A Journey to the Isle of Man, Mountain Biking and the TT Races

The Isle of Man is stooped in a history of racing, from two wheels to four, engine or pedal powered, slick tyres to nobbles. The Manx folk are renowned for their uncanny ability to test themselves against their rivals in whatever racing discipline they choose; thoroughbred racers with a different mindset to most. Their island has its own government, one that mostly welcomes racing in all its different forms. Connected by a massive network of off-road trails, having seen so many dirtbikes over the years, things are on the change a little now, with the dirt tracks now welcoming MTB’s way more than their petrol-powered cousins.

We chose to visit the island during the infamous Tourist Trophy (TT) fortnight, one of the most dangerous road racing circuits in the world, one where the track is 60.6 km long, where the top racers are now averaging a terrifying 215.6 Km/h around it. These are not wide open closed circuit tracks, these are the gnarliest of narrow roads through house littered streets and big open mountain passes. These are racing gladiators in the purest form, fearless fast and famous throughout the world. It’s hard to get to some of the best spots in a vehicle or upon one of the 40,000 motorcycles that visit for the fortnight, but upon an MTB it’s a whole different story.

On a recent trip to Muc-Off HQ Here we were made aware of their involvement with the sport of motorcycle road racing, being one of the big sponsors of Bournemouth Kawasaki rider, James Hillier, Hillier now being one of the regular podium finishers. Much-Off had given us the golden ticket, the pit-pass, the shiny bit of plastic that hangs around your neck that probably 99% of the visiting 50,000 people would kill for, so along with wanting to ride the island we wanted to see just how involved this very MTB routed company was in this, the craziest of sports.

We had come over to stay with our friend and future Isle of Man guide Al, the most enthusiastic and nicest of chaps you could meet, a down to earth builder with a fantastic racing history of all things two-wheeled. Al has spent the last few years digging enduro tracks down in the south of the island in the many plantations that surround his house near Ballabeg. We went over and raced their first Manx 2 Day Enduro last year and were blown away with the trails. Al had been busy again upgrading existing trails and even putting a new one in. One the North side of the island, a mere half an hours drive away are more trails in their plantations (a plantation basically being a mini forest) This time though we wanted to experience the more natural trails situated around the island, the open stuff, the natural stuff and the narrow coastal trails; this place really has it all.

Why Ride in the Isle of Man

This place, although only a short 25-minute flight from Liverpool or 4-hour ferry, is quite different to the UK. Although the UK’s money can be used and prices are kind of similar, there are subtle things that are noticeably different. Their flora and fauna is more suiting to a coastal region, Cordyline trees dot the island, giving the place a look more like the Mediterranean when the sun is shining. Wildlife is abundant, as unlike the UK they are devoid of predators like foxes, badgers, squirrels and snakes. The variation of terrain means it really has something for anyone, XC riders and racers will be very aware of the long-standing End To End XC Race race held there annually where 2000 competitors do battle over the 75k event.

Getting To The Isle Of Man

Basically you have two options, one is to fly, where the short 25 minute flight can cost as little as £ 60 (€ 75) will cost around with Easyjet or the island runs it’s own ferry service called Steam Packet Ferries it usually costs up to £ 200 (€ 255) for a medium van, but during TT week prices will soar due to the high demand for space. We would recommend that from the UK riders would be best to team up with others, to make a van-full worth the money, as all rider kit can be bought with them.

Getting Around The Isle Of Man

The Isle of man, although quite sparsely inhabited outside of the towns, isn’t too remote. You could do the whole island easily on a mountain bike, but don’t expect short easy climbs; lots of climbs are big lung busting steep ones if on a big XC loop. A great way to experience the island’s riding could be to stay at many of the campsites listed in the Official Isle of Man Visitor Site. We would also highly recommend a road bike too, as the tarmac roads are kept in excellent condition on the main TT course (we certainly wouldn’t recommend riding this during the TT!) and also there is a huge network of fantastic country lanes too.

What Bike To Take To The Isle Of Man

Well, this really would depend on your intensions, if you were to compete at the End to End then we would suggest an XC bike or short travel marathon style rig. But for the types of riding we were doing in the plantations or around the islands many green lanes or off-piste single-tracks then we’d suggest anything from a short travel trail bike and even up to a big hitting 160 mm full enduro weapon for the rougher stuff up in the plantations. Although to be honest would say the ultimate do-it-all bike for such a place would actually be a 140 mm slack 29er!

What Else Can Be Done On The Isle Of Man

On the tourism side of things, there are loads of beautiful sandy beaches for sunny days, incredible restaurants, pubs and of course there are lots of competitive two or four-wheeled events all year round on the island. There are lots of Other things to do on the Isle Of Man as well on the Isle Of Man, including a visit to the steam railways, fishing, trekking, Art Exhibitions, Diving, Climbing, Golf (or an angry walk as we call it!).

For more info on future guiding in The Isle of Man contact Al on alheginbotham@manx.net