Tea Pot One Take2!
Bruce heads off on the last leg of his epic journey...
Ileft the USA on the 25th May and arrived early doors the following day in Dublin. It was too early to book into the room above the pub I’d found, so there was nothing else for it. To the Guinness factory!
If you’ve never been then it’s well worth the trip, if only to see the home of this truly global brand – there’s even a bar on the roof that gives you a free pint! Suitably indoctrinated, I was soon settled in to my room above O’Sheas Bar – home for the next four days as I waited the arrival of the Beast. I met up with some folk who were following the trip and a cracking night was had exploring the delights of Temple Bar. I’m not all that sure how I got home that night...
I awoke the following morning feeling like the beer monkey had not only crapped in my mouth, but had got his cousin, Gary the Gorilla, to kick the proverbial out of me too. What’s worse is that today was the day the Beast was ready for collection, being serviced with new tyres too, before riding north to Cavan, near the border with Northern Ireland.
It started badly. The Beast arrived safe and well, but was completely boxed up in a solid wooden crate. I’d no tools to free her and all the delivery yard had was a small claw hammer. I set about smashing the crap out of the crate, ripping chunks of wood off with my bare hands. Not what you want to be doing with a raging hangover, but soon enough she was free once more. Unfortunately, the battery had gone flat so I then had to push her up and down the courtyard in full leathers until she fired into life once more, but I was soon on the way to Cotters Motorcycles.
Simon and Steve run the kind of dealership I love. Their enthusiasm and knowledge of the sport is awesome, their attention to customer care and satisfaction an attribute that is hard to find today. Despite me being more than a few hours late, they welcomed me in, armed me with a brew and got to work on the bike. Whilst there I also met Tony Toner, a whirlwind of a man and the chief ‘who’s who’ in the Irish motorcycle world. Tony interviewed me for his mag and we spent a good few hours just nattering away.
By 6pm the Beast was serviced and complete with a new set of Bridgestone T30s, so I fired North to meet up with an old friend in Cavan. Ferghal Donohoe is a chap who invited me stay with him and his family in Sydney, but is originally from Cavan. He’d come over to see the North West 200 and the TT, so I stopped over on the way north, and the usual Celtic hospitality ensued – with another 4am finish!
I was then back on the road heading up to Ballymoney, the Holy Grail of road racing as it’s the family home of the Dunlop dynasty. Along the way I rode along some spectacular road racing roads. Riding along the roads at a shadow of the speeds these folks hurl along at, you get an insight into the skill and concentration required. It’s mind blowing to think these are the very same roads that the riders are hooning along at full tilt!
I’d paid my respects in Tallinn at the site of Joey’s final corner, and had to pay a visit to his bar in Ballymoney. Arriving at ‘Joeys Bar’ you’re instantly captivated by the place. It’s just a wee bar, right next to the station on a dead end street, but you know it’s somewhere special, almost somewhere devout.
Entering the bar you are surrounded by memorabilia of the Dunlop family. Pictures of Joey and Robert adorn the walls, even their bikes are on display throughout the place. Trophies, newspaper clippings, helmets, leathers, it’s all there. Ordering a pint of coke I got chatting to the lady behind the bar. Instantly she began asking where I was from and why the bike had all the stickers and luggage. Hearing about my trip, she was asking all about it, taking note of the website and telling all the other folks in the bar. I found out later that this lady was Linda, Joey’s wife!
A short time later I was hiking down a path to the incredible Giant’s Causeway, somewhere I’ve always wanted to visit – and it didn’t disappoint. The natural formation of basalt rocks appear eerily man-made as they slide down the shore into the sea, step by step, row by row. If you’re ever in this neck of the woods, it’s well worth a visit, and the roads to get there will bring a huge grin, too.
After that I headed to Belfast for the weekend, where I’d be getting the ferry over to the Isle of Man in a few days time. But for now, beer once again was calling as I stayed with
an old friend for the weekend. It’s safe to say I loved my brief time in Ireland and Northern Ireland and I’ll certainly be going back to explore more of this cracking place and its roads. I feel a wee ‘Smart-Tour’ coming our way with the lads soon.
The Isle of Man
As Sunday arrived I headed to the docks and boarded the ferry for the TT. A few hours later I was riding off the boat at Douglas, where I was to meet Nikki and enjoy ten days of racing. But before I could find her I was flagged down by Tracey Wheeler and her gang as they waited for me at the port. Tracey has been following the trip for a while now and is setting off on her own adventure later this year as she rides solo to Romania for charity.
Tracey very kindly gave Nikki a run up to our campsite at St Georges AFC, where we’d be camping for the rest of our time on the island. It’s a great location, right on Glencrutchery Road, literally minutes from the Grandstand. The facilities are spot on with the clubhouse open long hours to cope with demand. There’s even a chip wagon onsite for the races! Life was good.
I’d arrived too late to participate in the Simon Andrews tribute lap on Mad Sunday, which I was gutted about, but it couldn’t be helped. The man got a fantastic turn out and it was great to see so many people showing their respects in our own way. Well done to all involved.
Over the next week we got the chance to watch each of the races from a variety of viewpoints; starting with the bottom of Bray Hill. It’s absolutely incredible to see and feel these bikes as they fly past you at full tilt, literally centimetres from kerb stones and walls at times. You physically feel the pressure wave as each bike ‘pops’ by you, and then it’s gone, halfway up the hill before you know what’s gone on.
