Help! Isle of Man weekend tour advice :o)

alps

Hello all,
I'm looking to surprise my O.H. with a weekend cycle trip to the Isle of Man next March. Does anybody here know the IOM well? I would really appreciate any route suggestions, or cyclist friendly places to stop or stay. The route would need to be fairly easy (I'm not as fit as him, although I will put a lot of effort in before March!)

I could also do with a bit of help with accessories - I'm assuming panniers are the best way to carry light luggage for a weekend, but is there anything else I should be looking at?

Sorry to be so vague, but I really want to try and organise it so i can surprise him, but am worried I will mess up completely

crankycrank

I've never been but I did see an article with some pics of an IOM visit in the "Routes" section of the November Cycling Plus Magazine.

geoff_ss

Used to go to the TT every year but that was on a motor cycle. More recently we went to a model aeroplane week and took our bikes as well. The Island is covered conveniently by 1 OS 1:50,000 map and it's easy to work out a few good rides.

One not to miss is the 37.75 mile TT circuit which is quite hilly but worth the effort and easy to follow - though the racing signs probably won't be up in March.

Not sure about accommodation (we took our campervan) but there certainly used to be lots of cheap boarding houses in Douglas that were motor cycle friendly. Try the IoM tourist board for information.

Lots of places to visit from the Laxey wheel to the small villages of Port St Mary and Port Erin in the SW corner. Most of the island is quite hilly but there are flatter areas in the north.

Geoff

alps

Thanks for those - I'll have a look in CP at the routes (should've looked there first really!!)

Having said that if the IOM is quite hilly maybe I should be looking for somewhere a bit flatter :shock:

cat_with_no_tail

There are some routes posted up on the IOM Govt website here

The TT course can be a good ride, but in winter, with very poor visibility it can be a bit iffy (remember, over the top of the mountain road is largely de-restricted, so people fly over at a fair rate of knots). If you do go round the course, it's signposted all year round, so you shouldn't get lost.

If you register on the Manx cycling forums here you should be able to get some more routes of other roadies. They meet I think twice a week and have various other events through the year.

There are plenty of places to stay, lots of them now have facilities for bikes. Sleepwell Hotels are usually the ones the MTB club recommends for people coming over for the E2E, but there are plenty of others too.

You should come, it's great here