I rode 1320 miles for a hangover

Mike101
Posts: 4019
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2012 6:13 pm

I rode 1320 miles for a hangover

Post by Mike101 »

Morning all,

well i made it home last night after 12 hours in the saddle and 640 miles. I feel like i've been kicked about like a football but it was an adventure.

Firstly thanks to Craig LWR) for setting it up and his good lady for putting up with me being drunk on Friday night.

So was it worth doing 1320 miles there and back...a big yes but a little no.

Let me explain the good bits. I set off from southampton on Thursday lunch tiem and all was well. Got to carlisle around 7pm and settled down for the night.

Set off again at 8am on the Friday morning and again all was well. Got to Glasgow and the sky opened..the M8 is not nice in the rain...actually is it ever nice.

As i had more time on the way up i decided to go the A82 route from the Erskine bridge.

All teh way until about half way up the side of loch lomand it rained so i couldn't see anything apart clouds, rain and the back of a lorry...not great but i was happy because i was not at work.

Then the rain stopped and it warmed up...the traffic died off and the road was great.

I can carry a good mental picture of maps in my head and i remembered that i was nearing Glencoe and just about everybody that has ever been there has said how great it is.....well a fine mins later i was riding through sweeping corners thinking ..WOW..what a road and what a view. I can confirm that thsi should be a must on every bikers list to ride.

So on to Fort William and a lunch stop. Had a quick look at Ben Nevis....wow thats a big pointy bstard. Again a great road and great views.

About 10 miles norht of Fort William there was road works that closed the road for 10 mins while big trees were being cut down. I got to the front of the queue and waited. When the green light came i was off and i didn't have a singel car or anything in front of me for about 25 miles.....again a perfect road with fast sweeping corners. Then off to Inverness..stop for fuel and then the last hour to Ullapool.
Every single person that arrived in Ullapool said the same thing...wow that last 30 miles was fantastic. Endless fast smooth sweeping corners with perfect tarmac...the best road i have ever ridden in my life.

So got there about 16:30..set my tent up..met some new people and then it started to go wrong for me....i am sure it was the curry i had and not the 7 pints of different beer that made me ill....but i was very unwell....i will say big sorry to all of you who heard or had the pleasure of seeing me not at my best.

Felt better by mid afternoon so sat around enjoying the views and chatting.

Now the nto good parts..for me anyway...some theiving git stole the top off of my trangia burner. It was outside my tent and stolen sometime mid PM on the Saturday...i had expected better but i guess people will be people wherever they are.

Now as bike riders we get a bad press and it does not take much for people to find a reason not to have us around. On Friday night there was no noise..just chatting and people being good and respecting where they were. Saturday night was different...at 01:00 in the morning i was woken by shouting and a lot of men being very drunk and acting like prats. This went on for about an hour.

Firstly gents....not in a campsite where people are trying to sleep and not near homes...would you do that outside your front door? I stopped doing that sort of thing when i was 20!

Anyway enough of that...so up and off at 8am Yesterday..13 hours in todat and 12 hours in the seat..640 miles with 4 stops. Got home at 9pm feelign a bit battered.

Despite what some may say i can now fully confimr that a Tenere will sit for hours at 85mph and is very comfy with no issues at all.

So finally two things. A big hello to all the new peeps i met. I hope to see you all again somewhere.

And the highlight was watching the local copper driving up and down trying to find a bike to stop and nick. I walked past him and the look he gave me...he drove up and down the sea front road about 15 times following bikes..so i hope we all behaved ourselves.

Mike
And the beast shall be huge and black, and the eyes thereof red with the blood of living creatures, and the whore of Babylon shall ride forth on a three-headed serpent, and throughout the lands, there'll be a great rubbing of parts
PeterT
Posts: 293
Joined: Tue Apr 19, 2011 9:05 am

Re: I rode 1320 miles for a hangover

Post by PeterT »

We watched with equal measures of awe, pity and amusement Mike. Looking back though, more amusement ;)

That's quite a feat, to get all that riding in and beat that kind of hangover. Quite a constitution you've got there. :)
-Ralph-
Posts: 6803
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 7:16 pm

Re: I rode 1320 miles for a hangover

Post by -Ralph- »

Glad you enjoyed the trip!

