Tap on the sholder

This is the anxiety filled moment while the rider waits for his tap on the shouder to signal his start. While looking at my images for the day I noticed that for the most part, everybody respected the ruling about wearing fire retardent suits in the pits. So what are the umbrella girls doing there?

Creg ny Baa

As you approach the outskirts of Douglas, you will have a fast left at Kate's cottage and then along strait to Creg ny Baa Hotel and pub. This is a cool place to watch from and if you really want to have your Guinness and be right there for all the action you can pay the 10 pounds and sip behind the protection of the cage. Only the od photographer or marshall can get any closer. This shot was take late in the day on Mad Sunday and people are everywhere, but during racing those hay bails are restricted.

The mountain road

After Ramsey you start your climbe to to Bungalow which skirts the highest point on the island and on down to Douglas. About 6 or 7 miles of this sort of road. By this time, late afternoon only the diehards ar left and they are going to get as many laps of this free time on the mountain circuit as they can. There is no problem with all the other traffic, because it's just another obsticle to avoid. The mountain road between Ramsey and Douglas is restricted to one direction til about 7:00pm I think.

By the time I get to Ramsey, it's mid afternoon. the town is full of people, especially around Parliament square. I got the feeling that this was show off corner. The pub on the corner served the pints and I think a lot of the guys on bikes just went around the block over and over again.

2006 Isle of Man TT Day one

Here Bikes and cars pass the Sulby Glen Hotel. This will be one of my locations on race day. This looks fairly tame, but to drive a car in this means you are constantly having to watch the mirrors along with what's ahead. Some of the guys passed me at near race speeds.

I arrived early Sunday morning and was met by Ros who's home I will be staying while here. After dropping my bags in my room Ros took me to the home of the people I would be renting a car from. Simon and Claire were kind enough to loan out their second car to me while I was here. They are the people I stayed with last time I was here in 2004. After getting the car I went strait to the press office to get my cridentials sorted.
It's MAD SUNDAY and I'm first off to the town of Peel on the west side of the island. Honda is sponsoring the events that will be going on there. The best route is on the roads that are used for the TT itself, so driving is a little harry as bikes are screaming all over. Some of the guys don't even slow down and you would think that they were racing. It's pretty wild.

Isle of Man TT 2006

I start the picture file with the three legs of Man. This symbol is found throughout the island and is the main item on their flag. The Latin name and english translation goes like this; "Quocunque Jeceris Stabit", meaning "Whichever way you throw, it will stand".




Hi everyone. I will be trying to post some of my favorite pictures from my travels. I will do my best to keep this blog as current as possible as well as revisit some previous travels. Some of the images will have an explanation while others will speak for themselves. I'm going to start with my trip to the Isle of Man TT races Last week. It is an event that I have only been to once before, but Have found a special fondness for. It's often refered to as the world's most dangerous race and along with the natural beauty of this small Island Country make for an excellent subject for my cameras.