Round Britain in 10 days or less.

Burdocks

Guest
Anyone biked around Britain, as close to the coast as possible in 10 days or less?

There is a website about Steve Newing doing it in 2001 on an R1. I also believe that Titch Allen founder of the VMCC, (Vintage Motorcycle Club) did it in 10 days back in 1954.

I'm curious to know if any else has and what are the do's and don'ts.
 
Hi all,

Around Britain on the coast roads is something that I been dreaming of doing for a while. Ten days sounds achievable but three days!!??!! That sounds mad! I dont think that I'd want to do it in less than ten days, otherwise I might miss something. In fact, twenty days sounds like more fun.

Would you need a SatNav or would you just keep the blue stuff on your left and the green stuff on your right?

Keith
 
BladeBaiter said:
..... or would you just keep the blue stuff on your left and the green stuff on your right?

Keith
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Only if you go round clockwise :rolleyes:
 
Re: Blimey!

Muppet said:
I keep having to post this link.

It took me just under 4 complete days

Did it for charideeeeee - wasn't particulalrly pleasant but I enjoyed most of it. The East side is a bit boring, West side is much more fun.

PM me if you want more info;)
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Yeah but you didnt do it as close to the coast as possible. Its 5500+ miles if you do that. And thats just mainland Britain. More if you take in the major islands too.
 
Re: Re: Blimey!

Abelrider said:
Yeah but you didnt do it as close to the coast as possible. Its 5500+ miles if you do that. And thats just mainland Britain. More if you take in the major islands too.
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Nope, you're right, I didn't:rolleyes: Just did what I set out to do in the time I had available and raised a few quid for some charities. Stupid of me to think I could have had any useful input for Burdocks:rolleyes:

I'm curious though, where did you get the figure of 5,500 miles from? If that's 'just mainland Britain' as you said then I seriously doubt it's that far, but I can't be bothered to work it out.

You can do it if you like, here's the Autoroute file of the entire route I took. I'll happily admit I missed out some bits, Mull of Kintyre, Anglesea and Skye, but I doubt they're going to add another 2,000 miles.

Edit: Well my file's too big to upload and I can't be bothered at this time of night to try and make it smaller - maybe you can dig out a map of the route as it 'should' be:rolleyes:
 
Re: Re: Re: Blimey!

Muppet said:
Nope, you're right, I didn't:rolleyes: Just did what I set out to do in the time I had available and raised a few quid for some charities. Stupid of me to think I could have had any useful input for Burdocks:rolleyes:
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Quit with the rolleyes you touchy bugger.:rolleyes:
I wasnt having a go, or saying you hadnt got useful input, just that its a lot more miles than you did to do what the thread started stated he wanted to do. Whats the problem with that?:confused:

I'm curious though, where did you get the figure of 5,500 miles from? If that's 'just mainland Britain' as you said then I seriously doubt it's that far, but I can't be bothered to work it out.
Click to expand...
From working it out on Autoroute.

I'll happily admit I missed out some bits, Mull of Kintyre, Anglesea and Skye, but I doubt they're going to add another 2,000 miles.
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They do as it happens. All those long peninsulars add up.
 
From the O/S web site, the coast line of Britain is 11,072.76 miles. measured at mean high water.
 
Sounds like a great, if a little mad, adventure Muppet. After reading what you achieved in four days then I'm thinking ten days should be easily achievable, even enjoyable.

My only disappointment, when reading your story is that all you saw of Essex was the A12. The A12 is an ugly gash put through the heart of Essex by the Romans in order to get their chariots out of Essex as quick as possible. If you'd have taken any of the slip roads off of the A12 you'd have been transported to another kind of riding. Essex may be flat, it's certainly not the West Highlands, but the blacktops are good and twisty. I realise that you were tired and that you were on the final stretch home but I think this shows that four days is not long enough to see the place properly.

Well done anyway

Blade
 
An Example, just in my neck of the woods:

The A12 is 50 miles, almost exactly, from Ipswich, Suffolk to The M25 at Brentwood, Essex, and then a further 10 miles to the Dartford Tunnel (out of Essex). = 60 miles total, as rode by Muppet.

Granted, Ipswich is on the coast and the Dartford Tunnel is on the coast, but:

To take the road nearest the coast, avoiding no-through-roads, between Ipswich and the Dartford Tunnel, as per Burdock's idea, is close to 160 miles or more, would take at least four times longer to ride and is infinately more complex to route find, even with a GPS/sat-nav system.

But I know which one I'd rather do
(maybe not if I was in a desperate hurry though)
 
Reading of all the help that Muppet recieved whilst on his epic tour is inspiring.

