Boundary 500 Charity ride

I did post this in Bike talk a couple of days ago but thought I would post it here as the charity directly involves all of those from the PM:

Folks, I know that this time of year there's a lot of fundraising events going on and it probably feels like every week someone is asking for money...well im no different!

I will be taking part in the Boundary500 motorcycle ride on the 20th June. Its a 500 miler in a day, in aid of the Great North Air Ambulance.

Its an excellent cause and one particularly pertinent to us bikers (particularly us in the Pennine Massive area) as they tend to deal with us on a regular basis.

If you wish to donate, even the smallest amount (every penny is appreciated) then please visit my page at
http://www.justgiving.com/robrochester

If anyone fancies taking part themselves (its based in the North East & North West) then you can do at www.boundary500.co.uk

Anything is appreciated,
Thanks!

Eh up mate, only donated a deep sea diver (fiver for anyone who doesn't know..... ) but thats all i can afford at the mo. Good luck with the event and hope you reach your target.

Just need some of these tight gets on here to pull out the old wallet and blow away the cobwebs lol

Will be working all day, so cannot do this unfortunately.

Thanks to the both of you for your support, I am VERY grateful for your donations it means a lot.

Mel, is this like an IOU?

Just a quick one to say a big thanks to everyone who has taken time to sponsor me so far, I have raised over £200 and still 3 days to go! If anyone would still like to contribute then please do so!

Ill let you know how I get on once I get back. Ill even try for a few photos.

good luck with the 500miler rob hope it stays dry for you

Charlie, thanks very much for your donation i'm sure the GNAAS will be very grateful. I've actually had a great week of fundraising and have now surpassed the £200 mark.

I too am hoping for a dry one as if it rains it'll be an even longer day!

no worries rob, it's never pleasant seeing the 'copter out but it's good to know it's there should the worst ever happen

Hope the ride went well. Fantastic cause.

Thanks again to all those who sponsored me for yesterday, sadly didnt really get any time to take photos so i'll just have to provide a written report

After awaking at 5am, I just kitted up, grabbed a quick drink and then set off at 5.25 from Castleford planning to make the start at Stockton for 6:30. A quiet run up saw us getting in at Stockton around the 6:20 mark so we were in good time. We got the bikes (and ourselves) registered at the start, issued with a GNAAS T-Shirt to wear over our leathers, and given a free bacon butty and tea supplied by the sponsors at the Peugeot Garage. A quick chat about which way we would be attempting the ride with a couple of other riders, I then finally got under way at around 6:50.

Again, being an early Saturday morning, the road up was quiet. We dispatched of the A19, and caught onto the A1 at Washington, heading around the western bypass at Newcastle. At this point we hadnt seen another Boundary rider and I was beginning to wonder where they all were! Aside from leaving some at the start, I thought we may have come across a few slow ones however it wasn't until around halfway between Newcastle and Berwick did we see anyone. We made good progress here for the first leg and we found ourselves arriving in Berwick at 8:30. The cards were stamped, tanks were filled and I then thought I'd use the Sat Nav which I'd borrowed from my dad to find our way through Scotland and onto Whitehaven.

After waving goodbye to the North Sea (for a few hours at least) we then headed west out towards Kelso. The weather looked a bit iffy west and I was wondering whether the wet weather clothes would be required. A couple of riders complained of being cold at Berwick and it was notably cooler than when we left Stockton. Still I was ok having worn a few layers underneath my leathers so just followed the Sat Nav, catching a few others up as we reached Hawick and the A7. A Gixxer6 passed us somewhere near Teviothead and then appeared to pass us again some 5 or 6 miles later. I did consider whether to keep pace with him but thought better of it. Heading into Carlisle, the Sat-nav did a dying act on me (just running of batteries) so decided to turn it off and conserve the battery life for just finding the checkpoints at the relevant towns.

After passing through Carlisle which at this point was getting busy, we took the road down to Whitehaven. We seemed to bunch with quite a few other Boundary riders here and on the single carriageway, some of the overtakes were interesting. At points, some of the faster bikes were passing me on the straights however by filtering I kept catching them up and they were then holding me up in traffic. Me & Steve (Future father-in-law who I was doing it with) were continuing to make good progress here and we reached Whitehaven just about 11:30. Again a quick stamp, fuel up and drink at this point and a quick chat with a few other riders. The Gixxer turned up AFTER us and after finding out why he passed us twice, he explained he got lost on a few occasions and took a 60 mile detour on the way!

