tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55309576982056013332024-03-13T15:45:07.817+00:00The Arctic RiderRiding to help those who help othersGordon Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10224306638325366461noreply@blogger.comBlogger190125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5530957698205601333.post-31402749303902448152021-02-14T10:07:00.002+00:002021-02-14T10:07:28.708+00:00To Scotland<p> Hello,</p><p>Welcome back to The Arctic Rider blog.</p><p>We've had some very Arctic weather in the past few weeks here in the UK with lots of snow, ice, and wind. The weather has been a constant reminder of my mission to ride my motorbike across the Arctic Circle in every country possible, and has had me pining to get back on the bike and be riding in the remote wilderness at the top of our of planet. </p><p>As I said in my blog a few months ago, the continued restrictions caused by the global pandemic are making it rather tricky to plan my next multi-country Arctic ride to Russia (with no-less than 13 border crossings). In the past 2 months since my December blog, while the world has been making progress with vaccines and restrictions, the steer I'm getting from the media and some well informed professional connections is that restrictions are unlikely to be fully lifted any time soon and that 2021 is going to be very tricky logistically. On top of that, I also have my family and home responsibilities to think of. If I were to have to quarantine in a hotel upon my return for 10 days, this is extra pressure on my ever supportive wife, and potential work limitations need to be factored in.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj390lOUx-9-t25DzQtOPjNkcvC_buMYO7Vr7bj2PaDURZXkGm8m2KGD6fNTUzOim0gjUTxgMGnk22L-i09B9hHolPow3T56LY01-clHm8_Z3xX5quQIyIIZR9zEO5oBk1pY50yU4oW60b4/s2048/Day+7+-+9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj390lOUx-9-t25DzQtOPjNkcvC_buMYO7Vr7bj2PaDURZXkGm8m2KGD6fNTUzOim0gjUTxgMGnk22L-i09B9hHolPow3T56LY01-clHm8_Z3xX5quQIyIIZR9zEO5oBk1pY50yU4oW60b4/s320/Day+7+-+9.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The disappointment of crashing my bike in Sweden in 2011</td></tr></tbody></table><br />While I've faced disappointment with <i>The Arctic Rider</i> before, crashing my bike in Sweden in 2011 and having to postpone my Alaska trip at short notice after an insurance issue in 2018, I feel it would be unwise to commit to such a trip as heading to Russia while there is so much up in the air (and that's before I factor in the danger of such a trip). Therefore I'm now planning to complete my Arctic Ride Russia in 2022. For everyone who has donated so far I can only offer my apologies and appreciate your understanding for the delay in completing this challenge.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkGrwLAh21cyC52WSdZWM5Kg4FnO99-mAzgh2C87wywNSBE21Daa74HfuXPSOr4V__uoV-ITz8iTg9odb4jhEnRmYy3vGAzeFy7XrERTjTNbqua3fviQ0PrdQPbyT0yVaaRoaCj4mrPsE5/s588/2021+-+Plan+C.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="586" data-original-width="588" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkGrwLAh21cyC52WSdZWM5Kg4FnO99-mAzgh2C87wywNSBE21Daa74HfuXPSOr4V__uoV-ITz8iTg9odb4jhEnRmYy3vGAzeFy7XrERTjTNbqua3fviQ0PrdQPbyT0yVaaRoaCj4mrPsE5/s320/2021+-+Plan+C.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scotland 4 corners challenge</td></tr></tbody></table></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>For 2021 I'm going to carry on planning with what I can which, shared in my last blog, is to press on with another endurance challenge here in the UK. In 2016 I completed an 'Iron Butt challenge' riding my bike the length of the UK from Lands End to John O'Groats 875miles in less than 24 hours (I did it in 18 hours in fact). This summer I plan to ride between the 4 extreme points (North, South, East, West) of mainland Scotland (764miles) in less than 24 hours to raise money for Tiny Lives Trust.<p></p><p>Tiny Lives support sick and premature babies at the RVI hospital in my hometown of Newcastle. Both of my kids (Islay, 6 & Hugo, 3) were born prematurely and Tiny Lives, alongside the staff on ward 35, The Special Care Baby Unit, supported them. This is my way of saying thank you.</p>Thanks for reading and I look forward to sharing more details of my Scotland 4 corners challenge soon.<div><br /></div><div>Ride safe.</div><div><br /></div><div>Gordon<br /><p><br /></p></div>Gordon Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10224306638325366461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5530957698205601333.post-1811163596134239812020-12-11T17:16:00.000+00:002020-12-11T17:16:07.933+00:00It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves<p> Hi there,</p><p>Its been 8 months since I last blogged about The Arctic Rider project, which has been on-hold due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As with most things in life at the moment my next planned Arctic trip to Russia is on-hold. As I said in my blog in May, a 2021 trip is still in-doubt until more is known about what the 'new normal' will be for the world and especially cross-border travel (I have no fewer than 13 border crossings as part of the route). </p><p>Even with vaccines now being distributed, the prospect of 2021 being anything like the world we once knew looks slim. All UK government advice is still currently against travel abroad, Russia's visa programme is virtually locked down, as are it's land borders. There is talk of vaccine passports, ongoing quarantine periods, and negative tests before being allowed into a country. All in all the logistics of Russia being my destination in 2021 look low.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_S2TEd-QZcmgpp-uy-P9WCyzsFVGxvYtSWqOAQqF0gf55Cp0ap9RVHGUluycPTRIZYirii0HYad-GlkDD7SP6P3GgTDxxxWc6-4BjEvsgUKh-AcLCqZq773ZUNaBVnyLbb5v4mzztkWYe/s1280/Kielder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_S2TEd-QZcmgpp-uy-P9WCyzsFVGxvYtSWqOAQqF0gf55Cp0ap9RVHGUluycPTRIZYirii0HYad-GlkDD7SP6P3GgTDxxxWc6-4BjEvsgUKh-AcLCqZq773ZUNaBVnyLbb5v4mzztkWYe/s320/Kielder.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Exploring Northumberland's gravel roads rather than Russia this summer</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Like many people, I've had a lot of thinking time on my hands as a results of lockdown and working from home, but its been good to have time to ponder how I can continue to take The Arctic Rider forward to continue to raise money and awareness to the charities close to my heart. Off the back of that I wanted to keep anyone who is interested up to date with my thinking and plans for 2021. I'm not simply going to except defeat. As William Shakespeare wrote in Julius Caesar:</p><p>"It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves"</p><p>So here is my plan.</p><p>Plan A - Arctic Ride Russia - If borders open up, the Russian visa programme is reinstated, and I don't have to quarantine for 10 days in every country, getting to Arctic Russia is my number 1 plan.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjHdTKbB9NG9l3tjuw3OqxMe6snC50CQM9-ZY-iVmLNA3h3umT0qWe-W3DrObUdDSO53wp1m8MG_vdvFPkeDHDlx3fG3UgWIly03OcwTssVS8PsgWBVqj3nwmcgjMZJ5aCAqpphtGTNlw8/s883/Arctic+Ride+Russia+route.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="805" data-original-width="883" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjHdTKbB9NG9l3tjuw3OqxMe6snC50CQM9-ZY-iVmLNA3h3umT0qWe-W3DrObUdDSO53wp1m8MG_vdvFPkeDHDlx3fG3UgWIly03OcwTssVS8PsgWBVqj3nwmcgjMZJ5aCAqpphtGTNlw8/s320/Arctic+Ride+Russia+route.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plan A - Arctic Ride Russia</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Plan B - The Arctic and back in 10 days - From my research, the change in policy I have the least confidence in is Russia reopening its land borders and visa programme. As we saw in the summer, Europe opened back up a little bit. So if restrictions allow this side of the Iron curtain, my Plan B is to turbo-charge my way through Europe and ride 4000 miles in 10 days, ticking off the Arctic Circle crossings in Finland and Sweden while I'm there (part of my mission to cross the Arctic Circle in every country possible), with Russia held for another time.</p><p>Plan C - If Europe doesn't open up enough next year to the extent I can ride through several countries quarantine free, then my plan is to do a challenge here in the UK. Back in 2016 I did my Iron Butt challenge riding Lands End to John O'Groats in 18 hours and becoming a fully-fledged Iron Butt member in the process. While I'm proud of that achievement, spending hours riding the motorways of Britain is something I've ticked off, but it has inspired me to look for something challenging in a similar vain. After doing some thinking, I came up with the idea of riding the 4 extreme points of Scotland (North, South, East, West) within 24 hours. This would be no less than 760miles but with the vast majority of it on A and B roads rather than motorway.. sounds like a fun challenge. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1gtNF82BT5h8kBLK6u6vdosuSNSo6FN8zlqSP8YVDtCPHtgTRr3p3g-UTIINclCrb_aVTzpzqdaIXcHlF524_KlKYB-mLc9jQP3aktdPOeYoqgi5BXWN_qYiTpeECdLr51EYy6SRElAZI/s588/2021+-+Plan+C.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="586" data-original-width="588" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1gtNF82BT5h8kBLK6u6vdosuSNSo6FN8zlqSP8YVDtCPHtgTRr3p3g-UTIINclCrb_aVTzpzqdaIXcHlF524_KlKYB-mLc9jQP3aktdPOeYoqgi5BXWN_qYiTpeECdLr51EYy6SRElAZI/s320/2021+-+Plan+C.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Plan C - Scotland 4 corners challenge</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>So that's my plan. I don't know where I'll end up but regardless, I'll be completing one of these challenges in 2021 to support my fundraising.