Got back today from Inverness via plane. It turned out that the train would cost £160 whereas a flight was only £60.
Sad not to be in Scotland any more. The Black Isle is a stunning place and I’d happily live in the area no problem. Sad also about having to leave my bike there. Theres a chance my parents can bring it down to Derbyshire in a van at the end of Sept but its still a bummer. My finger is still causing me problems tho (such as being able to type quickly with two fingers taped together). Will have to go to the docs tomorrow to get it checked out.
I’ll also be writing a full report and editing the video in due course.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support and encouragement. It was not a easy ride and I’m very grateful to you all and to all who sponsored me. If you have yet to do so, please consider it as you can still donate for the next 2 months
This will be the last long entry for a while until I get back from the trip. I’m setting off tomorrow for Cornwall and begin the Length of the Land trip on Friday.
Today has been a long day of packing and organising. Most of my equipment is now mounted on the bike. I’ve had to leave some stuff out and its pretty well packed on but it leaves me worrying about how it will handle. I guess the only thing to do is keep it slow and build up the confidence.
I’ll (hopefully) be using Twitter to update this page in 140 character bites so check here for all the latest. Cheers all.
I’m fortunate to have a biker buddy of mine join me for 2 out of the 3 days of riding. Sam Marsh will be joining me from just out side Shrewsbury at the start of day 2 (hopefully) and will be with me til we reach John O Groats.
Sam has a few months more experience than me as well as a full licence and a 600cc bike. Im happy Sam is going to be with me from Day 2 as thats the day Im most dreading as it skirts the most number of towns and cities and could be quite difficult.
The thought did occur to me that maybe this lessens the challenge a little, however on further thought Im not so sure thats the case. Sure theres now two heads instead of one, but we have no communications system other than hand signals so it requires more effort to keep an eye on each other and the route ahead. Should be fun tho
Finally tested my wet weather gear yesterday on a ride out to the Bath & West Showground. It started out drizzly and went on to full on rain. The waterproof trousers I recently acquired worked quite well, although they’re a little restrictive in terms of how I can sit on the bike.
Anyway the upshot is that I should be ok for wet weather. Im a little concerned that it will be torrential rain the whole trip (which won’t be fun at all). I can survive an hour or two of constant rain but after that I will have to seek shelter.
Little things. In other news prep is wrapping up. Things still to do include testing full load on the bike, working out a campsite to stay at near Penrith for my return trip and sorting out more publicity.
Managed to finally fit my Oregon Scientific Action Cam (AC2) onto my bike the other day and went for a quick test ride. Im quite impressed with the results so will be using this during the ride.
Just read this article on the BBC News website which states that the glorious August we were assured was coming … is not unlikely to come. This obviously has implications for the ride. I had already planned for wet weather but this means that it is much more likely it will be bad.
On a motorcycle bad weather isn’t just a problem of getting wet. If you get wet you will likely get cold. If you get cold you can loose concentration and accidents can occur. It also has the problem of visibility, both yours and other road users of you. You’d be amazed how many car drivers fail to see a motorcyclist in the wet, when its most dangerous.
As far as my visibility goes its manageable but only if I don’t get stuck in a downpour for hours at a time. I coat my visor in a wax that enables the rain to run off more easily (as there are no wiper blades on a helmet). The down side is that in a prolonged downpour this coating can wear off meaning I would have to stop to re-apply it, which can only be done out of the rain.
All this said all I can do is pray there will be good weather
Roadbook is now 95% complete, hopefully with all the notes I’ll need for navigation. I’ve also done one for the trip back to Bristol (quite important too ).
Im trying to ramp up the publicity on the event but Im running out of ideas. If you have any suggestions please get in touch. Cheers.
Thought I should update you all on whats been going on. I’ve been quite busy at work of late and thats hampered planning and publicity for the event but its getting there. The Promo video is about 50% done and pre-production work on the documentary has gone quite well with some background shots already taken.
I’ve updated the Things Needed page to show things now gotten and things still needed. If you can help out at all please get in touch.
Some people have asked me about the route. The essence of the route can be found here. I say essence as Google maps has an annoying habit of making the route go where it wants rather than where I want. The link shows the general idea but is not 100% accurate.
DaleAnthony, one of my colleges at work very kindly donated a domain name for this venture. www.lengthoftheland.com should now point here. Thanks very much sir.
