I mentioned it in a post earlier but thought I'd get thoughts of others....

I'm not intending booking TT 2025 race week on a bike. I've been going for race week for over 30 years (foot and mouth, covid excluded) but I'm changing.

I still love the breathtaking speed and aggression of the TT but (for me) things out of the hedgerows are a changing....

I don't do the miles at the TT anywhere near what i used to, too much traffic, 50mph speed limit seems a little draconian (i do understand and applaud the drop in accidents), 60 would be more appropriate imo.

Not enough days off, i love the racing but also love the days off where I can ride, laze, enjoy and relax as i see fit etc.

I'm not a fan of the two groups format where bucketlisters are prioritized over the people that came year in year out.

But, I've been going to the mgp for a good number of years now. Mgp became mgp/classic TT became mgp again. I attended all formats. Usually over a long weekend.

With the mgp, I find the watching, the racing, the people, the bikes, the riding and the atmosphere superior to the TT.

For 2025, I'm not booking a bike and ferry for the TT, I'll maybe bob across as a footy to see a day or two but, I'm going to do the full mgp event, ferry and bike, the whole event, 9 or 10 days over and watch the lot.

I've no doubt, it's an age thing, as i get older, I find more of an attachment to the older bikes and what i want from an event like the TT or manx has changed.

20 years ago, the TT tear up was just as important as the racing. The tear up wasn't just the riding but the nights, the beer, the partying and riding on open roads at speeds that were legal and very big.

I've changed, those priorities above aren't there now....
I want to watch at places where I don't have somebody elses breath on the back of my neck, I go for a slash and still have a spot on the banking.
I want to enjoy the riding, just fire the riding and not the three figure speeds.
At the manx, the people are more mature, no bucketlist 'pee' heads, just fellow race fans that are there to see the spectacle and enjoy the day.
The bikes take me back to my younger days and i love that.


I didn't think I'd ever feel like this but there you have, I've changed... It seems

Really appreciate the honest and fair minded reflection here H2pots. We are all getting older and while the TT continues to evolve, likewise we will evolve so it continues to be meaningful to us. We will all remember the TT from yesteryear’s perspective but there is still so much to enjoy - just imaging if there was no TT! Again, your honesty is very refreshing.

Thanks Ian, good points and views in your post and yes, good facts. There is so much at the TT to enjoy.

For me though, I'm feeling a much greater affinity to the manx and all it brings.

Fwiw, i cannot imagine no TT, it's essential to all us bikers, it's our mecca. I'll always say, if you've never been to the TT, you've never seen a true motorbike race. It really is something very special.

Everybody should experience it at least once in their lives. I've been lucky enough to attend many many TT 's and they've been the best experiences of my life.

Best way i can sum it up is i get the same buzz from the manx.

I'm with you on the days off bit. Part of the TT for me was always seeing the rest of the island and enjoying the non-racing events. It's all a bit full on now. I also Marshall but don't want to commit to every day. I didn't take a bike last year for the first time. Largely driven by cancer where the sun don't shine making riding a bike impossible for now, but I enjoyed our camper van and didn't miss hooning about. Been there done that and raced for a few years. The number of speed limits does now make a lap pretty tedious, and how many times do you get to Ramsey and the mountain is shut. The TT is different now, but on balance I think the team have done a great job on keeping it relevant and viable. My 21 year old daughter loves everything about it, especially the paddock vibe and bumping into her biking hero, JM130.

(10-02-2024, 04:26 PM)H2pots Wrote: Thanks Ian, good points and views in your post and yes, good facts. There is so much at the TT to enjoy.

For me though, I'm feeling a much greater affinity to the manx and all it brings.

Fwiw, i cannot imagine no TT, it's essential to all us bikers, it's our mecca. I'll always say, if you've never been to the TT, you've never seen a true motorbike race. It really is something very special.

Everybody should experience it at least once in their lives. I've been lucky enough to attend many many TT 's and they've been the best experiences of my life.

Best way i can sum it up is i get the same buzz from the manx.

Just a thought, but if you have the time / funds, it may be worth thinking about a long weekend at the very beginning of the event.  You could take in the Pre-TT Classic at Billown and get 2-3 days TT practice.  And do the Manx of course!

If it gets to a point where I can't do the whole thing then that's certainly what I'd do.

(10-02-2024, 09:55 PM)sticky Wrote: You could take in the Pre-TT Classic at Billown and get 2-3 days TT practice.  And do the Manx of course!

That idea is already floating round my head

i agree with all that H2pots said things are changing over there and maybe not for the better , my first TT was in 1987 and even though the weather was dodgy the four of us mates had a great time , walking down the front in douglas it was quicker to walk on the road as the footpaths were full of bikes and at night off to the palace lido and sitting at the creg i watched a guy called Joey Dunlop, and the price of everything has gone up from travel accomodation food and beer and all the good spectating spots they want money for things will never be the same again

Fascinating subject and very subjective - each to their own

I'm 69 years young and my mental age is somewhere in my late teens!