</p><p>Until then, ride safe.</p><p>Gordon</p>Gordon Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10224306638325366461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5530957698205601333.post-28200280952968997302020-05-24T10:00:00.000+01:002020-05-24T10:00:11.558+01:00Building windmills...Welcome to the latest Arctic Rider blog,<div><br /></div><div>Today was the day I was meant to be hitting the road bound for <b>Arctic Russia</b> on my latest charity motorbike challenge. Like with almost everyone , my plans have been impacted by the Coronavoirus pandemic which swept across the world in a matter of weeks. </div><div><br /></div><div>Not long after picking up my new Vstrom 650XT, the bike to take me thousands of miles across Europe and into Russia on tarmac and gravel, it started to become clear that my trip might be in doubt. First it was Russia suspending its Visa programme. Then, in the blink of an eye, the whole of Europe was in lockdown and the realistic prospect of doing my trip in 2020 was finished. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-qdPGpZJRgE9kNmgO-PRI1-sKhxzNIcVttWggJ2qn3EuNPez9RJFl9WGf1EVp1yqteDkWnITOYbun0QVwiO02typt5y0EZsOtCRBT_ZjVHVtTPGK_3fsDymIG1Nm7sxv1gBRnNMlUWGl5/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="628" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-qdPGpZJRgE9kNmgO-PRI1-sKhxzNIcVttWggJ2qn3EuNPez9RJFl9WGf1EVp1yqteDkWnITOYbun0QVwiO02typt5y0EZsOtCRBT_ZjVHVtTPGK_3fsDymIG1Nm7sxv1gBRnNMlUWGl5/s320/TAR+covid-19+update.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Like most, I've spend the past few months trying to come to terms with what this whole situation means for me as a person, and for The Arctic Rider project. While I've had knock-backs before, crashing in Sweden in 2011, cancelling my Alaska trips with just weeks to go before departure in 2018, this time it different because the alternatives just don't seem to be there under the current restrictions. Even a 2021 trip is still in-doubt until more is known about what the 'new normal' will be for the world and especially cross-border travel (I have no fewer than 13 border crossing as part of the route).</div><div><br /></div><div>After a few weeks feeling sorry for myself, a biker buddy of mine Stu shared a great project that was born out of <b>The Bike Shed</b> in London. They have put together a programme of <b>Volunteer Community Response Riders</b> here in the UK to help with the response to the Coronavirus response. The volunteer riders support their communities by providing a free courier-like service for companies and organisations responding to the Covid-19 crisis. Most of the work currently involves collecting PPE parts from multiple private locations and delivering them to Hubs for assembly, and then re-deliver completed PPE from those Hubs to those in need, especially small-volume users or those with an emergency shortage. The riders are also able to pick up and deliver medicines, food, documents and anything else that will fit on a motorcycle. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5La5byVJC3ngWrMxddLYJO-tva3SIlGMylqaebGGuCCDRt4yNk95s6CkTTOwPKrkcD0xGgo0OAyTEgiC5RbB13owdqQmm8lSxO8k2GNalxaLiOlxi-97-5M2W22N2mzm4qm8AZ1a7hGWD/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5La5byVJC3ngWrMxddLYJO-tva3SIlGMylqaebGGuCCDRt4yNk95s6CkTTOwPKrkcD0xGgo0OAyTEgiC5RbB13owdqQmm8lSxO8k2GNalxaLiOlxi-97-5M2W22N2mzm4qm8AZ1a7hGWD/s320/Bike-Shed-Volunteer-NARROW.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Needless to say when I heard about this programme, <u>I got myself signed up</u>. If you are based in the UK, are a biker, and want to volunteer, check out <a href="https://bikeshedcommunityresponse.com/volunteer/" target="_blank">this link. </a> If you are an organisation or company who needs help from The Bike Shed <a href="https://bikeshedcommunityresponse.com/get-help/" target="_blank">click here</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>The world is having to adapt and what Dutch, Vikki, and the rest of <a href="https://thebikeshed.cc/" target="_blank">The Bike Shed</a> team are doing is truly amazing. It reminded me of a famous quote that was the bases of one of my business studies models at university from years back:</div><div style="text-align: center;"><font color="#4285f4" size="6"><br /></font></div><div style="text-align: center;"><font color="#4285f4" size="6">"When the winds of change blow, some people build walls, others build windmills"</font></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The fundraising for Tiny Lives Trust will continue as part of my Arctic Ride Russia. As soon as I am able to I'll update you all with my new planned dates of when the ride can safely happen. Thanks for everyone who has donated so far! We've already raised an awesome £692 including gift aid. You can still donate to that challenge or to give me a moral boost while I'm out delivering PPE and medical supplier on <a href="https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/TheArcticRider" target="_blank">my donations page.</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqoKPWJeptOMknsKHIellRieADPXcdR9Y6G7sBKGOJadTEyH7AHAKsAvs2g4UTqKX00yvqUOyy1F20t3izCMdLEgCE1D8OCuWaZVlNMpxYxVu6i5MKq3_wRCWnoA0TBqoHyKfLeWbXVdX-/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="255" data-original-width="771" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqoKPWJeptOMknsKHIellRieADPXcdR9Y6G7sBKGOJadTEyH7AHAKsAvs2g4UTqKX00yvqUOyy1F20t3izCMdLEgCE1D8OCuWaZVlNMpxYxVu6i5MKq3_wRCWnoA0TBqoHyKfLeWbXVdX-/s320/donations+update+May+2020.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Until next time, ride safe.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Gordon</div>Gordon Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10224306638325366461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5530957698205601333.post-90254488194948516982020-02-15T14:02:00.001+00:002020-02-15T14:02:46.553+00:00Arctic Ride Russia - The routeGreetings,<br />
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Welcome to the latest installment of The Arctic Rider blog.<br />
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I want to start by saying a huge thanks to each and every one of you who reads this blog. Its always difficult to know if people will be interested in my ramblings about my motorbike trips to The Arctic, but, thanks to my google analytics, I can see there are still plenty of folk interested. Furthermore, to my amazement, I've had over 290,000 unique view of the blog since I started in 2011... seriously thanks for all the support!<br />
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Now onto matters present, the route I'll be taking as I look to conquer another Arctic country crossing. Firstly, I must stress that Russia is literally the biggest country in the world and 11% of the world's total area, so picking where I was going to cross the Arctic Circle has taken a bit of time. With the help of the ever supportive Mrs Arctic Ride, we did A LOT of research to work out where its possible to cross the Arctic Circle by motorbike. The result of our research is that we think there is actually only 1 road that will lead me to Arctic Russia, the R21 highway between St Petersburg and Murmansk. The reason for this seems to be that there aren't that many roads in general North of the Arctic Circle (due to the harsh climate) and those roads are mainly between the towns and cities. The only other way to cross the Arctic Circle in Russia is to take a boat down one of the many huge rivers. <i>*if anyone does come across another route that can be ridden on a motorcycle, I'd be really keen to hear it*</i><br />
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So unlike my trip to Norway, but like Iceland, I've only got one destination to cross the Arctic Circle in North Western Russia, and the route starts to plan itself. This helps me from a total distance point of view, i.e. I don't have to get myself to Siberia or anything, but its still going to be a long slog East to get to Russia, and then North to the Arctic Circle.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyiFAruUEhMVD6PevpmBkcWEuQA9-L_gyD5kBaBzx__5pI2TsE8OuZVIApKnmG9MlarOSgQXhyYetZrsLVHsj9cQNEVRsQdFRoo8OXNvjo3lx4C2J2ZEFlVTVCDCtx1sBWuP813dpU1c_4/s1600/Arctic+Ride+Russia+route.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="883" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyiFAruUEhMVD6PevpmBkcWEuQA9-L_gyD5kBaBzx__5pI2TsE8OuZVIApKnmG9MlarOSgQXhyYetZrsLVHsj9cQNEVRsQdFRoo8OXNvjo3lx4C2J2ZEFlVTVCDCtx1sBWuP813dpU1c_4/s320/Arctic+Ride+Russia+route.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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My route will see my traverse <b>13 countries </b>in about <b>2.5 weeks</b>, riding close to <b>6,000 miles</b>. As with all of my trips I'll start by heading ~300 miles South from my hometown of Newcastle to Cross the English channel onto continental Europe. From here I'll start my journey 1,000 miles East, riding the width of several countries including The Netherlands, Germany, and Poland. From here I'll start the 1,500 mile journey North through Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and Russia. I've not quite decided where I'm going to cross into Russia yet, but I've been advised that the crossings from Estonia to Russia can be very long, so I'm opting to cross from Finland.<br />