The Loch Lomond & Glencoe scenery is amazing and Mike101 is spot on saying it must be on every bikers bucket list. Once you've done it once or twice though, post up where you're going and myself or one of the other the Scots on the forum will do some google maps for you that will take you off the main tourist drags such as the A82, and show you the really good stuff. The A82 and the A9 are the two busiest trunk roads in the highlands, taking the greatest volume of traffic between North and South, they are the Highland equivalent of taking the M1 or the M6. The scenery is great on both, but there are better roads and just as good if not better scenery. What I tend to find is visitors from England who are not used to roads being that good, think the A82 is great, the Scots who ride it every other weekend avoid it wherever possible in favor of quieter and bendier roads.
Mike101 wrote:Despite what some may say i can now fully confimr that a Tenere will sit for hours at 85mph and is very comfy with no issues at all
Of course it will, as will my XT600E, I took it to Portugal and did similar mileage at similar speeds, but only because I wanted to go off road when I got there. Had I just been going by road to Ullapool, of the two bikes in my garage, I'd have taken the one with 3 cylinders. I've not seen anyone people say the Tenere was not capable of doing the job, just that there are other bikes that will do that job better.
"Luke, you're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view" - Obi-Wan Kenobi
Isobel
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Sep 16, 2013 8:00 am

Re: I rode 1320 miles for a hangover

Post by Isobel »

I wasn't aware of any noise on the Saturday night!!! Possibly ear plugs dampened it down a bit!!!! All seemed like a friendly bunch.... Was lovely to see so many bikes and people with similar interests....I shall definitely attend more events.... Great location.... Thank you to the organisers... :)
corbine
Posts: 2681
Joined: Tue Apr 26, 2011 4:19 am

Re: I rode 1320 miles for a hangover

Post by corbine »

Wheres the Pictures Mike?
Great introduction-report without pictures? ;-)
Mike101
Posts: 4019
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2012 6:13 pm

Re: I rode 1320 miles for a hangover

Post by Mike101 »

Pictures....?

I was riding on the way up just to get there so didn't really stop for any pics as i was on my own.

When i got there i was drinking beer and then it got dark so i didn't take any pics.

The next day was a mixture of throwing up followed by a general wish of death...so again no pics.

And yesterday was not a day for pics.

I wish i did take some pics but the best bits are still in my head.

Mike
And the beast shall be huge and black, and the eyes thereof red with the blood of living creatures, and the whore of Babylon shall ride forth on a three-headed serpent, and throughout the lands, there'll be a great rubbing of parts
Elle
Posts: 2654
Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2011 8:17 pm

Re: I rode 1320 miles for a hangover

Post by Elle »

Glad you had a good time despite the stomach bug and missing trangia part - is that the bit with the pan rests? Maybe someone here has a spare..?
Mike101 wrote:I wish i did take some pics but the best bits are still in my head.
so true :)
living an ordinary life in a non-ordinary way
Mike101
Posts: 4019
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2012 6:13 pm

Re: I rode 1320 miles for a hangover

Post by Mike101 »

HI,

the bit thats 'missing' is the cap used to seal the burner for travel if there are some meths still in it. I always empty it anyway so i won't miss it.

It was well going but the 640 mile one hit trip back has taken it's toll on me. I was OK when i got home but the next evening and still today i feel like i've been kicked all over the place.

I'm looking forward to the Salisbury thing next year as my 15 min ride won;t be such hard work.

see you there if not before.

Mike
And the beast shall be huge and black, and the eyes thereof red with the blood of living creatures, and the whore of Babylon shall ride forth on a three-headed serpent, and throughout the lands, there'll be a great rubbing of parts
sledgegreen
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Re: I rode 1320 miles for a hangover

Post by sledgegreen »

I'm sure that I have read somewhere that the consumption of beer, curry and minor Trangia components inevitably leads to shocking hangovers.
Mike101
Posts: 4019
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2012 6:13 pm

Re: I rode 1320 miles for a hangover

Post by Mike101 »

I don't think it was the beer.

I have come to realise that it must have been all the ABR memebrs on here who i have upset over the past few months. They came into my tent while i was snoring, beat me up and forced me to drink some form of poison.

it must be true..

I mean 4 pints of 1664, 2 pints of wife beater..i mean stella and a pint of Cobra followed by a curry never did anybody any harm..did it?

mike
And the beast shall be huge and black, and the eyes thereof red with the blood of living creatures, and the whore of Babylon shall ride forth on a three-headed serpent, and throughout the lands, there'll be a great rubbing of parts
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