Dirty Girls do the Isle of Man 2009

Saturday 8th August - Afternoon

Fortified by our sarnie lunch we reached the playground at Cross Vein a few miles further on






The next lane took us over Carnagrie and Slieau Whallian - steep and rocky, just like the majority of the Manx trails


Emma looking for the best line


A choice approved by Sarah


While Tina chose the straight line - right towards me! She probably wanted our double bed to herself...


She didn't get me that time but she kept trying...


Through St John's, on to Laurel Bank and then up to Lhergycholvine


Lovely Peel with St Patrick's Isle in the background


Don't we just love these fast hard-packed dirt roads?


Obviously!




Swaying from top left to bottom right is our trail...


... garnished with beautiful flowers on both sides...


There they are! I wonder what these girls are always doing behind my back...


Our next lane led us into Glen Moar - getting narrower and narrower...


Watch out, girls, it's going to be 'interesting' ahead...




Sarah - looking good




Phew, almost over...


Tina's turn


It never looks as steep in the pics as it actually is...




We all made it down to the bottom unscathed...


... where the Ford Fairy was already waiting for us...


After some quick refreshment (photos in Tina's post) we went through Ballaleigh into Cooildarry






... passing this idyllic place before we emerged onto the A4 near Kirk Michael


Not sure what's going on here - I blame the Red Bull...


After Kirk Michael it was a bit of road work along the TT Course.

Just before Ballaugh we turned right to Ballacurnkeil to pick up this gorgeous trail


Tina givin' it sum


Re-grouping at the gate


Which rut to take? Decisions, decisions...


I seem to miss all the fun going on at the back...


But quickly we were rolling again






Isn't it nice when the junctions look exactly the same as on the map?




Isn't this a really uplifting sign? I was thinking of taking a couple home to enhance a few 'Restricted Byway' plaques in Oxfordshire...


After some fast and furious gravel tracks...




... we entered this trail along Mount Karrin - not everybody's favourite...


Down to Ballacuberagh Plantation


... and a steep rocky decent to the next gate




At the end we met a very nice couple, both into motorbikes (no surprise, really), who we almost persuaded to join us on the trails - but they had work to do...

So we carried on through Sulby and turned right opposite the church onto this lane...


... up on the moors (what are Tina & Sarah doing again? Heather diving?)


... and finally onto the famous Millenium Way


Girls, take your positions...


Sarah approaching the boardwalk


Oops, slightly off the mark...


Tina taking the long way round


But with combined efforts we all made it up on to the planks - and even without falling over to the other side...


Emma wasn't to happy when we declared her the new tailend - but she really didn't have much choice...


The other end looked far less daunting...


... and we arrived at the A18 safe and sound


I really like the Manx style - plain English, straight to the point, reasonable and taking the public seriously...


We had planned to ride a few more lanes that day but it was getting late and so we headed home on the TT Course - quite something.

High priestess Sarah performing the evening chain lubing ritual


An absolutely fantastic day was completed by Sarah's delicious Picnic Pie...


Could it get any better?

TBC...

Fantastic..... keep it coming

I've been calling dozens of B&B on the Island for rooms for next years T.T.
No joy yet,all full. Any recommendations please?
Cheers.

Tw@ Features said:

I've been calling dozens of B&B on the Island for rooms for next years T.T.
No joy yet,all full. Any recommendations please?
Cheers.

Click to expand...

Sorry, but as we were staying with Emma's aunt, we didn't need a B&B.

Still, good luck!

Sunday 9th August

The next morning we just did the lanes we had intended to ride home the day before the other way round.

Going north, we picked up the Millenium Way again near Ballayemmy, where it almost looks like an old Roman Road


By the way, the Millenium that is celebrated with this long distance path is not the year 2000 but 1979, the 1000th anniversary of the Manx Parliament, Tynwald. The ancient ridgeway route links Ramsey to Castletown, the former capital, following the way of past Manx Kings through the centre of the island. The route was once known as the Royal Way ('Via Regia') and is recorded in the 13th Century Chronicles of the Kings of Mann and the Isles. Just in case you wanted to know...

