Dry Run Completed

Today I have completed a dry packing run. Taking everything on my list to take with me, I’ve laid it all out and packed it all into my two panniers and topbox. There’s a small amount of room left in the topbox but not much. The panniers are max’d out. Good thing is though, that it all fits in, so one less thing to worry about.

Having stuffed the luggage to the brim, I have weighed them. I have an imbalance on the panniers of 3kg. One being 9.2kg, the other 12.2kg. It’s not easy to rectify this, as one side has clothes, the other electrical, such as laptop, my Gopro, etc. If I took the laptop out and moved it to the topbox I might even them out but the topbox already has 16.8kg, mainly from my security chain, loaded in it.

I have some maintenance to do on the bike before the off. Chain adjustment and lube, plus fitting my tom-tom housing and wiring it in. The latter will wait until Wednesday evening, as I anticipate still using the bike for work Tuesday/Wednesday. The chain will get done today or tomorrow, with maybe a quick hose down too. The aftermath of Thursday's deluge can still be seen on the bike, so even just a quick power wash to get the grit off will help.

The final task will be to wire in speakers for the tom-tom, into my helmet. Then I’ll be ready.  

Phew, that's a relief!

A week to go to the off. Planning done, about 5%. Basically I’ve loaded routes into Tom-Tom and that’s it. Oh yes, I have worked out how many pairs of pants I’ll need, assuming I don’t turn them inside out ;-)

I was a tad worried, it must be said, that I might arrive on the island to find I had nowhere to stay. I tried to book the Sulby Hotel when I first looked for accommodation but they were full. However, they are such a close knit bunch over there, that the hotel owner put me in touch with one of her other hotel owning friends. Same story with her and the next lady, until I was put in touch with Candy, who was prepared to let me have a room in her house. Homestay, they call it.

Unlike me, all I got off Candy was her address. No phone number, no email, nothing else and since the day I agreed to send her £50, I’ve heard nowt from her……..until that is, tonight. Her partner Matty (should I call myself Neilly?) rang me tonight to check I was still planning to go. Relief! Yes, I have now got a phone number.

That sorted, I can now turn my attentions towards what other clothing I can take with me and get some washing done.

So, the trip.....

Stats. for the entire trip:

Road miles  = est. 800

Fuel costs = est. £125

Plenty to be decided still but below shows what I do have planned.

Outbound Journey

Thursday 2^nd June – Home to overnight stop at relatives in Manchester

Friday 3^rd June – Manchester to Heysham. IOM Steam Packet Ferry to Douglas. Douglas to Ramsey digs.

The bit in between

Saturday June 4th – viewing spot undecided

12.00 - Dainese Superbike
15.00 - Sure Sidecar TT Race 1

Sunday June 5th

Mad Sunday. One way traffic over the mountain. Helmet cam will be installed for a few laps of the TT course.

Monday June 6th – viewing spot undecided

10.45 - Monster Energy Supersport Race 1
14.15 - Royal London 360 Superstock

Tuesday June 7th

Sightseeing.

Wednesday June 8th – viewing from the start/finish grandstand in Douglas

10.45 - Monster Energy Supersport Race 2
12.45 - Sure Sidecar TT Race 2
15.00 - SES TT Zero Race
16.00 - Subaru practice lap
16.45 - Special Parade lap

Thursday June 9th

Sightseeing

Friday June 10th – viewing spot undecided

12.30 - PokerStars Senior

Inbound Journey

Saturday 11^th June – Ramsey to Douglas. IOM Steam Packet ferry to Heysham.

Am undecided whether to come straight home or stop off again in Manchester. There is a Harley exhibition on in Manchester, so I may pay that a visit.

Still a lot to think about. Weather may have a big effect on the plans, such as they are but at least you get the idea.

2 weeks to go.

Preamble

With 2 ½ weeks to go to my TT adventure, I’m starting to turn my thoughts to planning. Not only the techie stuff, such as loading the route into tom-tom but the more mundane stuff too. Just how many pairs of pants and socks will my two panniers and top-box hold? If the weather could be guaranteed to be hot and sunny, would there be a case for going commando? Probably not a good idea, given I’m spending my time on the island at a private dwelling!

Besides the off bike clothing I have to be able to cater for all weathers on the bike too, so some careful sizing will need to take place to make sure I have everything I need to keep me both warm and dry, yet prevent me from dissolving in a pool of sweat should the weather be gloriously sunny. I do have some of those vacuum storage bags, which may make things fit a little easier. As with my Route 66 trip, I’ve bought some cheap ‘disposable’ t-shirts, which I can discard if need be for the journey back. Not that I’m planning buying loads of souvenirs or gifts.

You’ll notice I have added a countdown timer to the blog. Would have been OK had it not had the hotel advert on it but I couldn’t find anything else that looked as good, ad accepted.

Hopefully, if you expressed an interest in following the blog, you will be receiving  emails to advise when the blog is updated. I’m pretty sure my landlady will have internet but whether I’ll be able to hook up to it is another matter. I may have to find somewhere that has a BT Openzone hotspot or cyber café to upload my thoughts and pictures.

On the subject of my accommodation, I am, as I said, staying at a private dwelling. This is quite common and called Homestay. Such is the influx of ‘tourists’ for the races, that normal hotels and guest houses can’t cater for all. Therefore, for those additional bodies that don’t want to camp, the Manx public rent out spare rooms. My digs will be in Ramsey at the north end of the island and the northern most part of the TT circuit. I’ve not planned where I shall be watching from at the moment but Parliament Square and the famous Ramsey Hairpin, will both be within a 10  minute walk. I do have a grandstand seat booked for the Wednesday of race week. That’s in Douglas, so I shall be riding on at least one race day.

18 days, 1 hour, 12 minutes and 55 seconds till TT adventure day 1.