Minus - Day 1

Lots to do today. Finished buying my bits for the trip. Then discovered the visor had broken on my trusty helmet. Not good. Had to get another one but had no time to properly test it out so hope it will be OK for the next 3500 miles!!

Still lots of packing - clothes, tools, food etc not so much the amount but where to squeeze everything in to limited space in the panniers.

Finally got to bed at midnight. Only had 12 months to get ready but still never enough time. Had a restless night.

D- DAY - Day 1 Saturday 4 th August 2007

Up at 4.15am. Cock up no 1. can’t find Pannier keys. Spent the next hour looking for them. Trips looking doubtful without them. Finds them eventually in that ‘safe place’. 5.30am decide it’s a good time to change the battery! All fingers & thumbs. Drops an essential bolt in the engine. Tried using magnets & mirrors but couldn’t reach it. Had to find another one sharpish.

Eventually on with the bike gear & heads off to the starting point. 54A King’s Street Café. Surprised to see the turn out 20-25 people considering it was 6am in the morning. Nigel was kind enough to open up his café for tea & toast for the supporters.

Finally set off at 6.30am. Mixed feelings, eager, apprehensive, stepping into the unknown

Pretty much uneventful to Hunstanton (1st stop) as I knew the road. It was very windy when I arrived which brings me to cock up no 2. Opened the back box & some of my papers flew everywhere. Saw them disappearing down the sea front. They where not essential papers but could have done without the hassle.

A149 to Great Yarmouth (2nd stop) was a bit bumpy. Sat Nav failed on me. The bike charger didn’t want to work for some reason. Found out later there was a break in the circuit. Traffic was heavy so didn’t get to the beach I would have lost too much time

A12 to Felixstowe . (3rd stop) Average road. Plenty of traffic. Surprised at how nice the beach was here as I expected to see just Docks

A12, M25, over the Dartford crossing then M2 to Margate (4th stop) arrived 4.30pm. Weather was hot so the beach was very busy

A256 to Dover . (5th stop) Arrived 6.50pm at the B&B. lots of steps to the room. Not good with lots of awkward luggage to carry. It was at this point I discovered cock up no 3. In my rush this morning I had forgotten two essential adaptors for my phone & Sat Nav. Carol luckily discovered this early & had time to put them in the Saturday post to go to the Monday Night stopover in Aberystwyth . Hope the strike is not still on!!

Took a trip into Dover & found an ‘all you can eat’ Chinese restaurant – heaven. Discovered a ‘Viking Burial’ on the beach & lots of Vikings reenacting something

Rang home to report progress. 35 people where having a BBQ in aid of the ride – without me. Went to bed at 10.pm

Mileage for the day - 408

 

Day 2 - Sunday 5 th August

Up at 6.30am. On the road early to take advantage of the quiet roads A259 to Hastings. (6th stop) Nice run. Roads good. Slight cool mist. Hastings was quiet but it was still early

A27 to Brighton (7th stop) felt disappointed with Brighton. Noticed lots of litter picking teams clearing up from the night before. Stopped at a café near the beach. Got talking to the waiter- his wife was from Thames Drive, Melton Mowbray !!!

Weather was still good & got hotter as the day went on. Passed lots of bikers from posers to ‘proper bikers’ !!

A27-M27 to Bournemouth (8th Stop) Heat wave. Parking near the beach was difficult but managed to find a spot 500 yards away downhill. Carried kit, 2 backpacks & helmet to the beach to take photos. Had a 20min break before attempting the hill again in the heat

Sat Nav was still out of action so I couldn’t easily find a petrol station. Nearly out of fuel. Luckily a fellow biker gave me directions to the nearest one. Lifesaver

A38 to Plymouth. (9th stop) Ride good but no time to stop in the center so just went through it. Went over a toll bridge. Hit ‘millions’ of caravans on route (not literally) going the same way as me but unable to overtake. It was difficult to keep focused & slowed me down a bit.

After Falmouth A394 it got darker then rained constantly for 2 hours till I got to Land’s end when it stopped. Can’t believe the change in weather in a few hours.

Had the customary official photo at the landmark. Met a biker from Denmark on Holiday.

Stopped at a youth Hostel in Penzance (10th stop) 6.30pm not far from Land’s End. I was offered a top bunk in a shared room. There was a man with his two kids in bed already when I got there So not best pleased with me as I was in & out the room sorting out my kit & checking the bike over.

Didn’t have time to go looking for something to eat so I had what the hostel had to offer. A bean casserole!!! Afterwards I decided to gather my stuff & sleep in a chair in the corridor to avoid disturbing the other room’s occupants.