After and between the Baldwins (Main, East & West Baldwin, to be precise) the road got a bit rougher


And soon it was time for the first Red Bull of the day


It was hard going for Emmsy and her poor back and I was quiet glad that we had taken a little break before tackling the next stretch of the trail




It doesn't look as if it would get easier ahead...


Who's going to tell Emma?


Tina wouldn't want to turn round, that's for sure...


Well, according to the map we were already quite far into the lane and so I volunteered to explore the conditions of the remaining two miles and report back. The girls wished me luck...


Scouting terra incognita on your own? Bad idea. Since breaking my arm on the UK Advrider Snow Run in February I am very conscious that I'm not invulnerable. The path got rougher and rougher and it felt very lonely up the mountain...


And the inevitable happened: I got stuck with my back wheel spinning and digging deeper and deeper into the ground. By the time I realised that rocking, rolling and swearing wouldn't get me out of the hole, I was already pretty exhausted. Eventually I had to lay the bike on its side, drag it a bit further out, put a big stone into the hole and lift my baby up again. A DRZ is quite a handful, I can tell you. Of course, it doesn't look a big deal in the photo...


There were a few more 'interesting' moments...


... but finally I reached the end of the lane where it meets the B10. To be perfectly honest, I didn't really fancy to retrace my steps, so I tried to call the girls to tell them what the trail was like and let them decide if they wanted to follow me or if they preferred to ride back and I would meet them at the start in Baldwin (doing the long way round on tarmac).

The plan could have worked if my dear friends hadn't put their phones into silent mode... So I had no choice but going back.

You can probably imagine my joy when I saw them emerging from the mist just after the third gate! After waiting a while at the bottom they had decided to come after me to check that everything was alright. I was so happy to see them - true friends will go to hell and back for you!

And they made a real effort to cheer me up...


How to change ruts? Lesson 27, chapter 12...


Still, when we arrived at the B10 I was so knackered that I collapsed on the ground and resorted to macro photography for the next ten minutes...


... mumbling 'blooming hell' to myself or something like that...


But soon we were giggling away - spirits were restored again and we were ready for the next adventure


To be continued...

Really enjoyed that, thanks ladies

Finally, after an extremely manic week, on with the report...

Still Sunday 9th August

Having completed the tour de force on the 'Highway to F*cking Hell' we did another stretch of the fast & furious triangle - luverly bumps and jumps and nice bends


Sarah clearly enjoyed herself


And so did Tina and Emmsy (I think...)


So much that Emma almost lost her beloved 5 litre Kriega tailpack...


Have we mentioned the beauty of the island and the fantastic views already?


Btw, despite being on an island we hadn't actually been by the sea yet. So the spot for our lunch break was an obvious choice


It's good to be a Dirty Girl on the Isle of Man, part II...


Tina, where are you going?


Mmm... His is bigger than ours...


From Kirk Michael we carried on to Ballaugh again, this time turning right after the bridge towards Ravensdale.

Another quite 'interesting' rocky climb...


... where you had to keep up a certain momentum...


Otherwise it was difficult to get going again


Tina emerging from Ballaugh plantation


That's one of the shallower bits where we could stop comfortably at long last...


We then joined the Mount Karrin trail again, as I thought it would be good practice for the rut-lovers to do a known lane again...


Not sure if everybody was happy with the concept...


The paparazze taking up their positions on the Alpine stretch


Oops - just one wheel coming round the corner...


Poor Emmsy did have a go at 'Bramble Diving'...


Or maybe the little Honda was just a bit scared of the following descent?


Tina, well experienced with horses, came to the rescue...


... and we could continue our ride down into Sulby


... where we were brilliantly looked after by the lovely owners of the Ginger Hall - with free hot chocolate and coffee, ice bags and Hydrogel for Emma's leg and a lot of comforting words...


