Cycling on the Isle of Man

[Moschops]

Hi,
I am planning a weekend cycling on the Isle of Man and I usually avoid A roads where possible. My other half thinks that A roads on the Isle of Man are fairly benign, quiet affairs. Is he right or are there some which should be avoided? I plotted a route using small roads and when I dropped down the man on Google maps it looked like a cart track.
Any locals out there who can give some advice?

Thanks

[SlowCoach]

Depends on the time of year you are going. Avoid TT week

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Most of IoM's A-roads are like northern Scottish ones - tiny and quiet by SE England standards.

[Moschops]

Just checked the dates and OMG! We had planned to go on the last weekend in May..... NOT NOW!! Thanks for the heads up, I hadn't thought to check. 

[Pedaldog.]

pm Cycleman.He did a Trice session in the Isle of man a few years ago and should have a few tips for you.

[cycleman]

Hi, my brother lives on the IOM and I have ridden over to see him on a number of occasions 
Douglas is the busiest place .try and avoid the a5 and and the a1 as they carry the most traffic. Heading out towards castletown from Douglas ride along the marine drive ,follow the signs for the camera obscurea and keep going past it .the road is closed to motor traffic but open to cycles and pedestrian s . there is a nice visitors centre with a good cafe at Spanish head.calf of man. A walk to the tower at bradda head port Erin is well worth the time as there is a good view from the top of the tower . niartyl bay  has a cafe and visitors centre and you  can see where continental plate's join. Peel castle is worth seeing as well . they have tape guide to take with you as you walk round. After ballacarnanoa beg I would turn right to barregrrow and up the b10 and after passing the b22 on the right cross the cattle grid and take the little lane to the left. This lead's round to ballaugh . it is all flat round to the point of aire. Ride back to Ramsey and you then have the choice of going over the mountain on the TT course or the a2 a15 a2 b11 routes. Both are nice .laxley and it's water wheel are worth visiting then the b12 b20 a 2 back to Douglas . any of the little lanes are well worth pottering around on.
Hope this help's you
                                     

[Moschops]

Thanks Cycleman - that's just what I needed.
We are going with the idea of collecting the six British Cycle Quest points but now we can create some scenic routes along the way.
Just have to decide when to go now. 

[cycleman]

Let us know how you get on 

[Wowbagger]

I happened to be glancing at cycling magazines in Waitrose earlier on and there was a piece in one of them about the IoM. It looked good.

[Otto]

....but watch out for Jeremy Clarkson

[adenough]

My sister lives on the island. A great place. It always makes me think that England must have been like this in the 50s. I intend next visit to take a bike over and stash it at her house so it's available any time. The only downside would be the weather and the fact that there are a lot of hills. I don't see a problem with the A roads.

[Iomnigel]

Depending on what your preference is there is loads of cycling on the island.  Road gangs normally head out every morning if that's your thing, from the car park near the quarterbridge pub just outside douglas with a 9am start.  There are a couple of audax perms set out. If you fancy just riding then if you don't have gps capability os95 is all you need, or if you go to the welcome centre at douglas ferry terminal you can find information sheets on both road and mountain biking plus a massive map of the island wide mountain bike  network which shows inter plantation routes.  Mountain biking social rides are a somewhat more informal approach and rides are organised by Loaghtan Loaded and Manx Mountain Bike Club with posts on club websites and Facebook.  Local bikeshops will also be able to help.

Try www.manxmtb.com for the manx mountain bike club and they have a couple of little events that may whet your appetite - the end to end (75k) and the newer manx100 which is 100 miles (or 100km) on the island.

Nigel

[Moschops]

Thanks for your replies everyone. We got return ferry tickets for the first bank holiday in May for £39 each - not bad.
We have planned two looping routes from Douglas taking in some of the places suggested by cycleman (thanks). I haven't found the cycle magazine you refer to, Wowbagger, but then I've been stuck in with a bad chest for the last three weeks.
We have a folder with all our year's ride wishlist in it. We will need a weekend away each month until October to do them all - hope our bank account can cope.