With the Irish sea to our right, we then made for the next checkpoint at Barrow in Furness. Although I'd never been to Barrow, I had ridden down that road before but had forgotten how good it was! Once out of Whitehaven, we wound our way along the fantastic A595 again keeping pace with several other Boundary riders. It was at this point that a few of those who had taken the clockwise route started to pass us, obviously making good progress on the more technical part of the course. I was beginning to notice that the guys who we had kept pace with from Berwick to Whitehaven were the same that we were keeping pace with at this point. Again that Gixxer passed us and he later said that he was looking for someone to play with but I wasnt playing at his speeds! I think the topbox was slowing me down a little

After following the A595 for so long, we missed a turning and ended up on the A590 having to take a detour of 10 miles to get to where we wanted. Looking to save the battery on the Sat-nav for Skipton, we followed other riders into the town.

The plan at this point was to have a quick stop here, grab some food and then take it onto Devils Bridge where we would have a little stop to eat it and have another drink. I noticed a few others were eating bananas around the course keeping their energy levels up. I decided to go for Lucozade and a bar of Snickers! Whilst in the car park at Barrow, I thought i'd check out those new Avon Storms that I'd fitted, and saw that the chicken strips had gone. Checking out Steve's new Avon knobblies, we noticed a big nail in the tyre!

At this point the trip looked over. We would likely have to call on a recovery truck and we'd be heading home. We were just over half distance without about 300 miles on the clock in total. Where would we get a repair at 2pm on a Saturday afternoon in a hurry? We nipped over to a car tyre place where he pumped the tyre full of air, and then on his recommendation headed through a few back streets where I found a Suzuki dealers. He couldnt help us as he had deliveries to get out but recommended a small place a few streets away. We found this tiny Yamaha dealer (Wrens for those who know Barrow) and asked him whether he could help us. After taking a look at it (we needed a tube replacement) he said he could do it but we'd have to wait an hour before he could take a look. Faced with the wait or a breakdown recovery, we took the wait and just reconsidered our plans.

By 4pm, they had replaced the tube, and at no cost as he realised that we were doing the ride for the GNAAS (Big thumbs up to Wrens!) so we were then in race against time to get back to the campsite to enjoy the evenings entertainment.

2 hours behind those who had been with us, we made straight for Skipton and after arriving there without further incident, we saw a few riders just heading out of the town.
Again cards stamped and more fuel before setting off again for Scarborough.

The weather was beautiful at this time of day, 5:45pm heading up towards Harrogate, the sun was shining as we passed by Menwith Hill and into Harrogate. I was trying to predict a finishing time at Lord Stones and had 9pm in mind. With the sun shining on our backs everything seemed good again. We'd get by York without rush hour traffic and make time on those who had headed off before us.

York was relatively quiet. The usual northbound ring road traffic hop was undertaken and we were flying towards Scarborough in good time. The clouds in front however, were looming and we had just got back onto the A64 when the heavens opened. A pit stop was required for wets to go on, and I got drenched just trying to put the 1 piece on! Now with a wet visor inside and out, heavy spray and even more black clouds in front it looked like the time was going to run away for us. A very wet road into Scarborough greeted us and on arriving at the checkpoint, we found a few stiff sportsbike riders, a few wary Goldwing riders and a few other stragglers. Although my throttle wrist was pretty stiff, and my knees were feeling the miles, I was pretty good myself and didnt really feel fatigued on the Versys. Just a drink of Lucozade again here before taking off. It was around 7:20pm at this point and we'd been on the bikes for 14 hours on and off.

The A170 to Helmsley was the route we decided to take and throughout the trip it was raining heavily. Less haste was the approach and due to the amount of standing water, the focus turned to finishing rather than what time. It was bloody dark for the longest day in June at 8pm and I just couldnt believe how bad the weather was for one day where we needed better conditions! I then was thankful that it wasnt like that all of the way.

Helmsley was understandably dead for the evening, no bikes at all so we passed straight through at 8:20pm. Continuing along the Helmsley-Stokesley road, we cruised it back to the site at Lord Stones Cafe on Carlton bank. The time was 8:50pm, it was near darkness and the band had kicked off the party.

I was elated to have finished, a very long and testing day but a rewarding one. Got to chat with those that we had left along the way and to swap stories with the other guys who were camping. Quid a pint meant that the spirits were high among everyone despite the weather and everyone was having a good time in the quagmire.

An excellent day and over £400 raised between the 2 of us for the GNAAS.