Posted: 04 April 2009 at 9:13am | IP Logged

O.K here's my attempt at a write up

31/3/09

Finish work early, fuel bike, double check everything (twice) except the saddle.

Try to grab a couple of hours kip in the afternoon, get woken by the phone which turns out to be some t**ser from America  with congratulations you have won a, Click down goes the phone with a few thrown in. Get up as my dearly beloved gets home from work and am greeted with YOU’RE SUPPOSE TO BE SLEEPING!! Yes darling, but the adrenaline / nerves / FEAR are starting to set in.

Get start witness form signed by neighbour and dearly beloved, have some grub and finally manage another hour or two’s  kip before getting up at 10:45pm.

Huge bowl of porridge with lots of sugar and a small coffee, get riding kit on get a goodbye kiss and fire up the Harley at 11:45 to head for my start point (24hr garage on the dual carriageway 6 miles from home). Ask the attendant if he will be another start witness and get a funny look when I explain what I’m up to and ask if his till has got to 00:01 Have to wait a couple of minutes but finally get my receipt and I’M OFF!

Head for first checkpoint at Chieveley services (A27/ M3 / A34), sound of the bike coming up and passing makes a few late night drivers wonder WTF?? arrive just before 1am, quick splash and a dash and then off to Dover

M4 is almost empty for the first mile or two, and then come across a car hogging the middle lane on an empty motorway, pass with a blast on the air horns (just to make sure he knew I was there) and head for M25 /  M26 /  M20

Hopefully the variable speed cams on M25 are inactive at night, if not I’m probably off the road for life

Truckers are flashing headlamps at me from other carriageway and I’m not even on full beam (had changed the spotlight bulbs back to 35w from 100w as well…………. Might have blinded them other wise)

Starting to feel a bit chilly, what happened to the overcast night to keep up the temperature?

Also starting to think I NEED A WEE!! Only another 45 mins to Dover so will bottle it ‘til then, shock horror when I pull into the petrol station to find a big hole with a digger where the shop and toilets used to stand. Fill up bike and ask if there are any toilets available, “maybe in the port or there are some back up at J9 on the M20” don’t think I can hang on for either of those two options so have to try and hide against a wall under the full glare of the floodlights (good job I’m not the shy retiring type).

Next planned stop Swansea, getting along the M4 near Swindon and hands and feet are seriously cold, enough so that quitting  looks like an option!!!!Decide to stop at Leigh Delamare for a quick top up, and a hot drink which had to be picked up with both hands as my fingers don’t want to work. Finally warm up a bit and decide it’s going to get warmer when daylight comes. Onwards to Swansea only to get clobbered by lots of road works with speed camera warnings, finally get to turn round point but am still on schedule!

Another quick fill up, pay and off to Exeter, traffic building on the M4 and am running almost 18 mins behind by the time I get to the Severn bridge. Manage to get 15 of them back by time I get to Exeter as the M5 was pretty clear.

Another fill and pay, then start to head north towards Glasgow, had originally planned to make Tebay services my next stop but as am still not quite sure how much range I have even with the fuel cell, decide to stop just north of Birmingham, have to switch to the fuel cell near the NEC and have a bit of a shock when the bike starts to splutter and die….. get to the hard shoulder and freewheel it for a bit, try the ignition and the bike comes back to life (think fuel cell needs to be a bit higher) get to services and top up both tanks, quick espresso coffee which is finished before I get to the check out and then off to Glasgow

Get to the Lake district but you only see one lake from the road, but some pretty good scenery and a nice road to ride. Fuel light comes on and switch to fuel cell again, gravity transfer is really slow and think bike is using it quicker than it will feed through. Get to a long downhill stretch and hey presto tank re-fills (note to self to make some risers)

No speed cameras on this stretch but a few police cars tucked back up the slip roads, luckily not quite out of sight.

Finally get to Hamilton services fill up both tanks and decide to have a 15 min break and phone the missus, have managed to get 262 miles on one fill up

Start to head back south and start thinking that I will be arriving at Birmingham somewhere around the rush hour. Minor hold up around junction for Manchester (well it is going home time for the masses) but then trouble free back to the Hilton Park services.

Another fill up and pay, then head off to M5 / M4………….. Get a BIG scare as I’m coming round a long bend and get the start of a tank slapper.  Somehow manage to get everything back in order and carry on but the heart is going like the clappers and I think I need a change of boxers.

Pull into Michaelwood services just to get a receipt, but need a cold drink anyway. Put next waypoint into the Garmin and it wants to send me back NORTH, decide to ignore it and go my planned route. Next stop Chieveley and a nice surprise as I see Pete West sitting there waiting. Another quick top up and Pete offers “to see me home” for which I am grateful as I am starting to feel quite. Pull into the last checkpoint and decide to buy the “other half” a bunch of flowers for my finish receipt. Finally get home and park the bike up before getting my gear off as I know that once I stop that will be it. Have a coffee with Pete and get him to sign me off (can you get a better witness????????) Decide to have a beer while Pete has another coffee for the road. When I finally get up to see Pete out my one beer might as well have been 10 because I can’t stand up properly.

All in all a grand (and a half) day out, but have to confess that the last time my arse was that sore was after the operation to remove the farmers, MUST remember to put the sundowner saddle on for the next one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Total mileage according to bike 1505 but is 1549 on mapsource and I know the bike is reading short (roughly 5%)  since I had the front sprocket changed to try and improve the fuel consumption and I’m not spending another load of dosh on a rectifying device.

I know some of you will think there weren’t enough breaks, but I worked on the theory that as you never know what’s coming up it’s nice to have some spare time to play with,

 (I also used to work some horrendously long shifts with no real breaks when I managed a fish market ).

Also should have drunk more liquids, but didn’t want to waste time pouring it back down the drain

Will I do another one ??????????????????? Mmmmmmmmmmonte Carlo?

Fuel Used 192.5ltr    Miles 1549  Avge Mpg 36.54

Posted: 04 April 2009 at 2:33pm | IP Logged

Wonderful read and glad to see am not the only one that gives a swift honk to the lane hoggers!

Nice work and looking forward to seeing you at the Monte Carlo run.

James691

Posted: 05 April 2009 at 1:47pm | IP Logged

Well done Steve. Great insight as to what I can expect on the way to Monte Carlo...........  hopefully warmer.