Tuesday Race Day

This was more like it, Tuesday dawned fine and dry. The 2 races due to run today were the 250/350 Classic Grand Prix and the Junior Manx Grand Prix. 

We had breakfast at the Pool again and headed out to Ballaugh Bridge to spectate from there for the first race. We had loads of time beforehand so we also managed to do a lap of the course which was great for Rob as it was his first one. It was pretty hairy over the mountain and Windy Corner was ..... very!

Rob and Doris at the Bungalow

and me at the Bungalow

Ballaugh Bridge was a great place to spectate from and it was superb hearing the old sixties 4 cylinder Hondas and Manx Nortons being given their head in their natural environment.

Rob at Ballaugh Bridge

I'll let the pictures do the talking :)

Nice landing

Retirement at Ballaugh

On the exit from Ballaugh

From Ballaugh, we took the back roads up to Ramsey to watch the next race (Junior Manx GP) from Parliament Square.

the approach to Parliament Square

and the exit

One of the great things about the TT and Manx is that you can move around so freely and get a very different take on the racing from 100m up the road. We wandered a block further up towards May Hill and were SO close to the action:

Love this bit of slo-mo video that Rob took on his phone from there....

With the racing over we headed into Douglas, following the coastal road through Laxey. What a beautiful journey, though very busy as the roads were still closed and everyone was heading that way. 

We went for a wander around the paddock and merchandise area behind the Grandstand for the obligatory t-shirt purchases! It always surprises me how relatively small that bit is - compared to say the Thundersprint, it really is very un-commercialised (no bad thing!)

There was a small classic bike show on Douglas prom, so we grabbed the now obligatory ice- cream and spent a very pleasant half hour drooling over the machinery there.

Beautifully crafted Vincent

and equally exquisite Triton with Trident engine

There just HAD to be a Manx Norton there!

Rob's favourite bike of the week - Yamaha TZ

This sweet Honda 350 Four was parked up nearby

 - I have a real soft spot for them :)

and this was my assessment of how large your testicles

need to be to race the Mountain Circuit!

A cracking day all in all. We headed back out to Peel for tea and a couple of pints then collapsed into the sleeping bags!

The Tempest

On Sunday evening, I pottered down into Peel for a half decent curry in one of the pubs and killed a bit of time as Rob's ferry wasn't due to arrive till 11pm. 

Rob was all ready and on his way on the Manannan from Liverpool.

Eventually, at about 8.30 I decided I'd ride into Douglas and see what was going on there; maybe grab a pint in Bushy's on the Prom.....(Bushy's Beer Tent)

Ah yes, this is the Manx not TT week - Bushy's was nowhere to be seen - the Prom was .....empty. So I got myself a large brew in the ferry terminal and read the paper from front to back twice till I got kicked out of Costa!

Rob arrived on time and we rode back to the campsite and settled down for the night. My nice tidy tent, big for 1, suddenly became very untidy and small for 2, with gear scattered all over the porch bit. This was to become relevant during the night.......

We settled down to sleep. During the night the most monumental storm blew in. It battered down all night and there was a really strong wind raging down the valley. I was really quite convinced that the tent would go at some point - it felt like it was only the weight of us being in it that was holding it down. Morning came and the weather was no better. We flicked on the radio and were not surprised to hear that racing had been postponed to Tuesday. When we eventually dared poke our heads out the sleeping pods, we had one of those "ohhhh sh...." moments. The porch was under an inch of water; our helmets were sat in it and had soaked it all up the linings; our jackets were soaked - it was mayhem. We did the only sensible thing - zipped up and went back to sleep.

When we eventually got up, the place was like a disaster zone - there were tents broken and twisted all over the place. The place was a mudbath. The council run swimming pool next door was open and it became a refugee centre for displaced campers!! They did a good breakfast there and were doing a roaring trade. 

Rob's Manx Hot Chocolate at the Pool

We walked into Peel and managed to get some stuff to make up some extra guys lines to secure the tent.

The storm eventually subsided late in the afternoon and we were relatively unscathed. The big green 8 berth tent behind us (pre-Tempest, you can see it in the big photo at the top of this blog) was flattened. The guy next door with the Beemer used some of the debris to fix his tent, which had also collapsed, but he decided he'd had enough and changed his ferry booking to the next day.

Later on, it dried up enough for us to venture out to Ramsey on the bike for fish and chips. Good old Doris - she'd been out in the driving rain for the best part of a day and started first push of the button. The roads were really awash in places with streams running across them. Couldn't believe that this was the racetrack!!

The day after the Tempest - tent behind looking worse for wear;
the one to the left was by this time in the bin!