Mileage for today - 407

 

Day 3 - Monday 6 th August

4.30am start. Rained all the way to Bude (11th stop) too dark to take photos. Took the wrong turn towards Weston Supermare went to turn the bike in a gateway & had an undignified fall as I misjudged the sloap. Cock up no 4. As it was early I thought I had got away without anybody seeing me. A car did pass but didn’t stop anyway as I was struggling to free my foot from under the bike. All was well in the end. The rain had stopped after Bude.

Next stop A5 Western Super Mare (12th stop) starts to warm up again. Still early so not busy yet. A39 was a slow, long, twisty coastal road to meet up with the M5 Mainly motorway on this stretch. There was a slow moving vehicle ahead, which stopped the traffic. About 50 motorbikes where able to get in front of the Queue. When the coast was clear it was like wacky races biker style to get past the vehicle.

Had to miss the bridge I wanted so went to the next one, M48 the Severn Road Bridge, which put me further up the route 30-40 miles

M4 to Swansea (13th stop) Quick photo & off again. A487 Road to St David’s (14th stop) where more interesting because of the views & more technical riding Good roads & views to Aberystwyth . Passed through it twice as I took the wrong turn at the T Junction & had to go back again

Hostel in Aberystwyth in Borth (15th stop) they where very helpful when I explained I needed a good nights sleep in a room of my own. They gave me a 6-berth dorm to myself great I thought until I discovered it was a kid’s dorm & the beds where small so my 6ft torso was a tad too long. Slept on the floor with my emergency roll up bed from the bike.

I was reunited with my chargers. Relief as I could use the Tom Tom again which I mainly used for Petrol Stations & finding the B&B’s. Too late for a proper meal again so had my trusty Tracker Bars for supper. Thank you pound land!!

I got talking to a Swedish Traveller at the hostel who found it difficult to understand our way of phrasing sentences but was interesting to talk to.

By now my knee joints & back where aching & worried how I was going to get through the next day never mind the next 6 days. Solved the problem by stopping more often & longer to stretch my legs & took paracetamol for the headaches I had been having with the constant concentration & Dehydration even though I had being drinking plenty my suit was really hot to wear

Mileage for the day - 495 !!!

 

Day 4 - Tuesday 7 th August  

Left Aberystwyth at 5.30am. Rainy start. Needed fuel. Found a station at 6.50am went to put petrol in as I saw an attendant there. He beckoned he wasn’t open for another 10 minutes. After a while he huffed & let me use the pump. Went to pay but he insisted in speaking to me in Welsh which obviously I hadn’t got a clue what he was saying to me. Another man came in soon after & he spoke to him in English!! Work that one out. I chuckled to myself for the next 20 miles

Still on the A487 to Porthmadog, (16th stop) cold & damp. Took some good photos. Some dog walkers stopped to ask what I was doing.

Warming up on the way to Holyhead (17th stop) Went over the bridge & passed through Llanfairpwllgwyngyll. (don’t ask) parked up to take some photos & nearly got boxed in by a lorry but managed to squeeze myself out.

Llandudno (18th stop) A55 Roads good, views nice. Visited the Great Orme with the steep streets & cable cars. Went to the top to get some good photos. Met two bikers from Birmingham, which brought home to me how much more I had to go

Blackpool (19th stop) warming up even more. ‘Safety’ camera detector on permanent red in the borough of Blackpool. Not able to get near beach or the tower as I would have liked found a car park as close as I could to it, but a dodgy looking bloke was hovering around so I dare not leave the Bike so only got a token picture of the Tower.

M6-A590 TO Barrow in Furness (20th stop) nice roads again. Arrived later than expected. Underestimated the distance to Workington . A595 thought it was only 20 miles away. Switched on the Sat Nav it said 50miles - oh no!! Followed a local biker through the roads, which helped to navigate them & improved the time.

Arrived at Cockermouth (21st stop) just outside Workington . On the A66 Very nice Hostel. An Old Mill in the middle of nowhere. Very friendly people. Had my own room. After checking the bike over I had an early night

Mileage for the day - 484

 

Day 5 - Wednesday 8 th August  

On the road for 5.30am. Good start, weather cold. A596 was quiet. M6-A75 to Drummore . Hitting Scotland now. Good smooth biking roads. Arrived at Drummore (22nd stop) stopped at a biker’s café. They told me to go look at a lighthouse 10 miles away at the Mull of Galloway a good photo spot. Windy single-track road but worth a visit. Back on the A716 to Stranraer (23rd stop) small port, quick stop.