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So that is the baseline route that I will be riding in just a few months time to raise money for Tiny Lives Trust, who help sick and premature babies at the RVI hospital in Newcastle. You can donate to support my ride and Tiny Lives at my <a href="https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/TheArcticRider" target="_blank">donation page (click here).</a> Thank you to all of those who have donated so far.<br />
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If you aren't able to donate you can support by liking/following my social media accounts and sharing content.<br />
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/thearcticrider" target="_blank">Facebook</a><br />
<a href="http://www.twitter.com/thearcticrider" target="_blank">Twitter</a><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/thearcticrider" target="_blank">YouTube</a><br />
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Thanks again and ride safe.<br />
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GordonGordon Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10224306638325366461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5530957698205601333.post-91427143245932800192020-01-09T21:46:00.000+00:002020-01-09T21:46:34.450+00:00Arctic Ride 2020Hi all,<br />
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Welcome back to The Arctic Rider blog.<br />
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Its a been a super long time since I've posted on here, over a year in fact since back in November 2018! For those of you who follow my social media pages (search 'The Arctic Rider' on most platforms and you'll find me), you'll notice I'm still riding around the North of England, and spent time cutting my Iceland trip into a 4 part YouTube series (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXhFiTzRbzY&list=PLseYIT-LsvyoEX5892ydsb03SwFnAPMsz" target="_blank">click here</a> if you've not had the pleasure yet). I've also been doing a lot of running and trying to keep my 'Dad-bod' away, as well as hanging with my clan (aka Wife and Kids).<br />
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Even though I've not been as active blogging, I am in the build up to my next trip. Not a day goes by, I mean that literally, when I'm not thinking about my next Arctic adventure. I'm actually obsessed. I've been doing my best to save money for a new bike too, as discussed in my last blog, have a more appropriate steed for some of the roads I'll face regardless of the trip I take on next, and this is a big factor about when I can afford to go on another adventure. In summary though, I'd planned to do my next trip in 2020 which is now this year... gulp!<br />
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The main reason I've been less active is that my little boy Hugo has spent far too much time in hospital in 2019 and my main focus has been to support him to get better. Hugo, like my daughter Islay in 2014, was born prematurely, which is why The Arctic Rider project continues to support the charity Tiny Lives, who help premature babies in my home town of Newcastle. My kids, along with my little bro Robbie, are my inspiration to keep on with The Arctic Rider project to help raise money for some great causes!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Junior Arctic Rider and The Arctic Rider </td></tr>
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<b>2020 plans</b><br />
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As hopefully you know by now I'm on a mission to motorbike across the Arctic Circle in every country possible. Of the 8 countries to do, so far I've done Norway (2014) and Iceland (2018). I've been torn about what ride I go for next.<br />
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After a lot of planning, thinking, and deliberation I can confirm that in 2020 I'll be heading too.....<br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><b>ARCTIC RUSSIA</b></span></div>
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I'm so excited to finally announce what will be my 4th Arctic Ride.<br />
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I thought long and hard about which trip to take on. Whilst I would love to get myself across to North America and take on Arctic Alaska, Arctic Canada, or both, the continued logistical issues around UK riders getting insurance in North America is proving very problematic (see my <a href="http://arcticride.blogspot.com/2018/06/a-week-is-long-time-when-planning.html" target="_blank">update from June 2018</a> about this which caused me to cancel my 2018 trip to Alaska). Secondly, with my sons continuing health problems, setting a defined date to be away from my family for 3+ weeks is difficult and costly (cancelling of flights, motorcycle rental etc..) even with travel insurance. Travelling to Russia will see me have to book only a few ferries at low cost which are much easier and cheaper to rearrange if needed.<br />
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So there you have it. The next ride is confirmed. Please watch out for future blogs and posts where I'll provide more detail on dates, routes, bike, planning, the charities and much much more!<br />
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Peace out and ride safe.<br />
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GordonGordon Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10224306638325366461noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5530957698205601333.post-76009734603473691952018-11-05T23:22:00.000+00:002018-11-05T23:22:32.949+00:00What is next after Iceland...Hello,<br />
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Welcome to the latest Arctic Rider blog.<br />
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Its been 100 days since I last reached for my laptop to write a blog, although hopefully those how follow my Facebook and Twitter accounts will see I've been rather busy with all the follow up from my Arctic Ride Iceland.<br />
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I've already had several articles posted about my ride with a few more to follow too.<br />
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Suzuki news: <a href="https://bikes.suzuki.co.uk/news/newcastle-to-the-arctic-circle-on-a-v-strom-1000xt/" target="_blank">NEWCASTLE TO THE ARCTIC CIRCLE ON A V-STROM 1000XT</a><br />
Biker and Bike: <a href="https://www.bikerandbike.co.uk/the-arctic-rider-the-iceland-motorcycle-tour/" target="_blank">THE ARCTIC RIDER - THE ICELAND MOTORCYCLE TOUR</a><br />
Devitt Insurance blog: <a href="https://www.devittinsurance.com/blog/the-arctic-riders-epic-trip-to-iceland/?utm_source=social&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=sponsor" target="_blank">THE ARCTIC RIDER’S EPIC TRIP TO ICELAND</a><br />
Traverse Magazine: <a href="https://view.joomag.com/traverse-08/0490130001539319514?short" target="_blank">SERVED OVER ICE (p84)</a><br />
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Also, I've been working away editing the mass of footage I captured while on the Nordic island. So far I have put together a short video of the trip as well as Part 1 of the Arctic Ride Iceland series of videos. Part 2 of 3 is on its way very soon.<br />
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<b>So what's after Iceland?</b><br />
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I've heard a lot of bikers who do year-long plus trips around the world come home with a sense of being lost after such extreme adventures, and while my rides don't see me go away for months at a time, I still get a similar sense of 'what next', how and when for my adventures. Last year I came up with the concept of <b>The Great Arctic Motorbike Challenge, </b>a personal ambition to cross The Arctic Circle in every country possible by motorbike (<a href="http://arcticride.blogspot.com/p/the-great-arctic-challenge.html" target="_blank">read more here</a>) which has helped give me a sense of direction of what to do next but there are a few challenges associated with these trips.<br />
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<i>Cost (Time and money)</i><br />
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With all of my Arctic trips covering big miles the money needed to undertake and time off work and family duties isn't easy to come buy and takes me some time to save up. Looking at what I have left to do (Finland, Sweden, Russia, Canada, Alaska, Greenland) the time and money needed is only going to increase, so realizing my Great Arctic dream may start to take longer.<br />
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<i>The bike</i><br />
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I was fortunate and humbled to be given a brand new V-Strom from Suzuki to complete my Iceland ride on, but for me this felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity when the stars aligned to be loaned a new bike. In my garage now if my trusty GSX650F. While I love this bike, its starting to show its age (9 years) and probably only has 1 more big trip in it before heading to the retirement home. Also the functionality I need from a bike for the rest of my trips just isn't available on what is a fairly 'back to basics' bike in the current age. I need a long term successor which is more comfortable on long rides, better off-road capabilities, and something that has more 'wow factor' when I write articles and promote my trips. Unfortunately a bike like this doesn't come cheap and this is another expenditure which is hard to prioritize having a young family with mortgage, family car, and nursery fees et al to pay.<br />
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<i>The ask</i><br />
