Last week we uploaded a video to YouTube about the Isle of Man TT, with a few little stories from Fagan and my experiences there. It seemed to go down quite well, but since it went out, I?ve been inundated (at least three people have asked me) with questions about what it takes to prepare for a TT race, specifically, you?re first one. And whilst not professing to be the font of all knowledge when it comes to TT racing, I feel like I did get my first TT (in 2016) right (i.e. I absolutely loved it), and I feel like I?ve learnt a bit on my subsequent visits, too. So for anyone wondering how you prepare for a TT, this is how I did it.

First of all, and possibly most importantly, you need to know how to ride a bike. that comes way before you start to actually prepare for the TT. Before my first TT I?d been racing 20 years, so whilst I wasn?t a MotoGP rider, I had half an idea how to ride a bike. At the time, I was racing week-in, week-out in the British Superstock Championship, and had been doing for six years.
It was because of the fact that I?d done so much racing, at a decent level, that I was allowed to go straight to the TT, rather than have to do the Manx GP first. I was grateful for this as the Manx can end up being fairly expensive; and with it being a smaller event, it?s harder to draw in any sponsorship for.

Anyway, once I?d got my entry for TT 2016 confirmed, I got to work with the next most important part; learning my way around the 37.7 mile Mountain Co...