Afternoon Everyone,
Hope all is well
Still time to donate if you can and have anything to spare!
https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/ ... lenge-2024
So..... Me and the ZZR Made it.... Just about
Here is the detail, the feelings and also the photos for you in thanks for all of your support
So the plan was to head down to LE for the inaugural start from the lands end sign on the Wednesday for an initial meet up and photos ahead of our final briefing at the hotel just down the road that evening and getting our heads down prior to our 4am start the following morning. Meet time was scheduled for between 2-4pm for a 4pm staged start. Unfortunately on the way down, myself and a few other riders we caught at the point of a closed A30 due to a lorry fire, A few bike skipped through prior to the closure and a lot of riders were able to divert, but we were caught right at the front, Costing us nearly 2 Hours sitting on a barrier.... Great Start!
Once we got going again we all made it down to LE for a quick rest, some hello's and then the staged start.
Once the evenings briefing was completed, some people headed for bed whilst some people headed out for some last minute fettling and in a few cases last minute repairs to ensure they were able to make the start due to breakdowns on route to LE or from Le to the Hotel. The car park was a hive of activity and a little bit of nervous energy. From my perspective, the ZZR was good, All the basic pre-ride checks were ok and I was happy that I didnt need to do anything, Let alone fiddle for the sake of it! Popped to the shop to top up on pre-emptive pain killer stock, quick beer, and then off to bed nice and early.
I should have got 6 Hours sleep, I got about 2.5 - I was too excited
Next morning, bright and breezy we hit the road at 4am - Hopefully not waking too many of the hotel residents as 35 Wreckers fire up to a symphony of leaking exhausts and clattering engines, one non starter unfortunately due to an engine failure and was permitted a sub bike, but other than that - Everyone who arrived made the start which was great.
First section should have been a pretty much straight run along the A30 Into Exeter and my first planned fuel stop at circa 120 Miles. After a couple of miles, we quickly encountered our first closure of the run and had to take a huge detour off the beaten track on mainly B Roads to rejoin the A30 quite a few miles down the line. This should have been a quick section, and once we got back on to the main road (Mostly still as a group) we were able to get the pace back up.
Managed to get back to the A30 in time to see the blood red sunrise over the coast, Which was absolutely stunning.
Out of Exeter fuel stop > Warminster > Chippenham > A429 Cirencester for Pitstop 1.
Stopped for water, for a kind soul to check my bike over and clean my visor and then across to the garage for fuel.
Back onto the road Stow bound where I was nearly taken out by a U-Turning Chelsea Tractor who couldnt be bothered to wait at the traffic lights (Emergency stops are not the ZZR's forte!) Then Warwick > Coventry (I got a little lost here and lost a few minutes) > Nuneaton > Burton > Derby > Ripley > Alfreton > Clay Cross....
Fuel Stop at Clay Cross and the 2 Minutes up the road to Pitstop to at MyMoto....
Was surprised to be greeted by a very happy and bouncing Dave Hewson (Obsession Engineering) Who checked the bike over and then thrust his camera in my face with many questions. Love his stuff on YouTube and was a nice boost to see him there to carry on his backing of the event which I have no doubt is increasing its popularity further.
Coffee, Banana, More Water whilst the chain was lubed and tyre pressures checked and then back on the road.
This section, was the section from hell.
A61 Sheffield (No Miles, so much time) > Barnsley (Same) > Chapeltown > Huddersfield > Halifax > Burnley > Padiham > Whalley > Longridge > Broughton A6 Heading for Lancaster.
Very little mileage covered in this section, but so much time taken up.
Pitstop 3 at Guys Thatched Hamlet, Billsborrow.
Amazing place, so many people out supporting us..... Cheering us in and out, it was amazing, emotional and very humbling.
Visor Clean, Bike Checked, Light lunch and some drink, checked in with the missus and the little man (Who was still in hospital
) and then back on the road after a fuel stop a few minutes up the road.
At this point, I felt like I was making good progress..... Which to be fair we were, but the reality was we were not even at the half way point. This was where the sheer scale of this challenge was starting to dawn on me.
A6 Lancaster > Kendal > Penrith > Carlisle > Longtown > Gretna > Dumfries (Fuel) > Kilmarnock > Irvine > Gourock/Mcinroys Point.
This was a long section but as you know the roads open out well and I was able to make good progress to the ferry port headed for Dunoon.
This is where things got interesting.
Currently running at Mid-Pack on the trackers, I hooked up with a guy for the last part of the above section from Carlisle onwards (Karl) Riding a 98 Fireblade, Old one he used to own for years, sold it and brought it back as a wreck that had been sitting in a garage for years and years and was rotten. Worked his ass of getting it going again. Top guy.
Headed for Mcinroys point, and just as we are turning in to the port its dumping its coolant on the floor. The ferry is about to depart (9.30pm sailing) so get on and push the blade on so he can try and see whats happened as we cross over - Its a good job we did too as we later found out the last sailing of the night was cancelled so if we didn't cross then we would have had to divert.
At the other side we limp to a garage for fuel and water and to look at the blade to try and find out whats going on, we manage to drill down to a hose leak/split on the water pump housing and make some readjustments to the connectors in the hope the leak can be sealed. All in all with Fuel, then getting into the blade and trying to get to the bottom of the issue we have probably lost best part of an hour trying to get back on the road.
The other guys are well gone, and we had some work ahead of us.
