Well, its been a few weeks since I completed the National Road Rally, so thought it time to do a write up! I have had provisional confirmation that I completed the Platinum Award that I was going for, which is a relief! 540 Miles through 23 Checkpoints in 20 Hours. Firstly, huge thank you to everyone who has sponsored me, I have raised £200 that will be on its way to AMCUK Rescue today. 2 weeks before the day I received the Checkpoint map. The idea of the Rally is to plan a route that covers as many checkpoints as possible that adds up to 540 miles and finishes at one of 5 Finish Controls. I had already decided that I needed to finish as close as possible to Home, which meant my Finish control would be the Ace Cafe in West London, so I planned the route backwards to see where I would end up starting from. I had also decided that I didnt want to use a Sat Nav and just follow the arrow, as this seemed to take some of the challenge out of the ride for me, so the next 2 weeks were spent poring over Google Maps and Street View, working out what roads to take and how to describe the directions so that they would be easy to follow. Street View in particular was a God-send as I had looked at it so much that when I reached certain spots it felt as though I had been there before! A real boon at 2am and you’re not entirely convinced you are going in the right direction! After many different variations I decided that my starting point would be the Stibbington Diner on the A1 just south of Peterborough, and that as this was 130 miles from home I would be better off staying close by the night before so that I would be fresh for the long ride the next day. This is how I ended up staying in the Travelodge a stone’s throw from the East of England Showground the night before Working day! I cant seem to escape Shows even when Im meant to be doing something else! There was even a Mal Van there (although I didnt recognise whose it was :) ) Saturday dawned and the forecast rain had arrived overnight and left everything damp. A quick Little Chef Olympic Breakfast set me up for the rest of the day and a quick trip to Halfords to fix a broken indicator kept me busy for the morning, until about 11 when I headed to the Diner to be ready for the start. The rain had cleared away by this stage and the roads were dry so it looked like it was going to be a lovely day for riding. A handful of other riders had decided to start from the same place so we stood about chatting until it was finally 12 and we were off! Id studied the first few sets of directions carefully before heading off, so was confident that I knew where I was going and which turns to take. Whoops! I was soon riding down a road that didnt feel right and the next sign confirmed that I was heading East instead of North. The simple difference between (A17) and A17 on a road sign. The mistake was quickly fixed with only a few extra miles done, but a valuable lesson learnt early on. As only 1 of 2 route mistakes I made in the entire trip I think I can say my Route Planning went well. The first part of the route took me through Lincolnshire up to just south of Cadwell Park and then around Lincoln and Newark and down to Grantham. This covered the first 4 checkpoints on my list and gave me a feel for what was ahead. All the volunteers were really nice and welcoming, and I felt a little bit guilty not hanging around longer at each stop, but I wanted to get as many miles as possible under my belt before I was too tired. The next section was across country to the Services near Donington Park Circuit and here I grabbed a sandwich and a drink. The guys here take pictures of everyone arriving and had also setup a website to help work out the routes which I had used, so I had included this stop to say thanks :) I had been riding for three and a half hours by this point, and covered only about 150 miles, but as there had been a checkpoint every 30 miles or so I was feeling good. A tip for anyone thinking of doing this sort of trip... make sure you are comfy on the bike! Soon I was off again after watching a few fellow competitors arrive and depart. Next stops were Burton Upon Trent, Meriden (Near Coventry, nice cup of tea) and then the main bit of City riding that I would have to do, heading across Birmingham on a Saturday afternoon to get to a checkpoint in Halesowen. Another short break here where I had a chat with the volunteers and found out that being an engineer means having the right hammer for the job and that you can fix parts of a plane with a Coke can, and then off to Sutton Maddock. This checkpoint was a favourite of mine. Its in a lovely quiet (until I turned up, my bike doesnt do quiet!) Churchyard and the cakes and brownies were delicious! One of the things that I hadnt counted on when planning was the amount of Tea and Coffee that would be offered at each stop as the ride went on! Off again heading South to Stourport, onto Worcester (where the volunteers were giving out KitKat Chunkies) and then West again to Leominster. The roads on this section were some of my favourites, a really lovely part of the country to ride through. I arrived at Doms Bike Stop near Leominster just as the sun was setting. At this point I was up to 300 miles done in about 9 hours. Not a very fast average speed, but the stops and chats were all taking their toll, but I was happy that I was over halfway in less than half the time. There was a lovely Bonfire going at the stop, so I stopped for half an hour to relax and report back to Sam. Then a change of visor and off again! Next up was Ross-On-Wye, Stroud and on to Chipping Sodbury. Another great set of roads, although made more fun by the number of bugs that decided to commit suicide on my visor! The Stroud stop was an Unmanned Stop at a petrol station, where you had to buy something and show a receipt at the next stop. The cashier must have been used to this by the time I arrived and asked for a receipt for my Mars Bar as she didnt even blink! Another rest was taken at Chipping Sodbury Rugby Club, mainly because it was inside, they had a TV and offered more tea! This was around 12:30am and the volunteers, while still as happy as everywhere else were obviously a bit stir crazy as there was a discussion going on as to the merits of taking the Disco equipment that was left out in the Rugby club and setting it up outside to guide people in! From there it was on to Devizes after passing Castle Combe Circuit. The stop at the Three Magpies pub (west of Devizes) was nice as it was pitch black and the sky was clear, so the number of stars that could be seen was amazing. Passing through Avebury village with its Standing Stone Circle was special as well. I hadnt realised just how BIG the stones were and they were quite spooky lit up in my Headlights. On to the Swindon checkpoint at Coates Water Park, and a special mention to the lone volunteer who was manning this checkpoint as I can imagine it was quite lonely at times! Next stop was Carterton (where a lovely Ural Sidecar Outfit pulled up as I was leaving), and then on to Bicester (More tea and chatting) and then onward to Tring. My second mistake happened on the way to Tring, as I had caught up with another competitor on the road, and we must have both rode straight past the turning. They obviously realised before I did as they turned round at a roundabout while I carried on, confident that I hadnt gone passed the landmark I was looking for yet. That was until I reached a set of roundabouts that I recognised from Street View (saving me again!) that should have been on the next leg. No harm done I turned around and was soon back on the right route. The Tring stop was at the Chiltern Forest Golf Club and arriving there just as dawn was breaking was lovely as we had a great view over the countryside to the East. It was now 4am, and I only had 2 more checkpoints to go, one at a petrol station in Watford (another Unmanned stop) and the final stop at the Ace Cafe. The route I had planned for the early morning sections was all straight forward and by 5:15 AM I found myself close to finishing, but unable to finish until 6am, so I pulled into a petrol station near the Ace and bought my first cup of coffee of the whole event :) At 6 it was a simple case of riding 1/2 a mile to the Ace and I had Finished! It was a shame that the Ace hadnt opened early for us to offer breakfast, but it was at this point that it started raining on me for the first time in the event, so taking that as a sign I hopped back on the bike and headed home, tired but happy. I have some great memories of this event, but the thing that sticks with me is the great sense of community that bikers have. There were all sorts of bikes taking part and all sorts of riders, and everyone was friendly and would have a chat and share their experiences. Seeing another competitor out on the roads at 2am and waving to each other, or bumping into the same riders at various stops and then each heading your seperate ways, only to meet again 3 stops further along was great fun. Who knows, maybe Ill have another go next year...
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 16:03:51 +0000
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