Update on the plans
Starting from the Shell petrol station on the south side of the river Avon in Stratford @4am.
I've attached a plan of the route but here is a rough summary -
4am head out of Stratford with the first timed and dated petrol receipt.
Over to the M40, and then up to the M42 and on to the M6 Toll.
From there on to the M6 and up past Manchester and then on towards Penrith services. There will probably need to be a fuel stop on the way, but the first main scheduled stop will be at about 7-7:30 am at the Penrith services.
Probably stopping here for half an hour for fuel (bike and body).
It's then a kick-off from there onwards and upwards towards the border. Keep going past Glasgow, and in to the beauty of the Scottish hills. This is the part I'm looking forward to the most.
Up the A82 past Loch Lomond, and then off to the Black Mount and Rannoch Moor.
Probably stop for a quick cup of tea and a photo at the wagon before Glen Coe, and then charge on to G.C.s place
The Lochy the other side of Fort William.
We aim to get there at about 11-11:30 we're going to stop for about an hour to recharge, and take in the views.
Then we turn East along the A86 and then hook a right on to the A889 and on to the A9 southbound.
Pass by Pitlochry and Perth, and onward towards Edinburgh.
Across the Firth of Forth and then skirt around Edinburgh and East on the A1.
It then a case of just keeping going down past Forryland, and towards Sir James's Manor.
Once past Newcastle it's on to the A1(M) and then on to the M18 and then the M1.
This is the bit I'm dreading. The only consolation is that I've done the route back from the York area in less than 3 hours.
Somewhere here we'll be stopping for another break. The timings here are a little harder to estimate, but I'm aiming for about 5-6pm.
Stop for between 30 and 60 minutes, and then back on to the M1 for the trip South.
Exiting the M1 at Leicester it's then on to the Mighty Fosse.
The Fosse takes us South and almost home, but that's not quite 1000 miles, so there's a diversion over to banbury, and quick blast on the M40 and then on to the A34.
Then the cut through from the A34 towards Chipping Norton, and then on to the A3400 up to Shipston with the objective of then nipping over the Fosse again and finishing at
The Churchill in Paxford for a pint before closing.
It's my local, and the owner is a GSer, so double bubble!!
It's tricky to be more specific about the timings, and it's going to be fairly challenging to meet with people, but I can give updates by mobile from stop points.
The main suggestions for meeting points if anyone fancies joining are -
- Shell Garage Stratford 4am
- M6 Tolls at about 4:40
- Could nip through a services on the M6 to meet
- Penrith Services
- The Lochy
- Forth Bridge?
- A1(M) Services
- M1 Services
- The Start of the Fosse?
- The Churchill (for beer
)
A couple of notes about meeting though. I'll give a rough estimation of time, but that is traffic dependent. We can't afford to wait. Apologies - I don't want to appear harsh but we want to maintain a good average speed, and just can't afford unscheduled waits.
So, that's what it looks like - let me know if anything suits you and you'd like a part of the ride.
Now getting excited - can't wait.
, but ride safe 
