbed a room in the first available chain hotel. Several hours on the internet with rain continuing outside convinced us to fore-go our planned trip to the Loire Valley and instead head south to the promise of warm weather and sunshine. Brest may be a beautiful city but we may never know. An 800km ride ensued mostly on motorway with the first 300km in rain and the rest in high winds.

The result was worth the effort however as we arrived in warm sunny weather in the village of Lauzun south east of Bordeaux. We have scored another excellent Bike friendly B&B and will be spending the next couple of days with ride outs from here.

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.

Race Week Part 2

The Wednesday race day dawned wet and foggy with little prospect of any racing. But as so often happens however on the IOM conditions change very fast. After a protracted delay racing started in the afternoon under sunny skies with a one lap race for electric powered bikes. Race history was made with the first 100 MPH lap under race conditions by an electric bike. This earned race winner Michael Rutter a 10,000 pound bonus.

We had ventured out to the long undulating straights at Cronk-y-Voddy and had good viewing from a grassed bank in a farmyard. This is typical of the IOM TT. This is so different to circuit racing. There is absolutely nothing like it in Australia anymore. The bureaucrats with their OH&S and Insurance demands have taken care of that.

The second sidecar race was again won by Dave Molyneaux to record his 16th TT victory. The Supersport race was won by Michael Dunlop with Cameron Donald in 2nd place for the third time. Third place was decided by 0.01 second with Ryan Farquhar getting the nod over Bruce Anstey. We headed home under clear sunny skies after another great day of racing. 

Unfortunately that was the end of the fine weather as rain set in for Thursday's rest day and continued into race day Friday. The full Friday race program has been deferred until Saturday. This is particularly sad for many who have confirmed ferry bookings and will be forced to miss the blue rib-and Senior Race, the last on the program. There are many bikers staying at the ‘nylon Hilton’ in the various campgrounds around the Island. Camping life is not much fun in wet and cold conditions but such is the generosity of the local people that access to their hot showers, washing machines and clothes dryers is being offered.

Start of Race Week

Race week started on Saturday with the running of the Superbike Race (1,000cc race bikes)  over 6 laps followed by the first of 2 sidecar races (600cc) over 3 laps. We had chosen to go to the 'Bungalow' up on Mt Snaefell where the electric train crosses the road on its ascent to the mountain peak. The day was fine but up on the mountain it was generally misty and cold. The racing got underway after a slight delay and the King of the TT Englishman John McGuiness strode to his 18th TT victory followed by Australia's Cameron Donald and Kiwi Bruce Anstey to complete a very Commonwealth rostrum.

The sidecar race was won by crowd favorite and local Manxman David Molyneaux who moved to 15 TT victories surpassing the legendary Mike Hailwood who has 14. We moved down to Sulby Glen and some warmth to watch some practice sessions before the roads were reopened and we headed home after an excellent days racing.

Rest day Sunday was Peel day where the village plays host to all sorts of good old fashioned fun fair activities as well as a bike & car concourse and stunt bike shows. This is also "Mad Sunday" where traditionally bikers dress in fancy costumes and outfits for a lap of the Mountain Course. In more recent years it has also become the day where riders try for  their own fast lap of the course sometimes with tragic results. The weather was patchy at best this year so that curtailed the fast blasts and no fatalities were recorded.

Monday the fine weather returned and we went to Ramsey Village to view. Unfortunately a road fatality on the course just before the road was due to be closed delayed the start of racing for 2 hours. Racing  got underway with the Supersport Race (600 cc race bikes) over 4 laps and we witnessed one of the best races ever staged on the mountain. When the dust had settled Kiwi Bruce Anstey had victory by 0.7 seconds over Australia's Cameron Donald with Northern Ireland's William Dunlop third. This was the second closest winning margin in the 105 year history of the TT.

The second race was for Superstock (1,000 cc road bikes) also over 4 laps. This race saw John McGuiness return to the top of the winners rostrum for his 19th TT victory followed by Northern Ireland's Michael Dunlop (William's younger brother) and fellow Northern Irishman Ryan Farquhar third. An oil spill on the last lap of the race caused a major delay to reopening our section of the road while cleanup was undertaken. We got home about 9.15p after a very long day.

Rest day Tuesday saw the return of the wet weather. We ventured out exploring the northern tip of the Island and had morning tea at the Church Hall at Bride. This is another of the quirky good old fashioned traditions of the TT. The volunteer congregation put on morning tea/lunch with home made scones, pike-lets, cakes and sandwiches with all materials donated and monies going to maintenance of their historic church. They were doing a bumper trade on this wet Tuesday.

We returned home and took a bus into Douglas to meet friends for dinner and drinks  and to take in the planned entertainment along the promenade. Unfortunately the wet weather had well and truly set in washing out a lot of the entertainment but we still enjoyed a good night.

Practice Week for the TT

Practice week for the TT continued in the same vein weather wise that we had been enjoying. The system works with road closures from 5PM with race practice commencing each night at 6.20PM and continuing until 8.50PM weather permitting. Sunset is not until about 9.45PM so we are still home in daylight.

We moved to a different vantage point each night to take advantage of the different viewing lines and speeds - Crosby, Ballacraine, Braddan Bridge, Sulby Glen, Bray Hill. At Sulby Glen and Bray Hill the solo bikes are going past us at about 170 MPH and the outfits at about 145 MPH. It is an absolute buzz.
One of the beauties of the IOM TT races is the almost total involvement of the whole Island. Wherever you go and whoever you talk to the TT is to the fore. We get advice on a good viewing point from a Police Officer, get first hand knowledge passed on from an ex TT racer in a pub and you read race histories off the pub walls.

Well known Australians at the TT included Mark Webber fresh from his F1 win at the Monte Carlo GP and Eric Bana who managed a few days off from his busy filming schedule in London to take in some bike racing. We caught up with Eric at Bray Hill and he was blown away by the speeds on the road circuit even compared with the demonstration laps he had done at Philip Island circuit on pillion behind retired GP rider Randy Mamola on the Yamaha MotoGP bike.

 Outside of the racing we take in more of what the IOM has to offer by way of its history and scenery. It is a very scenic and interesting place to visit.