Starting off very tentatively to ensure no more coolant issues we headed towards Glen Coe, Fort William and then Inverness, the longest section of the challenge at over 200 Miles riding quickly into darkness and torrential rain, which followed us all the way. After all of the problems with the blade, Karl had lost a bit of confidence and asked me to lead, and as I was conscious we had lost some time my riding went to shit for a period and I went into rushed riding, reactive braking, and generally crap standards. This coupled with the Pitch Black, Lochs, Forests and the imposing distant silhouettes of mountains was
really not good, and at an isolated set of tempoary traffic lights up some random switch back on the A85 Looking over a huge drop, I had to give my head a serious wobble. We wasnt going to make up an hour by riding like dicks on these roads, in this weather.
Head reset, we made good solid progress for more fuel through the darkness and the rain.
On the run into Fort William for the next fuel stop, we pulled over quickly for a stretch, a check on the Blades coolant (Running now on cheap mineral water), and to tighten up once again all of the clips on the water pump. Temp was stable - All was good, At this point between us we expected to be dead last.... But surprisingly that was not the case.
Fort William, Heading for Inverness dealt us another blow with a road closure for resurfacing about 50+ (I think) Miles out. We were told we would be no longer than 30 Mins and the diversion would be closer to 50 Mins, but we were stuck for 45 Mins in total - This is where I was glad I reset my head a couple of hours before, as it would have changed nothing by riding like an idiot. Running up to the closure we caught up with a few more riders, and were relieved to not be the only riders this far out.
Escorted over the newly laid tarmac which was still smoking/steaming and we were back on our way. The last 25 Miles into Inverness, alongside Loch Ness were immense and my favourate part of the ride. Karl got his Mojo back and took the lead and we had a spirited run along the A82 in the wet (Although the rain had eased) along the smooth sweeping bends with the only drama being Bambi nearly taking Karl out at one point, narrowly missing his front wheel!
Pitstop 5 was at Inverness Motorcycles/Haggis Tours
I was so cold at this point, getting off of the bike I was shaking - My alpinestars waterproofs.... Well they really are not. I was a little unsteady on my feet also at this time, from the cold, wet, exhaustion and still fighting a chest infection I guess. I had some food, got some sugar on board and two coffees (This were a flipping lifesaver!) and I felt ready to go again.
Last Stage was fuel straight out of P5 Then Wick bound and on to JOG. Only 118 Miles ish but another 2 Hours in the seat.
The rain was on/off, and the roads were soaked. The scenery was stunning but there was no time to look as we were fully focused on keeping the wheels turning, making progress and getting the job done. The miles ticked down..... Slower and Slower each time. We hit Wick with a bump, literally so as riding through Wick is like riding across the surface of the moon - I have never experienced a road surface so bad in my life. From Wick it was only 16 Miles to JOG..... But those 16 Miles felt as long as the 100 Miles before it..... It was like a lifetime.
Arrival at JOG was 6.22am giving me and Karl a time of 26Hrs 22mins. Although I am gutted to have not made the 24 Hr target, I don't thing 26Hrs is too bad considering the problems with the Blade and the road closure. There was no way I was going to leave Karl in Dunoon on his own, stranded - That would be shit, and I am glad I didn't.
5 hours before that photo I sent a whatsapp to the Missus saying I wasn't enjoying this and I wanted it to be over, but I am so glad I sorted myself out and pushed on, as I was so happy to take this
Such a feeling of accomplishment, and I know that if it had not been for the delays we hit we would have been on for a sub 24hr I think.
As my boy was still in hospital (He is home now
) I rode back to Inverness in the (Later) morning after a few hours sleep and the ZZR is currently having a well deserved rest back at Pitstop 5 whilst I flew back to Luton to get home as fast as possible as I was in no state to endure another 12 Hour ride home. The ZZR will be back in MK in the coming weeks where I will need to decide what happens with it next.... I wont be doing the LDC Next year, but I know a few people who will be and would love to see it make the run up to the signpost again!
I cant say how crazy this whole experience has been, so many little details I have missed in the above that keep popping into my mind. So many new friends made, so many new memories, skills and experiences, I have never rode even any where close to that far, or that long - Its changed what I know I can do when it comes to riding.
The ZZR is a phenomenal bike, Not compared to the touring or adventure bikes of today on a literal like for like basis - But comparing the touring/adventure bikes to this one taking into account the ZZR is 34 Years old. It didn't miss a beat. The clutch is stiff, the gear box is clunky and the cush drives are as loose as a wobbly tooth - But it goes well and handles amazingly well too and took me the 970 miles as comfortably as any modern bike would... and it cost me £500 (Excluding the brakes I set fire to, a clutch kit and a tyre
) and it deserves so much credit for that.
I love my little piece of crap
The icing on the cake is that we have this morning passed £92,000 in Donations - Absolutely phenomenal.
There is still time to donate if you have anything to spare too!
https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/ ... lenge-2024
Thanks so much to everyone who has donated, followed this thread and offered advice and contributed - This has been a massive part of the journey and I really appreciate everything.
Thanks!
I have been out of action since Thursday but I am over the hump now thankfully and gaining my strength back but there is not one chance of getting a 500 Mile run in tomorrow, especially as rain is forecast all day. I don't want to risk making things worse in any way so I am just going to dodge the showers and maybe get a short hop in, then get the back wheel off and to my tyre guy to get my top of the line, £69 Maxxis Sport touring rubber on and ready to go. 
