Picto Diary - 04 June 2015 - AM - Wildlife!

Above: Map of Isle of Man. 04 June 2015. Image captured yesterday, 03 June 2015, at Manannons Coffee Bar, Peel.

The mountain course for the Isle of Man TT is the "circular" route surrounding the central mountains. 37.7 miles.

Today, AM, riding alone, I visited Jurby, Point of Ayre, Ramsey, and teaming up with Lynn, Laxey.

Above: Stella's used book shop. Jurby. Isle of Man. 04 June 2015.

Here I purchased a copy of "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich," by Alexander Solzhenitzen.

Funky! Or, as Erika Badhu says, "FUNGEE!"

Above: Image of Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth on their wedding day in 1947. Stella's Used Books, Jurby, Isle of Man. 04 June 2015.

I found this image while thumbing through some picture books at Stella's... I captured the image as TIMDT is very interested in things and history British.

TIMDT lived in Britain as a US Air Force Brat in 1952 and remembers vividly the coronation that year of Queen Elizabeth.

TIMDT, as a 6 year old, living in .....dressed up as Brittannia, and rode a float in a local parade at Bentwaters AFB in Ipswitch on coronation day.

Above: Oyster Catchers. Ayre National Wildlife Reserve. Isle of Man. 04 June 2015.

I was excited to see these arctic birds who had come south to mate.

I was not prepared to see great wildlife sightings in the Isle of Man.

I saw oyster catchers while motorcycling in Alaska several years ago.

The Isle of Man stands at about the latitude of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, only a degree south of Hyder, Alaska.

Above: My rented BMW R1200 GS motorcycle parked in the brush at Ayre National Wildlife Reserve, Isle of Man. 04 June 2015.

I had was riding further toward the beach than this point on a sandy trail when a female reserve ranger, riding an ATV, came riding up to me from the opposite direction. She told me (nicely) that I wasn't supposed to be there and that I should turn around and park in the area shown in the image above.

The central mountains of the Isle of Man can be seen in the background of the image.

Above: Arctic Tern. Point of Ayre. Isle of Man. 04 June 2015.

Another rare wildlife sighting! Arctic Terns, like the Oyster Catchers, have come to the north side of the Isle of Man to mate.

Above: Motorcycle tourists at Point of Ayre, the northern tip of the Isle of Man. 04 June 2015.

The top half of the Point of Ayre lighthouse can be seen in the above image at right.

Above: Waterfront. Ramsey. Isle of Man. 04 June 2015.

Above: MotoQuest tour leader, Lynn Brown and The Bishop atop the Laxey Wheel, Lady Isabella, Laxey, Isle of Man. 04 June 2015.

The Laxey Wheel, built in 1854 to pump water out of a nearby mine, is the largest working water wheel in the world.

I had run into Lynn in Ramsey while he was doing some shopping for TT memorabilia.

We decided I would accompany him back to our Sulby hotel where he could dump his purchases, then, we would ride to Laxey for lunch and a visit to "Lady Isabella," the largest functioning water wheel in the world.

Lynn Brown is a Boise, ID based architect with a deeply routed motorcycle touring habit. He runs MotoQuest tours to Laos, Vietnam, and Mexico (Copper Canyon) in addition to the Isle of Man Tour.

Lynn was a US Army top secret courier during the Vietnam War, which experience no doubt contributed to his current motorcycle wanderlust. As an army courier, Lynn traveled to many countries of the world, in addition to Vietnam.

Lynn helped me spec out the 2006 Big Cat ride in McCall, ID. He is a good friend of friends, Ernie and Rhonda Lombard. Ernie and Rhonda and I rode together in Ethiopia in 2004. Ernie also helped with Big Cat 2006.

Lynn does this job of leading our group well. He's easy going in his western way and very sensitive to the multifaced personality nuances of his rider customers.

Lynn has been to all the places I have been in the west and a few more. A motorcycle rider's rider.

Above: Lady Isabella, Laxey, Isle of Man. 04 June 2015.

The wheel was constructed in the 1850's to pump water out of a nearby mine.

Steam engines were replacing water wheels for comparable mining operations elsewhere in Europe and America by the 1850's, but the Laxey wheel was kept operational because of the paucity of fuel on the island to run steam.

Above: Image of Mike Hailwood, arguably the Michael Jordan of motorcycle racing, and his trusty Honda mechanic, Aika San... circa late 70's, early '80's.

We visited the Laxey Woolen Mills which had a wonderful collection of Isle of Man TT photographs. The above image was one of many.

Hailwood took a ten year break from motorcycling in the late '60's to come back and win a few more superbike TT's in the late '70's.

Hailwood died a car crash in England in 1981.

Above: Artist's rendition of Mike Hailwood riding his superbike. Laxey Woolen Mills photography exhibit. 04 June 2015.

Addendum:


Looks like a terrific trip; can't wait to get my T-shirt ;I don't know if you were aware I live in Ventura county. I am shooting a photography session with some professionals today "OH"the labors of being back in the work first 😎Glad you are enjoying.

Mr. Z3,
Ojai, CA

I have your damn shirt.

cool. supposedly we ride cruisers because of the way americans rode horses and the lack of very many tight corners and short roads, european style of riding weight over the front comes from their style of horseback riding.

Brand Man,
Venice, CA

Insightful.

another great job clark kent :)

Brand Man,
Venice, CA

Coming from you... a real compliment. Thanks.

thanks Steve--great reporting.

Brand Man,
Venice, CA

cool. now i know what that logo means :)

Brand Man,
Venice, CA