SamD
Registered user
On the weekend of 19th/20th June, Mort and I undertook the biggest challenge in my short life as a motorcyclist so far - that challenge was to cover 1000 miles in a 24 hour period - an IronButt Saddlesore 1000. The event was run for the benefit the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal, with each rider raising sponsorship and paying an entry fee.
On the evening of Friday 18th June, 300 motorcyclists met at Squires Cafe in Leeds to be briefed on the challenge ahead and the routes. I chose the "South Anti-Clockwise" route which involved riding from Leeds to Leeds via Redruth in Cornwall and Dover in Kent, a total of 1040 miles. The start time was set at 5:30am on Saturday, so we had until 5:30am on Sunday to be back at the cafe - a tall order on the congested roads of the UK!
The first leg of the journey took us down via Manchester, Telford and Bristol to the south coast at Exeter. This was dispatched in about 5 hours putting us well ahead of our schedule. Next we rode through Devon to the bottom tip of Cornwall at Redruth arriving just before lunch time. After a brief fuel stop and stretch of the legs, I noticed that there was a little bit of oil on my clutch cover. Fearing the worst we looked over the bike, and it appeared that the dreaded 800GS weeping rocker cover had struck
. The oil level was a little down so we topped up (thanks to Mort's Oil supply) and vowed to check it at every stop from there on.
We began the long slog all the way across to Dover via Southampton. This leg proved to be somewhat more problematic due to some very bad traffic (due to an accident on the M27 and a good few miles of stationary traffic - we reached the front of the queue and the police decided to let the bikes past the scene so it wasn't all bad) and my bike running out of fuel 2 miles short of our stop in Southampton – lesson learnt: never believe an 800GS fuel gauge – fortunately Mort and I just about fitted on his 1150 and went to the petrol station to get a jerry can. Coming back was more of an adventure as there was no way that we were going to fit a can of petrol between us - things were cosy to say the least. Apparently we are now engaged
- expect an invite to the wedding soon 
. We reached Dover by 8pm and we began the long, dark, and somewhat damp, homeward leg of around 300 miles back to Leeds.
A few fuel stops and a brief pause to mark 1000 miles covered saw us arrive back at Squires Cafe in Leeds at 1am, exactly 19.5 hours after we left and within the top 20 out of the 300 riders that started the run. We were clapped in by those that had arrived and the organisers which was a lovely feeling.
A great experience for a great cause that I intend to repeat many more times once the current aches and pains have subsided!
Thanks to Mort for being a great riding partner for the day and letting me chase him around the motorways of England. Top Man
And riding the 100 miles after the ride has finished One word - hardcore 
Thanks also to Melly Senior for the loan of his Grip Puppies - they made a huge difference to the comfort of the bike - I owe you big time
On the evening of Friday 18th June, 300 motorcyclists met at Squires Cafe in Leeds to be briefed on the challenge ahead and the routes. I chose the "South Anti-Clockwise" route which involved riding from Leeds to Leeds via Redruth in Cornwall and Dover in Kent, a total of 1040 miles. The start time was set at 5:30am on Saturday, so we had until 5:30am on Sunday to be back at the cafe - a tall order on the congested roads of the UK!
The first leg of the journey took us down via Manchester, Telford and Bristol to the south coast at Exeter. This was dispatched in about 5 hours putting us well ahead of our schedule. Next we rode through Devon to the bottom tip of Cornwall at Redruth arriving just before lunch time. After a brief fuel stop and stretch of the legs, I noticed that there was a little bit of oil on my clutch cover. Fearing the worst we looked over the bike, and it appeared that the dreaded 800GS weeping rocker cover had struck
. The oil level was a little down so we topped up (thanks to Mort's Oil supply) and vowed to check it at every stop from there on. We began the long slog all the way across to Dover via Southampton. This leg proved to be somewhat more problematic due to some very bad traffic (due to an accident on the M27 and a good few miles of stationary traffic - we reached the front of the queue and the police decided to let the bikes past the scene so it wasn't all bad) and my bike running out of fuel 2 miles short of our stop in Southampton – lesson learnt: never believe an 800GS fuel gauge – fortunately Mort and I just about fitted on his 1150 and went to the petrol station to get a jerry can. Coming back was more of an adventure as there was no way that we were going to fit a can of petrol between us - things were cosy to say the least. Apparently we are now engaged
- expect an invite to the wedding soon . We reached Dover by 8pm and we began the long, dark, and somewhat damp, homeward leg of around 300 miles back to Leeds.A few fuel stops and a brief pause to mark 1000 miles covered saw us arrive back at Squires Cafe in Leeds at 1am, exactly 19.5 hours after we left and within the top 20 out of the 300 riders that started the run. We were clapped in by those that had arrived and the organisers which was a lovely feeling.
A great experience for a great cause that I intend to repeat many more times once the current aches and pains have subsided!
Thanks to Mort for being a great riding partner for the day and letting me chase him around the motorways of England. Top Man
And riding the 100 miles after the ride has finished One word - hardcore Thanks also to Melly Senior for the loan of his Grip Puppies - they made a huge difference to the comfort of the bike - I owe you big time
a really great job by the pair of you, I found one of those cheap throttle rocker things clipped round the twistgrip helps with hand fatigue.
I have a photo somewhere