A77 Good coastal roads to Ayr (24th stop) stopped at a purpose built toilet & Burger bar just outside town. Took the opportunity to use the facilities as 2 police cars where parked there & I could leave the bike in safety. I forgot to disarm the bike so when I came back I set the alarm off. I held out my hands out to say ‘fair cop, you got me’. Which made the PC’s kill themselves laughing.

Still on the A77 to Glasgow. Hit major road works 5-6 miles slow tailbacks. As I sat there minding my own business an elderly biker who was sitting on the roadside –for some reason, said in a broad Scottish accent ‘ are you anything to do with Ewan McGregor’ I said no but I was doing a charity ride. He promptly said with the thumbs up ‘good luck then’. Think he must have got it from the web name.

Decided to go the coastal road on the A78 & take the ferry to Dunoon to cut out the traffic. Followed the A815 up to Fort William .I lost 2 hours in the traffic so I had to go the direct route on the A82 instead of the A83 coastal road. Traffic was thinning out now the further North I went. Roads where familiar as I came on holiday here years ago. These roads had the largest scenery. Other areas I couldn’t notice that much as I was too busy concentrating on the riding, but here the mountains where so big I couldn’t miss it- breathtaking.

5 miles away from Fort William it started to rain again. Fueled up at a Garage. Pulled onto to side of the forecourt to switch on Sat Nav with the Hostel details. The Lady at the Kiosk kept repeating ‘’have you broken down biker’’ over the speaker . After looking around for a broken down biker I realized she meant me. She couldn’t grasp that I was fiddling with the Sat Nav so to shut her up I had to continue on the main road.

Arrived at the Hostel in Fort William (25th stop) called ‘chase the wild goose’ Took a bit of time to check the bike over, chain, oil, water, tyre’s etc. Dorm was full of Polish lads who where very noisy so I spent the night in the lounge. Also I was up early so I didn’t bother anybody.

Mileage for the day - 411

 

Day 6 -Thursday 9th August  

Woke up to thick fog so was delayed till 8.30am which meant a hard day catching up.

A896 – A832 Set off to Shieldaig . (26th stop) Problem with the fog as it was sticking to the visor. Could only do about 15-20 mph. Lifted visor had the same problem with my glasses. Road for about 3 hours with visor up & no glasses!!

Roads went to a single track, which is great if you are not following anything. Met loads of suicidal sheep running all over the road in a blind panic

Stopped at a café in Ullapool. (27th stop) Met a couple of bikers from Great Yarmouth. Surprisingly they had heard of my trip on the Radio. I’m famous!!

A838-A836 to Durness . (28th stop) Running late so didn’t stop here

Because of the slow roads I was late getting to John o Groats , (29th stop) 5 minutes after the photographer cleared up & took the sign down (stops you taking pictures of your own) which meant I would be late starting the next day if I wanted my photo taken with it. Turned back to Thurso

Got to Thurso where my digs where. Found out they had taken my name off & re booked my room. So spent the next three quarters of an hour hour looking for a B&B. Found one luckily. I was so tired by now I wasn’t thinking straight. The receptionist Maggie was very helpful. She kept following me around with my stuff I was forgetting to take with me

Had a good night’s sleep in a comfy room after the hostels

Mileage for the day - 362

 

Day 7 - Friday 10th August

Late setting off as I was waiting for the photographer at 10am to painstakingly set up the sign & camera. At least I got a lie in.

Another biker was waiting for a photo as well. Because the photographer was very protective of his sign we took it in turns to take secret photos of for each other while his back was turned. I still had the official ones taken so didn’t get away till 10.45am.

Ride to Wick was short (30th stop) 20-30 miles

A99-A9 Inverness ( 31st stop) good roads again. Warm weather. Went over the Bridge at Longman Point Encountered the first speed camera since Fort William!!

A98 Fraserburgh (32nd stop) lots of traffic. Phoned Sergeant John McFadden at RAF Leuchars (Lucas) to see how far I was away from St Andrews. (by then it was 4pm. He assured me the roads where good even though I was a couple of hours away.

Duel carriage way from Fraserburgh A90 to Aberdeen (33rd stop) quick stop.

A92 Dundee (34th stop) went over the Tay Road Toll Bridge

A91 Made it to the camp in St Andrews (35th stop) at 6.45pm.

Had a warm welcome at the biker’s clubhouse just outside of the camp. The lads had put some drinks behind the bar but couldn’t have much for obvious reasons. Nice to have a conversation with like-minded people (bikers). Arranged to meet up again at the BMF rally Peterborough Showground at the end of September '07. Had an Indian takeaway in which I paid for the next day. The spices don’t like me very much Loo stops where more frequent the next day.

After saying goodbye to my new biker mates had a good nights sleep on the settee in the clubhouse.