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I'm very proud to say that with all of your help over the past 7 years we've raised over £13,000 for two amazing charities, but I've come to the point now where I need to give everyone's wallets a break for a while. Outside of my Arctic Rides, my wife and kids have also done some amazing fundraising too, so to keep on asking folk to donate for my challenges is becoming tougher. So I'm in the process of trying to work out how to keep the project sustainable while still giving to amazing charities.<br />
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As you can see from the 3 point above, while I have a plan of what rides I want to do next, making them happen is just a bit more tricky. Alongside the Alaska postponement, I'm a little more cautious about how to proceed and what to commit to next.<br />
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Saying that, my current plans for my rides are as follows:<br />
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<b>2020 -</b> A combined ride ticking off 3 of my remaining 6 destinations. A trip including visits to Arctic Russia (Kola Peninsula), Arctic Finland, and Arctic Sweden. Most probably riding my GSX650F.<br />
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<b>Alaska & Canada </b>- Due to the high cost of getting across to pond and the fact there still doesn't seem to be an insurance option for taking ones own bike, I'm likely going to have to combine these rides into one trip, take some unpaid leave from work, and smash them out one after another while on the North American continent.<br />
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<b>Greenland -</b> What I expect to be the final leg of my challenges, getting to Greenland and the costs of renting a snowmobile is going to be very pricey. Another trip without a planned date due to the large outlay to complete.<br />
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After I've done all this, I think I might buy a cruiser and head somewhere warm (I'll probably be old enough to pull the look off by then)<br />
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So that is my update, thanks for reading and for the continued support across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and beyond.<br />
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Peace out and ride safe.<br />
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Gordon<br />
<br />Gordon Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10224306638325366461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5530957698205601333.post-27779663369303093312018-07-27T23:02:00.003+01:002018-07-27T23:02:50.557+01:00Looking back: Arctic Ride IcelandHello,<br />
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Thanks for tuning into another edition of the Arctic Rider blog.<br />
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Wow, so its been a week and a half since I returned from my epic trip to Arctic Iceland. The dust has settled and I'm back at work.. it almost feels as thought it never happened, a long and distant memory but luckily I have lots of photos to remind me it was real :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day 12 - Southern Iceland</td></tr>
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The weather in Iceland completely battered me and I feel lucky to have got through this ride in one piece, having met other bikers who been blown off their bikes in the wind, dropped them on gravel roads, and been soaked to the skin by the rain.<br />
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The battle against the elements was <u>100% worth it</u> though to raise so much money for two amazing charities in <b>Tiny Lives Trust</b> and <b>Cerebra. </b>At the time of writing, Team Arctic Ride has raised OVER £5,000 for this ride. I'm honoured and humbled to have had such amazing support from so many dedicated supporters! I will be closing my donation page at <i>midnight 31st July 2018</i>, so if you would still like to donate then please visit <a href="http://www.virginmoneygiving.com/thearcticrider">www.virginmoneygiving.com/thearcticrider</a>.<br />
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Huge thanks also to some amazing companies who have helped me along the way:<br />
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<li><b>Suzuki Bikes UK</b> who loaned me their latest Suzuki V-Strom 1000 XT adventure bike to do the ride on and tackle the crazy unpaved roads</li>
<li><b>Devitt Insurance</b> who insured the bike across Europe and shared my journey all over social media.</li>
<li><b>Traverse Magazine</b> who have been covering the Arctic Rider cause.</li>
<li><b>Puddle Ducks North East</b> who supported me with donations to Tiny Lives with their water safety week.</li>
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Regular readers and follows of my adventures won't need reminding that last year I had a kind of epiphany where I dreamed up The Great Arctic Motorbike Challenge. This is my person mission <b>to cross The Arctic Circle in every country possible by motorbike. </b>And of course each of these rides will be in the name of raising awareness for great charities.</div>
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As you can see from the above chart, I've now completed 2 of the 8 countries by riding to Arctic Iceland. That leaves me 6 more, some more complicated than others. Also, I still have some very unfinished business with the Arctic Alaska challenge after the unforeseen events earlier this year which saw me cancel and re-plan at short notice and bring forward the Arctic Ride Iceland ride.</div>
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So whats next for The Arctic Rider? Well in the next few days I'll announce the total raised for the two charities as part of Arctic Ride Iceland, and the total for all my rides so far. Then I need to (sadly) give Suzuki back my trusty steed! However I'll be reunited with it at this year's Motorcycle Live show in Birmingham (UK) in November at the Suzuki stand.</div>
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The rest of my summer is then filled with media related work. I've got a few magazine articles to write over the summer for some publications about Iceland, The V-Strom 1000 XT, and planning motorbike adventures. I also need to consume all of the videos I took on my ride and turn them into a few YouTube episodes for all those who want to see for there own eyes what you've been reading on those blogs.</div>
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Finally, I need to start planning the next trip. At this stage I'm really not sure what I will tackle next or when. These trips are funded 100% by me so saving up for it, getting time off work, and getting my long suffering wife to agree to my departure all need to be considered.. but watch this space.</div>
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Thank you so much for reading, sharing, commenting, buying raffle tickets, and donating. You have all made such an impact on children around the UK supported by Tiny Lives Trust and Cerebra. I owe you all a beer and some stories!</div>
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Keep it real and, of course, ride safe.</div>
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Gordon</div>
Gordon Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10224306638325366461noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5530957698205601333.post-3978648082035082862018-07-16T22:05:00.000+01:002018-07-16T22:08:14.301+01:00Day 17 - Take me home, motor-way, to a place I belong..Hi everyone.<br />
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Welcome to the day 17 blog... my final day of Arctic Ride Iceland. Wow it’s been a blast. Where have the past 17 days gone?</div>
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I started early (a theme of this trip) when I was awoken at 5am by the ships PA system wake up call. We were scheduled to arrive at 6.30am so I got up got, got myself freshened up, and headed onto deck to get some breakfast. </div>
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I begrudged paying £14.99 for an all-you-can each breakfast. I like to treat myself occasions on my trips but a croissant and a cup of tea was more than enough to start the fire burning for another long ride. </div>
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I got my kit packed away, left my cabin, by which time the car deck was open, so I went straight down and unstrapped the bike. I’d just finished tying my kit back onto the bike and it was time to get off the ferry. I zoomed down the ramp and back onto home soil. No sooner had I got excited to go, I sat and queued for 10minutes to get through passport control. That’s been the story off the trip.. rushing just to wait. </div>
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When I finally got through posspory control (after being asked where I’d been, and where I was going to) I popped to Morrison’s next to the port and filled up my tank ready to go. </div>
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It was 7am so I knew I’d hit some rush hour traffic. I decided I’d try and do 100miles then stop. </div>
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I battled past the rush hour of Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds (busier than I thought), and Cambridge. I was still feeling good and when I got to my 100 mile mark I was just short of Grantham so I thought I’d try and get there. When I reached Graham I was only 30 miles away from being half way so I stretched my legs by standing on the pegs then pressed on. I got to the half way mark and thought.. let’s see if I can make it to 200miles. No sooner had I made it to 200miles then the petrol light came on. I did another 17 miles before stopping at ferrybridge services, just 110miles from home. </div>
