1000 MILES, ONE DAY, ONE RAPID COACH
Q: What does a Rapid coach do with a long weekend off?
A: Ride to Scotland, complete the North Coast 500 in a day, and ride back via the three highest pubs…
Words by Ryan Decarteret and John Westlake
That sounds like a long, long way. Why?
Yeah, it was over 2000 miles in three days, and a lot of those miles were on minor roads not motorways. It was tough. Why do it? Well, when I’m coaching I ride the same roads quite a lot and I wanted to remind myself I could ride to a good standard anywhere. I started out wanting to ride the North Coast 500 [a mind-blowing 520-mile loop of the Scottish Highlands] with some mates over the course of a week, but getting that organised was like herding cats so I decided to do it on my own. Then training days with Rapid cropped up so I thought I’d do it in a day. I don’t know where the idea of visiting the highest pub in Scotland, Wales and England on the way back down came from – it just appeared in my head.
And how come you’re on an MV? Is that your normal bike?
No, I normally ride a BMW K1300S or R1250GS. I was chatting about the trip to one of the guys at Bike magazine and he suggested I do it on ‘something daft’. His first idea was the 207bhp Brutale 1000RR, but they couldn’t get that in time, so I got an 800cc Turismo Veloce Rosso instead.
So what was the highlight?
The North Coast 500. Until I rode it I thought the Yorkshire Dales roads were the best in the UK, but the NC500 is arguably better. I went anti-clockwise [starting at Inverness and heading north to John O’Groats before turning west and then south], which meant the views and roads got more impressive as I went round. It got to the stage where I was hardly making any progress at all – I had to keep stopping to take photos. If you imagine your best ever Sunday morning blast, it’s like that for 10 hours.
Did you feel you were missing out by doing it in a day?
People said if I did it in a day I’d miss loads of stuff [amazing beaches, coastal hikes, whisky distilleries etc], but I was doing it purely for the ride. So, no, I didn’t feel I was missing anything.
And then you rode 1000 miles the next day?
I ended up doing that, yes. I didn’t make the final decision until I was enroute because I wanted to see how I felt. I’d never done 1000 miles in one day, so I thought I’d tick it off the list.
And how was it?
Put it this way, if you ever want to do 1000 miles in a day, don’t visit the highest pubs in the UK at the same time. They’re all in the middle of some cracking riding roads that completely mess up your average speed so it takes ages – I was on the road for 22 hours. And the Scottish pub is rubbish. It was honking with rain for a lot of the journey and I got a puncture on the M6, so overall, it wasn’t the easiest trip I’ve ever done. I know some people love the whole high mileage thing – good luck to them – but it’s not an enjoyable way to spend time on a motorbike. The only way to do it is sit on the motorway, burn petrol and square your tyres off, which isn’t really my thing.
So when did you decide to go for 1000?
When I got to Oxford Services I realised I would have done 740 miles in a day by the time I got home to Bracknell. I was feeling OK, so I worked out that if I did a lap of the M25 and then went the long way home I would crack the 1000.
You lapped the M25?
Yeah, I went clockwise, so I stayed in the nearside lane as much as possible to make the lap longer. That was 140 miles. How was the MV? Surprisingly, I loved it. I’m a fan of big bikes – my favourite bike when I worked at the National Crime Agency [as a surveillance rider] was a ZZR1400 – so I wasn’t expecting to like the MV. But it was really good. If I lived near twisty roads, I’d buy one – I absolutely would, despite its useless dash and switchgear. It calls me from the garage in a way my R1250GS never does and is surprisingly practical. The screen works, the saddle is comfy enough and it didn’t break down. If I was two-up touring I’d want something with more grunt, but other than that there’s nothing the MV can’t do.
So what’s the next challenge?
The Bike magazine guys mentioned taking a Panigale to Pakistan, or a Norton to Nigeria. I think they were joking, but I’m not 100% sure…