My first TT was 1976 and first Manx in 1981

In my early TT/Manx years it was riding up overnight and then staying in a guest house in Douglas. Riding and partying were the order of the day (basically riding, watching the racing, chasing women and drinking  beer)

As time went by, life got busier and I was financially better off,  I would stay in nice hotels, sometimes with a bike, sometimes on foot, sometimes fly and pick up a rental car. Mainly TT but occasionally Manx

I settled down in the 90's and regularly went with my lady to the MGP with initially me riding up, & my lady taking the car and then both of us riding up on our bikes. Still staying in Douglas, at the Sefton Hotel. We preferred the Manx as things were quieter, but I would occasionally take a short trip to the TT

Single again in the early naughties and very busy at work (I genuinely enjoyed difficult, challenging work that entailed long hours) I used to pop over for a few days to the TT and ride up for a week at the Manx, staying in the Sefton

Once retired and finding accommodation hard to come by  (as someone who lives alone, the thought of homestay didn't appeal - but I've never heard anyone complain about homestay - it's just not for me). As a result, I purchased a VW T5 day van which I converted to a motorcycle carrying campervan. Staying at Peel campsite (and camping, albeit in a campervan for the first time). Having a bike and a campervan for transport was great! From then on 2 weeks at both the TT & Manx and sometimes pop over for for a few days blasting - always staying in Peel campsite

A short while later, I designed a bigger campervan/motorhome (bought a van and paid a local company to convert it to my design) it's also my daily drive. Last year I had the good fortune to have my motorhome, a modern bike and my road registered Honda K4 classic race bike with me for 2 weeks of glorious sunshine - modern day TT perfection, for me

Looking back the IOM has evolved, the TT has evolved and I have evolved. The arrival of package holidays and cheap flights has reduced tourism and therefore accommodation in the IOM. I accept the changes, many not directly related to the races, and keep going back. That said, I always research the rationale for changes and do that before commenting on social media (and let's not forget, this site comes under the social media banner). By looking at the rationale - that includes remembering the IOM is there all the time, not just for a few weeks - I find it easier to accept change. Part of that may may also be down to they fact I worked in IT for the best part of 40 years, where change was the only constant. Even if you stayed in the same job and the same company, most IT jobs changed dramatically every few years

Cost for many is a factor, I spend my money on the things I enjoy: the TT, Manx, motorcycling, paragliding, snowboarding, skateboarding, unicycling, restoring/maintaining classic bikes, chasing women (I can't believe how fast middle-aged women can run these days), drinking beer etc. but mainly, I've spent all my money on motorbikes and women, apart from a little bit I frittered away. But, there are ways to do things on a budget, travelling out of peak periods, booking in advance, camping, eating as cheaply as possible, cut down on beer, etc. it's up to each individual how to spend their dosh

I'm booked for 2 weeks each at the TT & Manx this year and am already counting down the sleeps and will book for 2025 a week before T 2024 begins


PS If anyone has, knows someone who has space in a garage to leave a motorbike on the island for the summer, then please let me know - happy to pay....

Yep you lot are right it is a age thing lm 72yrs young and still think I'm in my 20s/30s but sadly I'm not ive been going to the TT since 1962 I missed i think 1968 due to college exams but I've been pretty much every year since,  things have changed for me the new format where you only get a couple of days off is to much but if the racing is on you want to watch it and also it's getting very expensive I'm booked on for this year but I'm waiting for a hospital ct scan result so it might change for this year I hope not.

Born IoM a few hours after the 67 Ago v Hailwood Senior, mum n dad were told off by the local Bobby who they knew for watching at Hillberry as I was overdue and an ambulance would be slow getting to Hillberry if required....i've done the scoreboards / control tower in Cubs n Scouts, spanners and raced at MGP / TT, given my time again i'd have another go at The Manx, only missed the TT once in that time 1991 and have seen all the changes in that time, people say the island isn't as busy but there's a huge amount of people spread all over the island now in campsites, homestay, AirBnB etc and speaking to the Marshals I meet when driving the response car many of them don't come into Douglas at night, one thing I would say is that there seems to be more European bikes making the journey these days. The simple fact is that the TT/MGP events have these days to make a profit otherwise it will be stopped very quickly, the history and nostalgia won't be taken into account by the govt bean counters, from what i've seen / heard with govt overspending, the fairly recent UK VAT debacle which the bean counters knew about but kept quiet and the drawing down on NI funds to pay pensions has the IoM in not the best financial state which is one of the reasons we don't have a new scoreboard yet. You could argue that the media / tv / marketing thing has extended the attraction and life of TT / MGP racing as without putting out there worldwide the ultimate risk v reward selling point of the event to an ever increasing nanny HnS state world i'm not sure we'd have the same footfalls each year. For me as you guys mention The Manx is a more relaxed atmosphere but equally it doesn't have that hardcore TT buzz about it - both events have their plus and minus points - maybe as you also mention that's the much younger devil that still lives with me. The IoM and the racing events have had to evolve with all the increased insurance, HnS and liability involved these modern days - we can't do anything about those things. The cost of the boat I would say is getting very very expensive compared to other means, destinations and methods of travel not just at TT though - any fare which includes school holiday travel is bonkers money, my son was looking at bring his car over for Xmas and it was £500 for 2 and car.

I stopped going in 2006 after many years of biking and marshalling. Last year I went back in a camper van half way through race week but couldn’t get back until the Thursday after racing finished.being retired that’s not a problem now, but checking sailings if I want to see the full practice and races I would have to spend over 3 weeks on the island, if the weather was like last year I could probably put up with that. IF.

(05-03-2024, 11:10 PM)billybookcase Wrote: I stopped going in 2006 after many years of biking and marshalling. Last year I went back in a camper van half way through race week but couldn’t get back until the Thursday after racing finished.being retired that’s not a problem now, but checking sailings if I want to see the full practice and races I would have to spend over 3 weeks on the island, if the weather was like last year I could probably put up with that. IF.

I normally book on-line as soon as they release tickets, I believe this year it will 20th May for 2025 tickets

Back in the present, bookings for 2024 that haven't been paid in full will be released on 11th March 2024 from 08:30am. You might get more suitable tickets then

I was in a similar situation as you, some years ago, by checking the Steam Packet website every morning I managed to get much more suitable sailings (unless your campervan is over 7.5m, then you have to phone the Steam Packet)

Finally, booking to travel before the event and coming back after can sometimes result in much reduced ticket prices.......