My Long Way Down [cancelled]

Best of luck, enjoy.

 

Glasgow to Manchester should be quicker Sam.
Breaks may be too long at 1 hour. When I go to Chester I tend to stop 3 times.
Two of those are fag breaks and one for lunch.
Cuts the time down quite a bit
Remember not going by motorway means slower average speeds due to traffic / congestion and lower speed limits.
If the journey is just to munch miles , consider doing part of it on the motorway to spend less time in the saddle.
Other than that enjoy your trip

 

Enjoy your first trip.
Nearly 300 miles is a long day,stopping just adds more time.A 12 hour day is very tiring.I'm not saying you should avoid motorways but it does drop your average speed right down.
There's some good routes in here http://www.ride.co.uk/routes/ you can trim them to suit yourself.

 

I seemed to me that I spent longer in the saddle each day last week than google said.

....... Google... Real...
Day 1 ... 4.5 .... 6 ... actually took a short cut,
...... 2 ... 4 ... ... 6 ... Skye lots of stops and lunch
.. .... 3 ... 4 ... ... 7 ... dont know didnt stop except fuel
. .... 4 ... 2.5 ....... 4.... slow twisting road
. ..... 5 ..... 3 ..... .. 7.5 .... Mr o senic Great run weather
. ...... 7 .... 5.5 ... ... 7 ..... senic 1 stop weather

Realy enjoyed it, and had all day anyway, Thems the figures though.

 

First off enjoy the ride as that's the main goal.

A few observations from experience
do you know your tank range ? and your safety margin ?
Have you planned your fuel stops ? Where they are and wheres your next nearest ?
have you planned time for fuel stops ?

Likewise have you planned your food & Hydration stops ?
What if its extra hot weather ( you'll need more hydration ), or the reverse and you run into heavy rain ? ( Unlikely in the uk I know )

Even changing into and out of rain gear takes time.

Have you planned to allow for small issues that may stop or delay you on your trip ? Are you carrying a puncture repair kit & a small tool kit including bulbs ( instrument bulbs can cause havoc if the go out leaving you unable to read the clocks ) I had a tacho cable break and the speedo bulbs went on one long trip !

Unless you are used to long days in the saddle ( weeks of previous practice of at least 2/3 of your planned days ) you will struggle with the pain inflicted by even the most comfortable seat, sitting for 3 days @ probably 10 hours a day.

I would suggest using more motorways and faster roads at the beginning of each day and sightseeing later when youre nearer you daily destination when you have the time to spare.

Please don't look at this as negative, but its my way of looking at and planning ride like the one youre looking at, if you look at it from the point of view if it can go wrong it will, at least you have some idea of a contingency plan in mind.

As I said at the beginning enjoy the trip

 

Hi Sam I'll have a look st your routes on myroute app this arfternoon

 

I've used similar kits and theyre a good get you going again kit, but , you need to complete the job by checking pressures at a garage.
As long as the tyre is still seated on the rim you should be ok, if not you need to reseat it asap.

Reducing the riding time is good, work within what you know you can manage and it will be fine ........ Good luck

 

Enjoy it Sam - have fun!

 

Yeah, sounds like your good to go.

 

Have a safe trip Sam.Dont forget pics we like pics.