Isle of Man TT

Speed is relative. A brisk walk can feel fast to a small baby who is accustomed to crawling. As we ride our bicycles down mountains in races, spectators are in awe of the speed and agility we carry. But if you really want to grasp the sense of speed on two wheels, a motorcycle is the fastest. To watch the top tier riders of Moto GP, you can get a sense for the speed and danger of the sport. These bikes are capable of well over 200 mph. To see Valentino Rossi break his rear wheel loose in a drift when cornering at 120 mph is truly an awesome sight. These views rarely give you a TRUE sense of speed. In steps the Isle of Man TT a road race which takes its name from the small island in the Irish Sea where the race is located. The main TT race is 37.5 miles long and winds itself through the foothills via public roads, which are closed for the race. Potholes, sewer grates, manholes and curbs, all mainstays of modern road construction offer a new level of obstacles to the trained professionals. A Moto GP track is meticulously sculpted, the density and type of asphalt are taken into consideration as well as the angle of turns and the camber of the roadway. On the Isle you get what they got! The roadway is relatively smooth and straight but at speeds of 170 mph the slightest little bump and divot can mean disaster (spoken with cockney accent). At these speeds the bikes jump into the air in a few sections. The lap record was set this past year by John McGuiness setting a time of 17:29.26 for an average speed of 129.451. Like I said in the start, speed is relative. Check out this link to a highlights video of Isle of Man TT it is a little over 5 minutes but will give you a very detailed idea of the races origins and the speeds of today.

"Isle of Man TT Highlights"