I would like to, hopefully, start the ball rolling by offering any help that I can to anyone who is undertaking this. I live in a town, which is on the Essex coast; the road that runs into my town is not to be missed (honest!); I would gladly do the research and then act as a guide through the Essex coast section, if not all of it then at least part of it, whatever; and we have a long sofa, which we can put you up on for the night.

That's the Essex section sorted. Now we need about fifty other volunteers to either guide or host. Oh! and we need a volunteer to actually do the ride.

Maybe we could take it in turns to do the ride.

Anyone??

Blade
 
I have just looked at Steve Newing's website of his round britain ride: http://www.bikearoundbritain.co.uk/the_route.htm and he also, even though he was replicating Titch Allen's attempt, still only saw the hideous A12 in Essex.

Granted the Essex coastline has a lot of esturies to navigate around but, sorry, I'm disappointed that they didn't even try. Discrimination it is! :mad: :eek::eek::eek::eek:in' Romans started this! Straight-road loving :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:s!

Calm :rolleyes: breath, calmmmmm

I'm off to check whether Titch Allen did it the easy way too.
 
BladeBaiter said:
I have just looked at Steve Newing's website of his round britain ride: http://www.bikearoundbritain.co.uk/the_route.htm and he also, even though he was replicating Titch Allen's attempt, still only saw the hideous A12 in Essex.

Granted the Essex coastline has a lot of esturies to navigate around but, sorry, I'm disappointed that they didn't even try. Discrimination it is! :mad: :eek::eek::eek::eek:in' Romans started this! Straight-road loving :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:s!

Calm :rolleyes: breath, calmmmmm

I'm off to check whether Titch Allen did it the easy way too.
Click to expand...

BladeBaiter

I'm doing this trip starting 25th July, following a similar route to the one you mention. I'm sure you'll forgive me missing out the Essex coast if I tell you that I was born in Chelmsford and lived in Heybridge for a while.

As I now live in Hampshire it will be Day 8 of the trip when I go past Essex (fast) and I'll be looking to get home. My objective is go around Britain as close to the coast as possible in under 10 days - something has to give somewhere.
 
Burdocks said:
My objective is go around Britain as close to the coast as possible in under 10 days - something has to give somewhere.
Click to expand...
Just ride round the M25 and you can do it in a couple of hours.;)
 
Burdocks said:
BladeBaiter

I'm doing this trip starting 25th July, following a similar route to the one you mention. I'm sure you'll forgive me missing out the Essex coast if I tell you that I was born in Chelmsford and lived in Heybridge for a while.

As I now live in Hampshire it will be Day 8 of the trip when I go past Essex (fast) and I'll be looking to get home. My objective is go around Britain as close to the coast as possible in under 10 days - something has to give somewhere.
Click to expand...

Good luck then Burdock, I hope that enjoy every minute of it, because that's the aim of the game, isn't it? You're gonna love the west coast of Scotland, I'm sure. Don't by-pass any of that.

No, I don't forgive you for by-passing Essex (The A12 is the Essex By-Pass), forgive me for being a pain in the arse about this but, I'd have thought that if you want to beat their record then you'd find it more enjoyable to ride a more extensive route (thereby blowing their record out of the water) rather than doing the same route faster, that's just going to be more gruelling for you.

If the main aim is to raise cash for a charity then maybe you want to do that the easiest way possible. But if the main aim is to have the best ride of your life (so far) then by-pass the A12!

The A12 shouldn't even be mentioned in this forum! after all it is "Roads to get your pegs down on!" The only way bikers get their pegs down on the A12 is to get knocked off by one of the procession of day-dreaming idiots in their cars.

Whatever. Good luck anyway

Blade
 
Also Burdock,

When Titch Allen did this the first time back in 1954 the A12, and all of the roads mentioned, were completely different animals. It must've been a joy to ride, at that pace, back then. But it was a hellovan achievement then.

If, on todays modern A roads and Motorways, that record cant be matched or broken with ease, especially on a Modern BMW Bike, then I'm a monkey's uncle. I'd even go so far as to say that it's too easy. I think you should stretch yourself a bit.

And you should not discriminate against Essex!

Bomb the A12!

No, dont bomb the A12, it has it's uses: It keeps all those cars off of the proper roads :D
 
BladeBaiter said:
Also Burdock,

And you should not discriminate against Essex!

Bomb the A12!

:D
Click to expand...

A further benefit of the A12 is it keeps you out of Chelmsford, premiership Chav land coming only second to Romford.

I'd be happy to follow a route that became the standard for, Round Britain as Close to the Coast as possible. As long as everyone else agreed and then followe d it for their charity ride or because they want to.

Why don't you post what you think the route should be and I'll consider it. My challenge is I only have 10 days in which to do it and my accomodation is already booked.
 
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