Pilgrimage Today – Joey’s Bar, Ballymoney

Today Facebook reminded me that it was exactly two years ago that I was at the Isle of Man TT with press accreditation thanks to Jensen Beeler and Asphalt and Rubber.

So it was appropriate that today we made a pilgrimage to Joey’s Bar in Ballymoney, Northern Ireland. This bar is still owned by the family of Joey Dunlop and serves as gathering place for the fans and the faithful and serves as a memorial to the greatest TT rider.

It is hard to grasp the achievements of Joey Dunlop with dominated the TT where he won a record 28 races including hat-tricks in 1985, 1988, and 2000. Too many racers die pursuing their chosen passion but it is doubly tragic that Joey survived the Isle of Man for 23 years (he first won in 1977 and lastly in 2000 ) before being killed in a 125cc race at a track in Estonia.

Everyone propping up the bar with pints of Guinness mid afternoon this Sunday was a serious biker and we got more advice than we could handle on the best routes and roads to explore Ireland.

Next time.