Mileage for the day - 400

 

Day 8 - Saturday 11th August  

5.45am start. Put the keys of the hut through the door & set off to Edinburgh. Rained for the first 2 hours. Good job I set off early as after a slow start the traffic was manic

Quick photo stop in Edinburgh (36th stop) Then onwards to Berwick-upon-tweed . (37th stop) Connected with the A1 which up here it is like a normal road. Traffic was heavy getting in & out of Tynemouth (38th stop) Saw lots more Bikes, must be a meeting place for the area.

Stopped at a garden center just outside Whitby for something to eat. Talking to the staff explaining where I was heading. Their reaction gave me the impression I had taken on more than I could chew. But I had got this far, had to get on with it. Spurnhead was a long way off & lots of traffic to get through.

A171 Shortstop at Whitby center (39th stop) chatted briefly with a few bikers

A165-A1033 Spurnhead (40th stop) was frustratingly hard to find. Road down to it was very bumpy. A mix of sand, tarmac, speed bumps & cobbles. Getting a bit saddle sore so went to the side of some of the bumps. Hit deep sand in some of them (cock up no 5) accelerated to get out & dropped the bike again. Picked it up, checked it over all OK. Carried on to spurn point, which is right on the tip. Worth the ride in the end. Nice & quiet.

Kingston-upon-Hull was easy to find. Well signposted. (41st stop)

The Hotel (thought I needed a treat by this time) was in the center of Hull, which I hadn’t realized. When I got there a couple of Police where turfing some lads out of the Hotel & there where sirens every 2 minutes in the city. I asked the coppers what the chances of the bike still being here in the morning. They assured it would be OK but their eyes told a different story

I checked in at the reception & voiced my concern. They where helpful & tried to get the bike in the lobby but the doors where stuck & couldn’t open fully so they settled for the service entrance not far away. That was good as it could be locked & alarmed. At first they said I couldn’t get it in the tight space but to there amazement I pivoted the bike on the center stand .no problem.

The Double bed, TV & mod cons in the bedroom was a luxury after the B&B’s, settees & floors. I was in no hurry to leave next day.

Mileage for the day - 414

 

Day 9 - Sunday 12th August  

Dug the bike out eventually next morning from its sanctuary after meeting the night porter who resembled the Butler in the Lara Croft PS games. No rush then.

Had a decent breakfast. What a treat.

Set off at 9.30am. This was the shortest run today so gave myself plenty of time to get home. Or so I thought!! Warm sunshine till I went over the Humber bridge A15 then rained hard to Grimsby. A180 (42 nd stop) quick photo stop

Followed the A1031- A52 to Skegness (43rd stop) but didn’t stop unless you count sitting in traffic for ages. Traffic horrendous could only filter thorough it which put me well behind schedule. Sat in traffic & a transit van decides to change lanes so needs to reverse to do this but doesn’t see me. Sounded the horn & shouted, he just hears me & stops. That would have been good. 3400 miles traveling & gets squashed 100 miles from home!!!

I’ve got his number!!

A52 all the way to Boston (44th stop) uneventful. Didn’t stop as too near home. Other side of Boston traffic cleared so made better progress. Rang home just outside Grantham to give approx arrival time

A607 and the first Melton signs. Feeling of relief at being on familiar roads (final 45th stop)

1.30pm came up the road heading towards the Kings Street Café again where a champagne welcome from about 30 people. Elated & happy to see the welcome & support from friends & family.

When the day slowed down & I settled in at home, after a huge Sunday Roast it was nice to get in my own bed & Sleeeeeeeeeep ready for work next day!!!

Mileage for the day - 145

 

Reflection

Would I do it again? Defiantly. It gave me a great sense of achievement as so many (mostly bikers) doubted it could be done. It turned out to be what I expected. A test of stamina, endurance & determination not a Holiday, Even when things looked daunting & difficult I had to focus on the task. The most miles I did in one day were 494 miles. I couldn’t believe it, as it didn’t feel that much. I was just happy to reach my next stop.

If I were to do it again (not yet though) I would go the opposite way round, the roads would look different.

I would not take as much kit but thinking back I did use the majority of it. (Peanut Tracker Bars where a life saver)

I met lots of nice friendly people & a few not so nice along the way & was strange to go through many different Counties each in a short space of time listening to different dialects from Cornish to Welsh to Scottish

I had been planning this trip for a year & had the support of a couple of people from the start with the Web design & mechanical support, but the last few months many other people had joined the support team from sponsorship, fund raising, printing needs & moral support.

Total mileage - 3526.3

 

PS. THE HELMET WAS A GOOD BUY !!!