Jurby Festival

Suitably refreshed after a couple of hours sleep, I decided to nip to the local shop for some breakfast stuff. I stocked up on milk, coffee and biscuits, then headed back to spark up the stove and make a brew. Ah yes, I then remembered that I'd run out of room when packing and Rob had the pan set in his luggage but wasn't arriving till tonight! Never mind, a glass of milk and some Hob-Nobs made a decent breakfast!

Then I decided to have a quick shower - errrmmm yes, Rob also has my towel.......

So I gave up and followed every other bike on the island to Jurby Airfield to see the Jurby festival. The weather was fantastic and it would have been a good day just browsing round the car park to be honest -seeing so many classic and historic bikes out on track was a bonus! I also had THE BEST bacon and sausage bap ever from one of the stalls....

A very small part of the bike park at Jurby

Nice pair of XBR 500s - my next project (currently in bits!)

Ryan Farquhar trying out a speedway bike for size

Michael Dunlop and Dan Knean -
the beginning of a new sidecar pairing?

Remember Clarkson in this? It's TINY!

One of my favourite bikes - Honda 350/4

After Jurby, I headed back for a look round Peel in the sun and an ice cream on the prom!

Doris at Peel Harbour

...and so we arrive in another land (not so) far away!

I love that feeling of riding the bike on and off ferries - such a sense of adventure about to begin. ..

There weren't so many bikes on the ferry as I'm used to for the TT. Maybe partly due to the stupid hour in the morning (2.30am!) but I was also expecting it to be a lot quieter for the Manx - it's been part of the reason that I've wanted to go, as everyone says it's a lot calmer and more laid back.

We rolled off the ferry at 6am and, rather than head for the campsite at Peel, I hung a right at Quarterbridge, up Bray Hill to introduce Doris to the Mountain Circuit. We pulled over at the Grandstand on Glencrutchery Rd to take a photo to mark the achievement of Doris making it over to the Island :).

Then a quick spin round the circuit to Ballacraine, where I left the course to head for Peel and a return to Peel Camping Ground. It's been a few years since I last camped here but the site manager Phil was still here, as he has been ever since I first went about 12 years ago! 

The omens were good. While I was unpacking, a couple of old '30s BSAs put-putted past; next door was a 70's BMW and all around there were more classics than "modern" bikes. 

The guy camping next to me was delighted when he saw Doris -  "I've got a 250 version of that at home"! Turns out he'd only not come on it as a new seat had been delayed in the post and his old one had fallen apart. He had owned his for 34 years and it's done 60k miles - in stark contrast to Doris's 11k. He was on a VFR800 and was even more delighted when I told him that I also had a version of his bike at home (my other bike is a VFR750).

Half an hour later, the tent was up and I got my head down for an hour or so to catch up on some kip.

Safely at Heysham

Made it!  Though obviously I never had any doubt that Doris would deliver me safely on our longest journey yet! Just under 70 miles I think.

The weather this afternoon & early evening was terrible - constant heavy rain. My original plan had been to travel up here fairly early, just in case of any mechanical gremlins, but I delayed for a couple of hours to let the rain clear a bit.

So there were bits of drizzle and a couple of heavier spells, but nothing terrible. I was quite concerned that it was the first time we'd been out in the wet - my worry was that it might show up some electrical problems, but all was fine :) 

It's also the first time I've taken her any distance at night. The headlight was reported as being good in contemporary road tests, but it seems like a candle compared to the more modern bikes I've had. I adopted the same solution as for everything else - slow down and smell the roses! Most of the journey was on well lit A roads anyway so not a great problem. I have taken a vow to try not to go on any motorways - A roads are much nicer and I won't be tempted to rag her then.

Anyway 1 hour till boarding, then I can get some sleep on the ferry.

Manx GP

The light at the end of the tunnel for thr Dream restoration has always been to take Doris over to the Isle of Man when she was finished. I couldn't get a ferry ticket for the TT, and in truth she wasn't ready, but she seems to be 100% now and is all geared up and ready to head over for the Manx GP :)

Panniers are packed with camping gear and I have a tank bag full of clothes, so this evening I'm travelling up to Heysham to get the overnight ferry.

My son Rob is travelling over tomorrow night and then we'll both be there for 3 days. I'll try and post regular updates of the journey over the next few days.

Doris's First Day Out

Repeated from my "rebuild blog" - Sunday 13 May 2012:

Well Friday dawned and it was not a nice dawn at all. It had been raining overnight and more rain was predicted through the day before the sunshine came in for the weekend for a change.

The original plan had been to ride to work loaded up and then head straight for Northwich after work, but I decided that I'd have to spend a load of time cleaning the bike before the show if I did that, so I left the bike at home and headed off straight from there. It meant I didn't arrive at the campsite till later but was a load easier.