After that incident it was straight home to Ballasalla on tarmac via the picturesque Sulby Glen and the River Glass Valley.

I'm not sure why no one took a picture of my dinner that evening... But to follow the usual pattern, I will have to post my own photos - excuse my immodesty...

We had a Spanish theme: Escalivada...


and Crema Catalana for dessert


And talking of food, I should really go home now for dinner...

Report to be continued...

Great report ladies think I might have to take a a trip there myself

Emmsy Poo said:

Click to expand...

This photo really needs to be posted here

Didnt realise you had posted! Keep it coming.......you are great at telling a story

BTW, cutting a long story short, I met a group of lads out on the trails today who said to me " Your one of the Dirty Girls...Wow" and shook my hand with a smile..........WE ARE FAMOUS

Tw@ Features said:

I've been calling dozens of B&B on the Island for rooms for next years T.T.
No joy yet,all full. Any recommendations please?
Cheers.

Click to expand...

My Aunt does B&B during TT week send me a pm and I will see if she has any room still.

I know I'm late...


Monday 10th August

The sky didn't look very promising that morning, in fact, it was drizzling when we left the house.

But on an island the weather can change quickly and we were hoping for the best as we headed north on the coast road via Douglas and Laxey to Ramsey.

In Ramsey I went to the townhall for a 'Rights of Way' map and came across this sculpture of Godred Crovan, founder of the last dynasty ruling Man and the Isles in the 11th century, and his son King Olaf I


Olaf is said to be playing classical chess and Godred playing "merels" a far more aggressive game. An analogy for the old and new powers and the change of the times to come. If you want to know more about Manx history and Godred and Olaf in particular have a look here.

Our aim for the day was to do a bit of sight-seeing and some rather gentle green lanes - but as so often with well-drafted plans this one was not going to materialise. However, we didn't know that yet when we entered the idyllic Glen Auldyn.


While Emma admired the scenery...


Sarah was doing the famous Manx 'Between Gate and Abyss' Jig...


One to the left, one to the right, front wheel in the air...


And then only just but very stylishly missing the edge before a 30 metre drop...


The rain made the trail a tad more 'interesting'...


Emmsy fully focussed...


We must be approaching the ford soon...


No action photos from me at that point; I was far too busy working out the best water crossing technique and then getting my and Tina's bikes to the other side - only to fall off within the next 200 yards...

So here only a pic of Tina returning from the quarry


... and one of the beautiful Glen Auldyn


While we were busy with turning the bikes round, sweating in our waterproofs and entering wet T-shirt competitions (...) it finally stopped raining and the sun came through!


Back to civilisation...


The next trail out of Ramsey was a bit tricky - it started in an acute angle on the wrong side of the road, immediately followed by a sharp left hand bend so that you couldn't really gather any momentum before a steep rocky climb began (and continued for over a mile at the same gradient...)


Having promised a gentle laning day I felt it was my duty to get Emmsy's blessing for this track before just riding up the hill. The verdict didn't really come as a surprise...

Well, we still had 'The Dreem' on our list: a recently graded and therefore fast and easy track - according to MuddyMatt...

To be continued...

tinatrim said:

.....if sarah had gone another inch with her front wheel...

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Nah matey, I had at least er........ half a metre
Anyway, I knew you wouldn't tell anybody............... Emmsy, wheres that video evidence of Miss Trim SQUEALING on the rocky climb??!!!!
Sx

Sarah Teach said:

Anyway, I knew you wouldn't tell anybody............... Emmsy, wheres that video evidence of Miss Trim SQUEALING on the rocky climb??!!!!
Sx

Click to expand...

Now thats just telling lies Stunt Monkey, it was Pumpy squealing on my behalf!!!!

tinatrim said:

Now thats just telling lies Stunt Monkey, it was Pumpy squealing on my behalf!!!!

Click to expand...

As I recall, it was most certainly YOU!! Emmsy?!

Wow

Thanks for a great report ladies, IoM has stepped up a few notches one on the list of my "Hmm, one day!" destinations!