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Wow, that was a big old push to do 217 miles without stopping on a bike I tell you. My legs were burning but the VStrom is SO comfy. I could have done more if it hadn’t been for not having enough fuel. </div>
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I refuelled, grabbed a Greggs pasty, and had a quick chat with some other bikers, then hit the road. Having done 217miles without stopping, there was no way I wouldn’t be doing the last 110 in one go. </div>
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As I flew up the motorway the cloud set in and by time I was 40miles from home the heavens opened. I was so chuffed to be so close to home I just rode through it wit hout stopping and putting on my waterproofs. </div>
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And then, I was home. </div>
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3,409 miles on the road in 17 days. 6 sea crossings, 5 countries, 100kms of off-roading, and a whole load of new friends made along the way. What a ride. </div>
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Thank you so much to everyone who supported me on this ride a played a part of Team Arctic Ride. For the donations, raffles tickets purchased, likes, shares, comments, and good wishes. I couldn’t have done it without you all! </div>
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And a final thank you to my wife Kirsty who; looked after our children and ran the household for two weeks, who was always on the end of the phone/text when I was feeling low, who shared every post and even wrote a few when I had no signal, and who pulled me up by my collar when I had to cancel my Arctic Ride Alaska mere weeks ago and told me to get on that bike to Iceland. Without her dedication and support there would be no Arctic Rider. And the some of the first words she said to me when I got back “That will be good practice for when you go to Alaska”... legend. </div>
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That’s me logging off I hope you enjoyed reading my updates. There will be lots more to come in terms of looking-back blogs, pictures, and lots of videos, so look out for. </div>
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And at writing we are £3.90 away from £4,700 of donations. Amazing work everyone. www.virginmoneygiving.com/thearcticrider </div>
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Peace and love to you all. </div>
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Ride safe. </div>
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Gordon. </div>
Gordon Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10224306638325366461noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5530957698205601333.post-89790756726515286482018-07-15T20:21:00.000+01:002018-07-15T20:21:51.904+01:00Day 16 - To the ferry across The NetherlandsHi,<br />
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Welcome to day 16’s blog. Not long until you no longer have to read my daily updates, haha. </div>
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I awoke this morning to a first for the trip. It’s the first time that I’ve been woken up by being cooked inside my own tent. It happened a few times on my Nordkapp run but regardless it’s not a fun way to wake up. Needless to say, the sun was out and it was hot. </div>
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I got the bike packed away and headed out of the campsite. I saw a superstore on my way in from the motorway last night so I headed there to get some supplies. It was only when I arrived to an empty car park that I remembered it was Sunday, doh. Being on the road I’ve totally lost track of days and dates. Luckily I’d filled my tank last night so I jumped back into the autobahn and opened up the throttle. </div>
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I had an odd feeling when I first hit the road. I knew I ‘only’ had 250 miles to ride but I also had until 9pm to reach the ferry port, so I was time rich for a change. I was going to take it easy but the power of the V-Strom’s 1000cc v-twin engine, combined with the open and quiet autobahn meant I ended up pushing on at a really good rate. </div>
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I stopped at 75 miles and 160 miles to get stretch my legs and grab a few nibbles of food. I then had another 100ish miles to do and thought I’d have another stop in between. However as soon as I saw the signs for Hoek van Holland (just West of Rotterdam) where my ferry departs from, I could resist bombing on and making it there in one. </div>
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Having these little challenges on the road I think is what keeps me from going mad for so long riding solo. Always with safety at the front of my mind, I see how many more miles I can do even when my arse is hurting, or if I need fuel and i see there are 2 fuel stops coming up, I try and make it to the 2nd. To keep my mind ticking over, I don’t change my speedo from miles to kilometres. This way I’m always working out distances into miles and my speed when the road signs change. Sad I know, but I need to do something to keep my mind active mile after mile (or 1.609 km to 1.609 km). </div>
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I arrived in HvH super early, so I headed into the town centre, pulled up at a local cafe and treated myself to some lunch. I parked the bike right outside the cafe and the town didn’t look all that safe. I had a Gouda and ham toastie (brown bread) plus some thick cut chips and a full fat coke! Yum. After being in Iceland I was pleasantly surprised when the waitress told me it was €11. That would have got me mars bar and a bottle of sparkling water on the windy isle. </div>
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I tried to find somewhere to show the World Cup final but there wasn’t anywhere in the town, so I pulled up at the port check-in and watched it on my phone. By the time the footy was done I got checked in and waited to board the ferry. While I was waiting, I listened to two English chaps in the queue behind me on bicycles spend the best part of 15 minutes belittling different nationalities in a rather vulgar manner, including the Scots. For those of you that don’t know, my heritage is of Scotland, so it took all my will power not to say anything or throw their bikes into the water. Shoutout to willpower, you rock. </div>
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I boarded the ferry and got my bike strapped down on the car deck. A Welsh guy on a Harley beside asked me if I knew what I was doing when strapping the bike down. I told him about the issues on the Iceland-bound ship, and the Samskip ‘duvet and wall’ method from my passage to Grimsey. I saw from his face that he wished he’d never asked so I finished with “yeah I’m good man, thanks”. </div>
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I got to my cabin, dumped my gear and had a look around the Stena Britannica, which takes me to now, writing this blog. </div>
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So all I have left to do now is the final sea crossing and then ride the 320 miles back to my house to see my wife and kids. It’s been an amazing trip although slightly frustrating with the number of hard milestones (mainly) ferry’s which has meant I’ve been rushing only to end up waiting a lot too. </div>
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Total miles today - 325</div>
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See you again tomorrow. </div>
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Ride safe. </div>
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Gordon. </div>
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Gordon Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10224306638325366461noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5530957698205601333.post-24567537801078651062018-07-14T21:03:00.000+01:002018-07-14T21:03:25.183+01:00Day 15 - big afternoon SouthHello there.<br />
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Wow... somehow we’re on day 15 of this trip. I’m not sure where the time has gone.. it only seems a few days ago I was rushing down to Harwich to catch the ferry on day 1.</div>
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Today started early again. The couchettes onboard the ship really arnt that comfy at all. I headed up on deck and got myself a cup of tea and a banana. I got freshened up, packed my kit away, and waiting for us to dock in Hirtshals (North of Denmark). We weren’t due in until 1230 and I was told that we’d be 30minites late getting a shore as some cargo needed to get off the ship first, urgh. I passed the time by chatting to a Swedish biker I’d meet as we were boarding in Iceland. We had a good chat about all things bikes, travelling, and work. It was really nice. There is something about the Scandinavian folk that really just seems to click with me </div>
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Finally we were allowed into the car deck to unload but it was another 30minites before I finally rolled off the ship. I made the wise choice of staying in my ‘shop clothes’ for as long as possible. Some of the other bikers were all kitted up and were just about boiling by time we got off the ship. </div>
