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Lands end - Lowestoft Ness point. Side to side, racing God.

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jjdugen
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PostPosted: 17:24 - 01 Jul 2018    Post subject: Lands end - Lowestoft Ness point. Side to side, racing God. Reply with quote

Can't afford / justify the cost of the Nurburgring any more, so decided to celebrate my 70th birthday by having a go at the side to side challenge. Midsummers day night, shortest night in the year, 450 miles in 7 hours or so. Held off writing this just in case any nasty envelopes dropped through my letterbox.
On paper, it looks do-able, but I missed it by a large margin, here's where I went wrong!
First... Fuel. You need far more range than the 130 miles in my Falco's tank.
Second... Lights. You can make good time in Cornwall.... as long as you are following a tricked out M5 with headlights that turn night into day.
Third.... A stronger bladder than I have!
Fourth.... Very warm clothing, it gets F**ing cold early doors.
Fifth... A reliable sat nav with the latest speed camera info. Mine packed up just as I was starting!

Here was my run.
9:40. Out of Lands End pretty plain sailing, left the cars for dead, still quite bright so no problem keeping up a fast pace.
Hit the moors section of (very) fast duel carriageway, pitch black, Aprilia headlamps are good, but not for the kind of speed you can (must) sustain. Que the tricked out M5 (long range fuel tank, HID lights, all the latest sat nav and radar detector trickery). He 'blazed' the way, Good time kept until 25 miles to Exeter, fuel light on! We had been doing a constant... erm.... high rate of progress....
Had to pull in and fill from my reserve bottle. Didn't actually need to, but you live and learn. About ten minutes wasted.
12:00. Exeter services, quick fill... It takes at least ten minutes by the time you are back out again. Especially if you need a bladder empty.
1:30 Up the M5 to Bristol, then M4 to Leigh Delamere services. Needed to know I had reliable fuel stations so chose the M ways. A bit of a faf as you come off the motorway and go round a series of traffic light controlled roundabouts. Nearly 15 minutes.
2:40 Back on M4 to Chievely services, short hop to be sure of enough fuel to reach Stanstead. Needed the stop, getting very chilled. Pulled on my trusty one piece coverall, warm as toast. Unfortunately as I was pulling that on, a police CCTV camera van pulled out, right in front of me, probably looking for other challenge idiots like me. So, a steady 68mph all the way to the M25... and then a steady 68mph all the damn way to the M11.
4:10. Finally made Stanstead services. The sky was already getting bright, no chance of making the next 90 odd miles before the sun rose at 4:15.
I got a good lick on, Newmarket passed, Bury St. Edmunds was my undoing. I missed my road to Lowestoft, taking one in entirely the wrong direction south. After finally getting back on track, I arrived at 5:30, a full hour late!
So..... Next year its a Blackbird or a Triumph Sprint, 200 mile tanks. I'll wrap up warm from the start, I'll double check the power supply to my sat nav, I'll take the A12 all the way up the east coast.... My bladder.... Hmmmm.
Given all my stops and the unnecessary diversion, I should be a lot nearer.
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pepperami
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PostPosted: 17:01 - 03 Jul 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thumbs Up cool!, pics or it didn’t happen Wink Thumbs Up
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jjdugen
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PostPosted: 19:39 - 03 Jul 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Got some pics of Lands end. Promptly dropped phone, screen smashed, another bit of useless technology. (See post in Geeks forum!)
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Try Soi 23 on Amazon for a good read.... Self promotion? Moi?
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pepperami
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PostPosted: 09:56 - 10 Jul 2018    Post subject: Re: Lands end - Lowestoft Ness point. Side to side, racing Reply with quote

jjdugen wrote:
so decided to celebrate my 70th birthday by having a go at the side to side challenge. Midsummers day 450 miles in 7 hours.
So..... Next year its a Blackbird or a Triumph Sprint, 200 mile tanks.


Hmm? Been thinking a out your choice of bike for next year.
Lovely bikes and they would make the challenge easy.

Do the challenge on an MZ Supa5 Shocked or an Enfield Bullet Shocked , that really would be an accomplishment Thumbs Up
On a serious note, don’t you think your choice of bike for next year will make the challenge to easy?
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BTTD
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PostPosted: 10:20 - 10 Jul 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Laughing Yeah, too easy in your 70's.
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P.
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PostPosted: 11:07 - 10 Jul 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Doing it at night, just take your plate off, no worries with cameras and the like. Just go for it, at 70, what does it matter Laughing
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jjdugen
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PostPosted: 13:27 - 10 Jul 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ha ha! Some tongue in cheek Bikechat ribaldry.

Its not so much the forward motion that counts as keeping that forward motion up. I had a total of five stops, one... maybe... unnecessary. I must have wasted at least an hour in fueling alone. A 200 mile tank range cuts that right out, maybe no more than twenty minutes. There seems to be no avoiding the ball ache of the M25 but I put miles on my journey going M11 rather than the direct A12. Getting lost did not help either.
But! If you think this is easy, take it from me, its not! Nightime riding is a different kettle of fish to daytime. Oh, and the weather was perfect, rain would add a whole new dimension.
Anyway, hotels booked for next year, Clarkson is not going to beat me, even if it turns out he actually did not do the full run in one go.
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The CBR900RR has been sold. Aprilia Falco worms its way into my heart.
Try Soi 23 on Amazon for a good read.... Self promotion? Moi?
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pepperami
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PostPosted: 22:30 - 10 Jul 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

I applaud you for doing it and for trying again to meet the target Thumbs Up

I’ve found that comfort is so important on long stints.
Before I sorted it the seat on one of my bikes , the most I could do on it in one go was 75 mile maximum.
Now I have sorted out the seat, I could ride all day if the tank was big enough (I think)
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A100man
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PostPosted: 14:29 - 19 Jul 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

There's a lot of these nasty 'double yellow' cameras out there now for variable speed limits but they say they are also on to catch over 70s.

Wha's your strategy fro dealing with them?

I often wonder if they can even read the 'smaller than strictly legal' 1980s style plates that two of my bikes came with..
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