Journey to the Isle of Man - Douglas, Nobel Park

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I can't believe the sensation of racing motorcycles going full throttle past the grandstand down to Bray hill. Now imagine this:

Stand beside your busy interstate or freeway. Not on the shoulder, but on the white line right beside traffic. But instead of vehicles traveling at 120km/h, they go by at over 300km/h!



I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me start with getting here. Watching them load the ferry from Liverpool is fascinating! It's a rear loading ferry with a ramp system to turn cars around so they can drive around a circuit and not have to reverse off like typical drive on ferries. They installed posts where motorcycles are lashed to, avoiding the tedious task of pull down straps to anchor the bikes to the deck.

Alright, back to racing!





The Ilse of Man TT is a race on public roads so you can spectate anywhere as long as you're not trespassing on private property or with the permission of the owner. It also means you can be a couple of feet to the 60.73km mountain race course. Having gone to race school and stood track side it was a completely different experience. Race tracks always have safety zones, hay bales and run off areas keeping riders and spectators safe. Here, you can stand a sidewalk away from the race course. I love the radio announcement "Will owners of domestic animals and livestock adjoining the race course, please secure them during practice and race sessions" and "Exercise caution while using selfie sticks and avoid intruding onto the race course!"

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