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Knowing I had about 650 miles to cover before end of day Sunday, I really wanted to put some big miles today, even though I was starting early afternoon. So I quickly navigated my way out of Hirtshals and onto the motorway where I could eat up the miles. </div>
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It was so odd being back in ‘civilisation’ after 12 days away at sea and in Iceland. Traffic, warm weather, petrol stations that arnt just unmanned outposts, and motorways seemed so strange for the first hour or so. </div>
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My plan was as a minimum to get out of Denmark and at a push make it to the Netherlands. With the limitless speeds out the autobahns on my side, in the end I managed to do 400miles stopping around 8pm just south west of Bremen in Germany. By doing this id managed to navigate past Hamburg (which is super busy at all times it seems) and countless roadworks on the Autobahn 7 & 1. That leaves me about 250 miles to do tomorrow before I catch my final ship, back to Blighty. </div>
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I found a nice campsite on side of a river. Although when i arriveed and asked if they spoke English, in German, I was greeted by huge laughs from a guy behind reception and an unimpressed look from the cashier. I then said I could try in German if it was easier but they just carried on in English. I really do try when I’m travelling to learn some phrases and words but also know my limitations. I did think it was a bit much to be laughted at though. Nevertheless I’ll keep on using my current approach as it seems to work most of the time. </div>
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I got to my camping spot, put up my tent, and cooked some pasta with pesto and ham. It was lovely. </div>
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So that’s day 15 over. Only a few more days and I’ll be back home and this whole trip will seems like a dream, no doubt. Thanks as always to everyone for their support and continued reading of these blogs. Also thanks to all the great new people I’ve met on this journey so far! I know some of you have now joined the blog reads, and it’s been a pleasure to meet such kind and interesting folk along the way. </div>
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Ride safe all. </div>
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Gordon. </div>
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Gordon Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10224306638325366461noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5530957698205601333.post-56707889284042643772018-07-13T21:43:00.000+01:002018-07-13T21:43:22.634+01:00Day 13 & 14 - Goodbye IcelandHello,<br />
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Welcome to another edition of the Arctic Rider blog.</div>
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Day 13</div>
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I awoke early to the sound of my alarm. I was determined not to sleep in as I had to be at the port by 8am to check in for my ship to Denmark. As I packed up the tent, I got chatting to a couple of other British bikers who’d been touring around Iceland for a few weeks and were on their way home. As it turns out one of them lives in Gosforth, about 5 miles from my house! After barely hearing another native British accent (apart from my ship buddy Jon) I bumped into a Geordie thousands of miles from home. </div>
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We chatted about how bad the weather had been and they told me how both their bikes had been blown off the road in the West Fjords and they were rescued by some Icelandic truckers. Luckily they escaped major injuries but their bikes had taken a beating. I think I got lucky that I didn’t have a serious incident during my trip. </div>
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I got packed away and rode the few hundred metres from the campsite to the ferry. I was frustrated to fine the motorbikes would be boarding last. I managed to pass the time by speaking to a few others bikers and taking one last looks at the Icelandic scenery. </div>
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Before long it was time to board the ship. I got a bit more space this time but the straps and availability of places to tie the bike down to where very limited as per my outbound journey. A few Swedish guys gave me a hand but we were all equally worried about our bikes. </div>
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I got onto deck, found my shared ‘cabin’ and laid my stuff out before heading out into the open deck to say bye to Iceland. </div>
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It’s been a really emotional visit to Iceland. I wholly underestimated the conditions and faced my riding fears head on, not only with the weather but gravel roads also. I’m also proud I came out the other side. It’s true what the say, it’s the journey that makes it, no the destination (although that’s also pretty important for an Arctic Ride). </div>
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With another 2 days onboard ship, I took to grabbing some tasty lunch (Icelandic sausages, potatoes, green, and sauce), charged up my devices, and backed up my media. Then I spend the rest of the night writing my blog for day 12 and trying to post it! (Sorry for the delay). </div>
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Day 14</div>
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Day 14 started at 3am. The ship was docking the Faroe Islands and I can only presume that my ‘cabin’ was next to the bow thrusters as the noise sounded like an Apollo mission take off. Alongside that, and new passengers coming aboard and making a lot of noise, I didn’t get my head back down until about 4.30am. </div>
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I managed to sleep until about 6.30am before getting up and having a cup of tea and looking out on the ocean. </div>
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Today has been a mix of podcasts, eating, lisenting to music, starting to write articles for my media commitments back home, and FaceTiming the family. There is a gym and small pool onboard, but after 2 weeks on the road not eating properly, I’m keeping my energy for the 1,000 miles of motorway that awaits me when I roll back into mainland Europe tomorrow. </div>
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As I write this blog I’m looking out over the North Sea knowing, as the crow flies, I’m just a few hundred miles from Blighty, but I’ve still got a lot of riding to do. </div>
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That’s all for today folks. As always thanks for reading and for being part of Team Arctic Rider. </div>
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Ride safe. </div>
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Gordon. </div>
Gordon Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10224306638325366461noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5530957698205601333.post-80464581057423101052018-07-13T09:06:00.003+01:002018-07-13T09:06:36.169+01:00Day 12 - icebergs and sunshine <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Hello there! </span><br />
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Thanks for tuning into my Arctic Ride Iceland blog, riding my motorbike to the Arctic Circle to raise money for Tiny Lives Trust & Cerebra. </div>
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Day 12... wow. What a day! I started the day waking up inside a national park and a stones throw away from a glacier, where I’d camped last night. I wasn’t in the mood for breakfast so just grabbed an apple and started packing up my gear. I was on the road early knowing I had a long day ahead of me, with over 250 miles (a long way on these roads) to do to get me back to the port where I’d catch the ferry tomorrow morning. </div>
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The scenery along Iceland’s south coast (just like yesterday) was again truly stunning! You almost get immune to how beautiful it is as it’s constant. From one mountain range to the next, it’s just epic. </div>
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I stopped a few times to snap some photos, then I pulled into the ‘Iceberg Lagoon’ on recommendation of Olafur. Wow. This place was even more remarkable than the rest of South Iceland. It’s like a different world. </div>
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<img alt="" id="id_deb2_4c9a_47fc_8863" src="blob:https://www.blogger.com/39b4380e-305b-42fc-88d8-1ebca7ddd203" style="height: auto; width: 298px;" title="" tooltip="" /><br /><br />I carried on East eating up the miles. I stopped at a small services where I ordered a panini, only for it to be burnt in the toaster. I ate it anyway as it was the last one they had and they gave me a refund, cash-back!</div>
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With about 100miles to go the road turned to gravel once more. The first section was also roadworks and the road was filled with deep and heavy gravel. I really struggled riding on this kind of terrain and I had to take it really easy to make sure the bike and I got across in one piece. After a few kilometres the gravel eased and it become a more ‘regular’ unpaved surface, so I was able to pick up some speed while riding on the pegs. </div>
