Pedal Power
A group of friends, including wmsnt's John Gidlow, from the West Midlands biked round the Isle of Man TT course the hard way last week using pedal power raising £501. The dedicated trio, who caught the 2.15am sailing from Heysham on Thursday 9th April, spent five hours completing a circuit of the 37.73-mile course before boarding the return ferry at 7.45pm — all to raise money for the Joey Dunlop Foundation (JDF).
John Gidlow, 48, from Smethwick, said at the start: 'We are looking forward to seeing things at a more leisurely pace.'
He is a TT visitor of 25 years' standing and usually rides the course on a K-series BMW bike.
Clearly a man savouring extremes of experience, Ian Mander, 47, from Dudley, previously rode round the course on a Honda Goldwing and also cycled the End to End event in 2002.
The group's third member was Stewart Anderson, 61, from Perry Bar, a cousin of the Island's Transport Minister David Anderson. He first visited the Island in 1964 then returned in 2002 to ride the End to End.
The men secured sponsorship for their challenge and also ran a sweepstake at £1 a guess on how long it would take them to complete the lap.
John, who bunked a day off school in 1972 to attend his first TT, said they were hoping to raise £400 for the JDF which aims to provide holiday accommodation for disabled visitors to the Island.
'The worst part is going to be the climb up May Hill out of Ramsey on to the Mountain,' he said, before they set off.
'I might stop off at Brandywell to see if there are any bits from the BMW I crashed there in 1986!
'At the end we've got about five hours for a bit of sightseeing, some food and perhaps visit a hostelry, then it's back on the boat home and into work again tomorrow!'
The lap took three hours and 45 minutes with an average speed of about 10mph.
'The climb out of Ramsey was the hardest part,' John said afterwards.
'But the highlight was the part after the Bungalow and back down again.
It was a brilliant day. The weather was fantastic and we met some nice people along the way.
'We will certainly come back and do it again next year when there should be more than just three of us,' he said.
The men were full of praise for the support of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and its marketing and communication director David Findlay who organised a cabin and free tickets.
'They bent over backwards to help us,' John said.
The JDF recently acquired a house near the Jubilee Oak, Braddan, which it will convert. The Foundation hopes it will be ready to receive its first visitors in 2010.