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Diablobrian
| Posted on Monday, January 08, 2007 - 08:44 pm: |
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Well, my wife is graduating from College this May. For her graduation we would like to visit the UK. It just so happens that the Isle of Man TT happens at the end of May/beggining of June Being a CHEAP bastard I'm looking for friendly faces to help us find our way past the tourist traps, and friendly places to potentially crash for the evening I'm not sure of exact dates yet, but I thought I'd take a shot at meeting some of our English Brothers and Sisters if I was going to be in that neighborhood |
New12r
| Posted on Monday, January 08, 2007 - 09:45 pm: |
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Dang, that would be a trip. I would love to go to see that race live and in person. Actually to meet some of those guys. Where do they carry their balls?? |
Slaughter
| Posted on Monday, January 08, 2007 - 09:47 pm: |
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Brian - you realize almost every square inch of the island is overbooked for the next IOM - it's the 100th year of the race! YOu are gonna need some local help. Have you looked at UKBEG.COM? Good folks. |
Diablobrian
| Posted on Tuesday, January 09, 2007 - 12:02 am: |
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Well, I'd be happy just visiting the island one day during the races. I know that everything on the Island is overbooked already. Just to see the races and check out the scene. It's supposed to be a sport riders mecca on a normal year, this year should be amazing. I'm just trying to take advantage of what for me is a happy coincidence. Beyond that I look forward to seeing some of the scenery I've been seeing on Doctor Who, Lock Stock & 2 smoking barrels, Snatch, and the like for years. Maybe even some of the cultural stuff my wife would like Then there are the bike to see, all of the 2 stroke sport bikes we never got over here, and all of the exotic (to us Yanks) that aren't imported now. It could be loads of fun. If the Dollar wasn't so weak against the Pound |
Steveshakeshaft
| Posted on Tuesday, January 09, 2007 - 04:46 am: |
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Diablobrian, please find your way over to the forum at WWW.UKBEG.COM . We have a number of members on the IOM and usually, quite a few go to the TT. Three Legs Dave usually organises a meet over there and I'm sure would help with itinerary for you. I personally am not really interested in racing nor the IOM but if you need help finding which way is up, please ask and I'll help if I can. |
Trojan
| Posted on Tuesday, January 09, 2007 - 05:19 am: |
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Hi Diablo, You may find it difficult to get a ferry booking or accomodation for the TT this year because it is the TT Centenary, and most ferry crossing times and accomodation have been fully booked up for over a year now. Try contacting Dave on UKBEG as he may be able to find some accomodation that hasn't already been snapped up, and you could always use the 'bribe a friendly fishing boat captain' option (seriously!) to get over there from the mainland 2 stroke sports bikes are pretty rare over here now too unfortunately (I can't remember the last time I saw a 2 stroke on the road). The best place to see them would be at a trackday for the RD Yamaha club or similar. They run these throughout the year at various circuits. We still have 250GP racing and it is looking like this year will get a better slice of the cake for the 250 guys in the UK, so the grids should be full again If you are going to check out the locations used in 'Lock Stock' and Snatch, keep your hand on your wallet Even if you can't catch teh TT, England is a beautiful country to visit and I'm sure you'll find much to interest you |
Rocketman
| Posted on Tuesday, January 09, 2007 - 07:36 am: |
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Brian, can you be more specific about your intended destinations and how you intend to travel. As the TT goes, I'm 120 across the opposite side of England, and if I were to go I'd be relying upon my friend who has a fishing boat. That means sailing all the way around the bottom or heading up to Edinburgh and sailing through Scotland. Either way a bit of a commitment time wise. Other than the TT, depending on where you are when you arrive, I'm sure we can point you to some cool places that you could slip into your itinerary without making it just about motorcycles. I'm sure you'd want to see some of Great Britain too. Rocket |
Trojan
| Posted on Tuesday, January 09, 2007 - 08:08 am: |
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If you want to catch just one race meeting in the UK while you are here then I would definitely recommend the Post TT Classic at Mallory Park (Normally the weekend after the TT). This features many of the stars of yesteryear that you can meet such as Agostini, Phil Read etc, and some stunning classic bikes that you can get very close to in the paddock. Definitely the best meeting of the year and well worth a visit for any bike nut |
Davegess
| Posted on Tuesday, January 09, 2007 - 09:57 am: |
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Brian, I would think you could get a "walk on" ferry ticket, you would have to get around on public transportation but that is very doable. Biggest problem would be finding a place to stay. I do suspect that you might find a person on the mentioned forum who could help you out. Man has a really neat system fo electric and steam trains from the Victorian Era and Douglas is not a very big town. You could get to some neat spots by hitch hiking or taking the the bus. Not ideal but if you are in the UK and swing a day or two at the TT it would still be fun. |
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