Governor’s Bridge is another cracking view point as the machines brake hard for the roundabout before diving into an incredibly tight right hand corner and accelerating hard.
But for me, the Bungalow had to be my favourite place of the week. You hear the bikes from miles away as they round the Gooseneck and begin the mountain climb – the appearance of a helicopter on the horizon notifying their imminent arrival. As they scream over the Veranda, they soon sweep around Graham Memorial and pass you at the Bungalow, knees scraping before they accelerate hard up Hailwood Rise towards Brandywell. Awesome.
Senior day on the Friday really is something special, it has a completely different air about it compared to the rest of the week’s racing. There’s tension, apprehension and excitement in the air from the second you wake up. The buzz is palpable.
With Michael Dunlop practically annihilating everyone else throughout the week, Nikki and I booked our tickets to watch the new film ‘Road’ about this inspirational road racing clan. All I can say is if you’ve not yet seen it, do everything you can to experience it at the cinema. It’s an epic film; an emotional roller coaster that’ll have you breathing hard at times. In fact, when the lights came up in Douglas, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. People just sat in their chairs for a few moments, trying to take in the cinematic masterpiece they’d just sat through.
I also had the opportunity to attend the Marco Simoncelli tribute lap the Sunday following the TT. Organised by a great chap called Craig Brinkley, the whole event was to remember Sic, but also to raise funds for his foundation through donations. I’d never ridden the TT course before, and this year the mountain section had been left one-way for the duration of the TT, allowing ample time to sample this biking Mecca. After joining everyone for the tribute lap and a spot of lunch at Creg-Ny-Baa, I soon went off to have a go by myself for a few laps. Ab-So-Lutely magic, epic, superb, and any other adjective you can throw in there. Until you actually ride the course, you just can’t appreciate how technical some parts are, especially at almost 200mph! And bumpy too! Even at a sedate 50mph (the posted speed limit in sections) you’re still being bucked about in your seat by some of the undulations along the way. How these riders do it with an average speed of up to 132mph is almost beyond comprehension. Then we come to the mountain section. Holy Jehovah, that is a stretch of Tarmac that any biker in the world would fall in love with! Do it, just do it folks.
Back to Blighty
Our ferry back to Liverpool wasn’t until the 11th so we had a few days to explore a bit more around the island. Taking the steam train down to Castletown, Nikki and I just
wandered through this beautiful wee village, stopping in the various shops and grabbing a few brews along the way. As luck would have it, we were able to get a place on an earlier ferry on the 10th so were soon packed up and sailing back to the mainland.
I’ve got to say a huge thank you to everyone who came up for a chat during the TT. It was great to hear how you’d all been following the trip and I’m glad you’ve all enjoyed it as much as me. Many of you told me of your own dreams to one day travel on a bike, and I meant it when I said, ‘just do it’. The hardest part really is just setting off, after that you’re just riding your bike and dealing with whatever comes your way. Oh, by the way, to whoever stole my Kriega tank bag at the campsite, you’re no biker. You’re a ...
Back on the mainland, Nikki and I once again went our separate ways, although this time only for a few days. I headed to Coventry where I’d be visiting the HQ of my sponsor ‘Delta Energy Services’. I’d last been there when I restarted the trip back in May 2013, so it was weird to now be back there having almost finished it. The feelings were really starting to gather now, a mixture of relief and satisfaction that I’d done it, but also slight remorse that this dream would soon end and the realities of day-to-day life would soon be once again upon me.
Martin, Lee and Kev from Delta, as well as Luigi from Bridgestone, all met me at the hotel the morning of the 12th. We rode the back roads to Silverstone, meeting up with Rootsy and a load of others who’d kindly taken the time to join me for the run home. My old flat mate from Uni, Walshy, even rocked up on a wee hired 50cc moped. He’d only just passed his CBT specifically so he could join me for the ride home, it was brilliant to see the wee bugger again. We set off as planned at 11am and took the back roads south to Aylesbury, all the while trying to keep the speed sedate so Walshy could keep up. Unfortunately, by the time we hit the fuel stop in Ayelsbury, he was nowhere to be seen, so after a brief wait, we hit the road to London along the A41.
Soon we were in the grind that is central London traffic, and the task of keeping around 15 bikes together was proving near impossible. Eventually it just became every rider for themselves as we filtered, jumped, and pushed our way through. Soon enough, we were riding up Whitehall from Parliament Square, the Cenotaph standing tall and proud before me. As I pulled up in front of this beautiful monument, it still hadn’t quite hit me that this was it. Across the road I saw Nikki and my son Ellis, as well as a host of other friends who’d taken the time to come along. Hugging them each hello, I was home and it felt great. To the bar!
So that’s that then. 442 days, 73,987 miles through 54 countries, and so far it’s raised around £10,000 for my selected charities. I’ve still got a few blog posts to do, and the subsequent video episodes, then I’ll get to work on the book and DVD. I’m aiming to have them ready for Crimbo. There’s still a few more articles to come here in Fast Bikes so I won’t say my goodbyes and thank yous just yet. So for now, I’m off out to tear up the South East of England. If you see me out and about just come over and say hi. Hope to see you on the road and remember to #LiveyourLife!
PS. Walshy arrived on his moped about 30 minutes after everyone else and got a bigger round of applause than I did! Great work!