Isle of Man - Food fair and Groudle Glen

On our next 'non race' day, we headed back to the capital, Douglas, to do some last minute shopping for gifts (yes, K, got your Isle of Man trinket).  Although it was raining, we were thrilled to see a thriving food and flower fair happening on The Strand.  There was everything you could imagine; olives, jams, salamis, crepes, 'turkish delight', cakes and even a huge pan of paella.

I had to take a picture of this smiling Italian; He even sucked his gut in for the picture! Too funny!

  

Our next Glen adventure took us to Groudle Glen.  It's history goes back to 1890 when an enterprising businessman purchased the lease for the whole Glen, built a hotel and promised 'romantic walks' and attractions.  It boasted sea lions and (sad to say) chained bear cubs for the amusement of the guests.  The highlights of the Glen are a water wheel and huge viaduct.  You can still hear it moaning and groaning as the wheel moves scooping up the water!

    Sad to see trees uprooted

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ono our way back to the cottage, we traveled through Douglas.  This is the view of the bay we admired coming down the mountain.

Stay tuned for more racing and the 'church cakes'.

Isle of Man - And, they are off!

For the next race day, we drove to Ramsey, which is nearly at the top of the island, on the east coast.  We set up our folding chairs at May Hill, to catch all the action coming towards us and heading up the hill.  We had prime seats!  With my tripod firmly planted, I caught all the action:

On our way back home, we had to wait for the bridge over the harbour to come down from having let boats through.  I took the opportunity to catch the late afternoon sun cast shadows over the yachts.

To cap a perfect day, we dined looking over the water, with Port St. Mary in the back gound, at the Shore Hotel on the south coast.  My mouth had been watering for months, waiting for my first taste of a Manx classic, 'lamb shanks'.  I was not disappointed.

Joining us for dinner was our cottage mates and good friends from the UK.

I succumbed to desert (or pudding, as the Brits would say) when I was told the special was vanilla creme brule.  Ken had to try the apple and blackberry crumble.

  Tomorrow; food fair on the Strand and Groudle Glen

Festival of Motorcycles in Jurby

For the 5th year in a row, the Jurby airfield has been the home of a 'motorcycle extravaganza'.  Exotic and rare bikes of all sizes and colours gather to 'show off' and do parade laps around the abandoned airfield that now serves as a race track.  This year, celebrity bikes and riders thrilled the crowds.  Freddie Spencer, 3 time world champion motorcycle racer, (who I saw race at Daytona in the early 80's, when we were both young) was on hand to meet his fans.

 My favourite was Carolynn Sells, who I watched in 2009 compete and finish as the only women to ever win a race on the TT course!

I was amazed at the variety of the types of bikes that were on display. 

Some of the other attractions included the world's smallest car, featured on the popular show, TOP GEAR, scooters and a 3 man band entertaining the crowd.

 I did come across an amazing bike; likely the only GOLD WING racer ever built!

My favourite camper van had a neat 'pop up' lid!

The true testament to the popularity of the event was the parking lot full of motorcycles......

Once we left Jurby, we went to visit the most northern tip of the island, called the 'Point of  Ayre'.  It boasts a lighthouse, rocky beaches and dunes of gorse and heather.  

Finally, time for dinner!  Chicken curry with my 'go-to' salad, the caprese!

More racing tomorrow!

Isle of Man senior Classic TT - First day of races!

One of the main reasons we are here in the IOM is for the inaugural Classic TT motorcycle races. The Classic TT is a new event that celebrates the over 100 year history of the Isle of Man TT races. The motorcycles being raced are all motorcycles that are now considered "classics" in the motorcycling world.   Riders compete on machines built by such well-known, but now gone, manufacturers like Norton, Matchless, AJS as well as older Honda's, Yamaha's, Suzuki's and Triumphs. They may not be as fast as the current TT bikes but they're no less exciting. Just like in the modern TT, spectators at the Classic TT can almost reach out and touch the riders as the fly by at speeds approaching 150 mph. 

Our first day of viewing took us up to the 'mountain', which is the highest point of the course.  Bikes have already traveled 30 miles of the almost 38 miles course (1st lap of 4).  This is what we saw:

During the event, we were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the electric railway train, bringing visitors up from Laxey and Ramsey for a visit to the highest mountain summit, Snaefell.

This is the extension of the train we saw stopping in Glen Dhoon. 

The next event that took place was a re-enactment of the 1967 race - one of the most famous TT races ever; between Mike Hailwood and Giacomo Agostini, starring John McGuiness and Agostini (as himself).  We watched from the church across from the Sulby Hotel.  If you look at the tables on the patio, you can imagine me at my first event in 2009, leaning out to get a better view of the racers screaming past, and the shock on my face as one of them nearly took the beer from my hand as he whizzed by at 150 mph!

After a long day in the sunshine,  soaking up the races, we tucked into a plate of spaghetti bolognese in honour of Agostini!

A fitting meal for an italian inspired day!