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<img alt="" id="id_9d08_18d5_ab34_7017" src="blob:https://www.blogger.com/1b936f1b-1521-44c2-baa3-4f203963f975" style="height: auto; width: 298px;" title="" tooltip="" /><br /><br />Apart from the odd gust of wind, the weather really picked up today and I got to enjoy the roads and in relative warmth, although my all-in-one rain suit stayed on, so I’m not sure it was actually ‘warm’. </div>
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I made it to the town of Egilsstaðir in East Iceland in time to do some quick shopping, and catch the England football semi-final. Alas it was not meant to be but the locals made me really welcome, even if most were rooting for Croatia.<br /></div>
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After the game I started the ride over to the port-town where I’d camp for the night. Due to the Northerly nature of Iceland, it was still super bright even though it was past 9pm so I was able to stop and get some shots at the top of the mountain pass, and stop at my last waterfall (this time with no other tourists) before getting to the campsite and settling down. </div>
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<img alt="" id="id_b009_dd1b_158c_4607" src="blob:https://www.blogger.com/a47380e0-e864-4019-8cbe-2964340e03e0" style="height: auto; width: 298px;" title="" tooltip="" /><br /><br />Aside from crossing The Arctic Circle, this was definitely my best day in Iceland and I leave with a good taste in my mouth. This country is nature in its rawest form and, put simply, is stunning and wild. I’ve loved seeing the sights of South and East Iceland and finally riding without the wind trying to take me out. I’d highly recommend anyone come and visit, but bring warm clothes and a wind break. </div>
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Tomorrow I set sail for Denmark (I was meant to visit the Faroe Islands on the way home, but change of plan) and then have another 1,000 or so miles before I get back to Newcastle.</div>
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Thanks you again to everyone for the support, messages, and donations. It seems like ages ago that I crossed the Arctic Circle, but my journey is still far from over. You can still donate at www.virginmoneygiving.com/thearcticrider after some very generous donations we’re now closing in on £5,000!! Super effort from everyone. </div>
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Ride safe everyone</div>
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Gordon. </div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;" />Gordon Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10224306638325366461noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5530957698205601333.post-33974250307375373892018-07-10T22:52:00.000+01:002018-07-10T22:52:21.839+01:00Day 10 and 11 - Still windy, but warmer wind Hello!<br />
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Welcome to the latest instalment of the Arctic Ride Iceland blog. Apologies for missing last nights blog! A double issue awaits this read. </div>
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Day 10 - I packed up the bike first thing from Bogarnes planning to ride South to Reykjavik then up into the mountains to visit Giyser and Gullfoss waterfall (two of Iceland’s biggest attractions). Whilst it was a breezy start, I did see some blue skies and thought my weather luck was changing. As soon I got on the road I realised I was mistaken. The dark clouds drew in and the heavy wind blew me across the road once more. Only a 6km tunnel gave me any relief and I was starting to wonder if I’d ever experience Iceland without a gale force wind. </div>
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I got close to Reykjavík and found the road to the mountains that led to the attractions. I knew I had about 60 miles to do but after only 20 miles of the being blow around the road I pulled in. This was getting dangerous. The roads were narrow, there were lots of tour buses, and sheer drops either side of the road. I couldn’t control the bike and keep it in my lane, so I decided it was safest to turn around. My aim of this trip was to make it to the Arctic Circle and make it home again, and this seemed like a risk not worth taking. </div>
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I rode down the mountain pass and then headed into Reykjavik city centre. I came here with my wife Kirsty and our friends Ant & Christine back in 2014, so it was great to be here again. This city has changed so much since then though, with high rise hotels, food quarters, and tour guide huts lining the once empty harbour area.</div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I treated myself to a Icelandic delqecasey, a hot dog. They are genuinely lovely.. I had 2. </span> I then mootched around the city for a few hours, before heading over to see Olafur and Hronn, a lovely Icelandic biker couple who had invited me to stay at their place in the suburbs. </div>
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They gave me the most incredible welcome and I was treated to a proper warm shower, chicken casserole, coffee, and 2 types of Icelandic beer!! Great Icelandic hospitality. We spend the night chatting bikes, Route planning for my trip east, and learning about each other’s countries. It was great stuff. </div>
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I can’t thank them both enough for the wonderful time they gave me, which all started chatting about the football in the ships bar last week, and Olafur celebrating England’s win over Columbia with me! Meeting likeminded folk is one of the best things about travelling, and makes me feel happier about the crazy world we live in. </div>
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Day 11</div>
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I set off from Olafur and Hronn’s place and headed 10 minutes across the suburbs to meet with Jon and Ming, my other biker buddies who ever on both sea crossings with me earlier in my trip. I met them at their Air BnB and we have some more bike chat and Iceland weather chat over cup of tea. Then Jon kindly interviewed me for his radio show (www.exilefm.com) talking all about The Arctic Rider project and the Iceland trip so far. </div>
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I then started my journey East. I had a few sights planned to see along the way thanks my Icelandic buddies, and a planned to do a big day. We’d checked the weather too last night and it looked as though I might get a dry and wind free day. The weather forecasters were wrong. For the first 2 hours East the wind blew and blew and blew. It wasn’t quite as bad as day 10 or my first day in Iceland, but it was enough to see me riding at about a 25 degree angle. I did manage to stop and take some photos at a volcano but my camera, and nearly the bike, kept getting blown over. </div>
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The further east I traveled the lighter it got until it was more of a strong breeze than actual wind. On the route along I stopped at somespectacular waterfalls. Iceland is beautiful. </div>
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I then finished my day camped near a huge glacier which is covering a volcano that’s ready to blow.... fun times. 8 hours on the road riding a lot of Southern Iceland. </div>
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Southern Iceland is like a different world. From crazy waterfalls, and mountains bursting out of the ground, to huge volcanic ash beaches... I almost couldn’t believe my eyes when riding along. I’ve got some amazing footage in the GoPro which I can’t wait to share with you all. </div>
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Thank you so much for the recent donations too. We are so close to £4,500 now. Everyone will be getting a special thank you when I return (and get better internet connection). </div>
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Tomorrow, I head 250 miles East back to Seyoisfjoror, where on Thursday morning I board the ship leaving Iceland. I’ve still got a lot to see in East Iceland before that and I’ll also need to try and find somewhere showning England’s World Cup semi final!</div>
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Today’s mileage - 238</div>
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Total mileage - 2143</div>
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Ride safe,</div>
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Gordon. </div>
Gordon Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10224306638325366461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5530957698205601333.post-450676523256783992018-07-08T22:07:00.002+01:002018-07-08T22:07:58.248+01:00Day 9 - A day of 2 halves Welcome to day 9 of Arctic Ride Iceland<br />
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Today was a very interesting day in which I finally got to see the best of Iceland. </div>
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I started later than planned after I got chatting to quite a few folk at the campsite post-blog last night and didnt get my head down until after midnight. There was an old German couple who were touring Iceland, some young German hikers who were also bikers whom I was giving the V-Strom sell too, and an American guy called Kevin. All this while I was charging my phone at the wash hut so I could post my blog. </div>