For a change, the weather followed the forecast. I left shortly after 6 and was there by 7, after a lovely ride down the A roads to Northwich. Doris ran like a .... Dream. By the time we arrived at Witton Albion Football Club, I was completely smitten. Lovely smooth, unthreatening power delivery - never going to set the world alight, but perfectly OK in normal traffic on A roads. She encouraged me to sit up and enjoy the journey a lot more than I'm used to on the VFR, which always seems to be egging me on to look for the next overtake or take that corner just a little faster next time. I really felt in my comfort zone.

One minor problem was evident - there was oil leaking from all around the base gasket. I know I'm a really bad mechanic, but when I tightened the head down I found that my torque wrench didn't have a low enough range for those bolts, so I guessed (shame :( ). But I definitely erred on the side of caution - too much on the side of caution it would appear....... Snagging job no 1 - buy another torque wrench and get it torqued down properly. It was not enough to be a problem though - the oil level was stll well up. So I mopped up the mess and gave a few bits a little clean ready for the following day.

This was my third year camping at Witton Albion and it's feeling like a nice tradition now. I got the tent set up quickly - decided to camp in the "quiet area" on the pitch this year (mainly because it's nearer the loos!)

Then I called into the Social Club for a drink. It was heaving, as they'd put a Race Night on to entertain the campers - not really my thing so I had a couple of pints then settled down for the night. Really clear skies were forecast and it was a very cold night's sleep. Reminder to self - get better sleeping bag!

Up early the next morning as all the show entrants were to be in place by 9.15. I rolled up and was slotted onto the "general modern classics" line - right between a GSXR Suzuki Barry Sheene special edition (one of only 3 in the country)  and a very well used Yamaha TTR250 that had recently completed a 20,000 mile journey to Cape Horn. Suddenly my Dream felt very mundane......

But what good fortune to be next to adventurer Ken Thomas - the most interesting person I have had the good fortune to meet in many a year. Read the blog of his amazing journey here then look at the journeys of Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman in a whole new light. Thanks Ken for a fascinating day.

The show was a huge success, with great attendance and loads of people taking the time to come and talk to me about Doris. One of the highlights for me was when previous owner Steve and his wife Sally called in to say Hi. Again - lovely people, and it was great to be able to share the journey with them, as I knew Steve had been disappointed not to be able to do the restoration himself. Nice to see a couple of members of the Classic Bikers Club forum that had been following the blog as well and also some friends from work showed up.

The very best bit was when one guy gushed at me that he'd had one in his 20's but hadn't seen one for years and it was by far the best bike he'd seen at the show so far! (I think he had a very specific point of reference compared to most people, but my ego is very easily inflated!)

You can see the dribble of oil in the photo above. Several people were amused to tell me that they thought only British bikes leaked oil - it was funny the first 4 or 5 times...... (Apologies to Northwich Council for the stain on your pavement, by the way.)

And so back to Witton Albion to camp overnight again. Another chilly night but I compensated with extra socks! I could afford a lie in this time though and once I'd got most of my camping kit packed, I rode back down to Northwich for the Thundersprint proper.

This is getting bigger every year - the crowds were huge this year. I spent the morning mooching round the race paddock and all the trade stalls - some serious classic bike porn in that paddock!

At midday, I went up to watch the cavalcade.

Then after that I took up position on the hill for the Spitfire display and the Thundersprint itself.

The fastest lap time I saw was 21.08 seconds - they don't call it a sprint for nothing! It also doesn't take itself too seriously, as evidenced by the George Formby tribute below - apparently from the film "No Limits that he did about the TT.

So, all over for another year - I headed back to the campsite to take down my tent and head for home. As I was heading back to the site and getting more confident in the bike, I braked a little harder for something. A minute later, the bike started labouring and slowing down as if it was running out of fuel. Uh oh! Actually, the front brake was stuck on - the handle was pumped up solid. Obviously, John hadn't quite sorted it out - it was OK for normal braking but not releasing after heavy braking ......

I sat by the side of the road, really disappointed as I was thinking that there was really nothing I could do to sort out  a wonky master cylinder at the side of the road, and that Doris would end her journey going home on a trailer. The only thing I could think of was to just crack open the hose union a fraction to let off the pressure and then see how it felt - bingo! We were moving again.

So we made a pact (well I did!) that on the journey home I'd anticipate like never before; only use the rear brake if I could and not go over 50 (remember the slight oil incontinence problem the old lady has!) and in return I asked Doris to deliver me home safely, which she did :).

A fine first adventure - we looked after each other well and had a marvellous time. Doris will now get a thorough clean and those two issues (oil and brake) sorted before we venture forth again but, on the evidence of this weekend, I have no doubt that our relationship is going to be a long and happy one.