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Back to this morning, I had some porridge, refueld the bike and the headed North West towards Isafjordur, the ‘capital’ of the West Fjords. I had some touches of rain and light wind but nothing compared to previous days. Before long I was climbing my first mountain pass that was spectactual. The roads over the passes tend to run parallel with river and waterfalls which makes the ride over even more of a joy. </div>
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I then started on the fjord coastal roads which wave in and out of the Fjords following right by the waterline. The way way I can describe the Westfjords is a cross between Scotland and Norway (in a good way). So many times it felt like I was riding through the glens and past lochs. The only difference was that instead of an old castle ruin beside the water, a little Icelandic farm house stood there. </div>
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The roads were empty. Like don’t see a car for 30mins empty. Seriously it was so far out in the sticks, even more so than my time in Northern Norway. At times I wondered if I was in the right road, as it’s meant to a tourist trail, but then I’d catch up with a motorhome and realise I was in the right place. </div>
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I took several stops to admire the scenery. This was what I was expecting from Iceland, and I had finally found it. </div>
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Today was the half way point of my time in the island of Iceland (or Island as the Ivelandics call it... how confusing) so I told myself I’d ride until 1200 then turn start to head home. I didn’t make it as far as Isafjordur, so around noon I stopped to check out a waterfall then spun the bike around and headed back from where I came. </div>
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I got a heads up from my Icelandic buddy Olafur that there was some pretty mean weather coming in from the West so I decided to up the pace as I started South East. I got back to Holmavik where I’d camped last night, grabbed another tank of fuel, and treated myself to a chicken burger and chips. </div>
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From here on I headed the south as the weather took a nose dive back to rain and howling winds that started to throw me around the road again, not fun. On one of the passes south the usual tarmac road became a gravel track due to roadworks, so I was back up on the pegs dodging the big rocks and fighting off the wind. At one point when back on the tarmac, I almost had my knee down I was at that much of an angle from the wind. It was genuinely scary riding at some points today, I’m not too proud to admit that. Usually when I’m riding I have my headphones in listening to music or podcast, but the roads have needed so much attention here I’ve not had them in since I arrived. </div>
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I finally made it back into the number ‘1’ ring road and heading South to Reykjavík. The scenery here was different again, looking almost Rocky Moutain-esque. I arrived at the town of Bogarnes late afternoon and decided to stop here to set up camp. </div>
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As I write this blog I’m tucked up inside my tent and inside my sleeping bag as the rain pounds down and the wind gusts. I think I’ll stay put until the morning. </div>
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Thanks again for all the support, wishes, and donations. This trip really has been a rough slog so it’s fab to have some many people, metaphorically, along for the ride . </div>
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I’ve had my share of naysayers for this trip also but I can honestly say this is no holiday. The weather has been almost everything an Arctic summer can throw at you and the roads have been worse than I thought. I’ve also struggled to get enough calories due to my schedule and the fact stopping to get the stove out or make up a sandwich is somewhere between not fun and dangerous depending on how the weather has been and the road conditions. This same goes for my filming too. I’ve wanted to do a lot more filming but the weather has really held me back. Finding a safe place to pull over where the tripod won’t get blow away has been tricky but I’ll be putting pressure on myself to get more footage over the coming days so you can all experience more of what I have. </div>
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That’s it for tonight folks. I hope all my UK readers have been enjoying the heatwave and some tasty grub. I’m having Nutella sandwiches tonight with some cookies on the side. </div>
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Ride safe all. </div>
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Gordon. </div>
Gordon Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10224306638325366461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5530957698205601333.post-35449340456248933132018-07-07T22:46:00.000+01:002018-07-07T23:05:43.189+01:00Day 8 - Why does it always rain on meHello! Welcome to Day 8 of my Arctic Ride Iceland blog.<br />
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After completing my mission yesterday, today I started my tour of Iceland while I wait for my ferry home on Thursday. </div>
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I started my day in Olafsfjordur where I camped last night. After a quick FaceTime with the family I got the tent packed up. The campsite owner came to take my payment and I asked what time the supermarket opened and he said 11... urgh it was 9am and I was ready to go. He said it was the same in the next town too and he tried to convince me to go to his cafe for breakfast. I wanted to get on so I left anyway. When I got to the next town it turns out their supermarket was open, so I think the campsite over was just looking for the trade. </div>
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It was only 10 miles into my ride that the heavens opened and I was riding through rain again, and it didn’t stop for 2 hours. I got some petrol and food at the mentioned town then ploughed in through the rain. </div>
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Unknown to me the route I was taking West had some unpaved roads, which I wasn’t expecting until the West Fjords. So, through the rain, I got up on my pegs and navigated my way through the pot-holes and gravel, somehow getting through unscathed. </div>
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When I reached the other side of the Pennisula I was riding around, the rain eased and I stopped to do a quick Facebook live video and took some photos. Iceland is stunning when the rain goes away. I’ve not had much chance to see it without rain or fog, but when I have I’ve been blown away. The mountains are endless and the way the rock is carved looks like something out of lord of the rings. Truly beautiful. </div>
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Before long the rain was back. I got back into the main ‘1’ road, which circles Iceland, and stopped for a break and some lunch. I also checked in with tourist info and found a town 2 hours away that had the England match on, so I hurried back into the road, fighting the showers to go watch the game. </div>
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After England’s victory I headed off once more, again in the rain, heading West destined for the Fjords. I had planned to make it to Isafjorur in the far West which was only 400kms away, which I though I could do in 4 hours... how wrong I was. I turned off the ‘1’ road and it wasn’t long before I hit more dirt road. This dirt road was more special than the last though and included steep inclines, downhill bends, rogue sheep, and lasted for hours. </div>
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The photos don’t do it justice but it’s was painful. After 3 hours riding on these roads, mostly up on the pegs, my body was aching, and I’d only managed to cover 100kms... urgh. When the road turned back to tarmac I found a town with a camp site and took refuge for the night. </div>
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I still managed to rock up a solid 240 miles today, taking me up to 1,500 for the trip but it was a looooong day. I spoke to the tourist info who said the weather looks like it will continue to be windy and rainy for the rest of my stay. This is such a shame as I think Iceland would be amazing in the dry, but I’m destined not to experience that. I’ll head off further into the Westfjords tomorrow before starting East on Monday. </div>
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The view form my campsite at 9.30pm... not bad. </div>
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Thanks for reading and for following my journey. I’ve got loads of videos which will make their way online when I get home. </div>
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Thank you too for all the continued donations. I feel humbled to have such great support. I’m struggling with internet access but everyone will get a personal thank you upon my return. We are only £150 off £4,500 which would be an amazing achievement for Team Arctic Ride. You can still donate at www.virginmoneygiving.com/thearcticrider</div>
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Ride safe. </div>
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Gordon. </div>
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Gordon Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10224306638325366461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5530957698205601333.post-55384069920614736182018-07-07T00:27:00.001+01:002018-07-07T00:27:31.518+01:00Day 7 - Crossing the Arctic Circle Iceland!!!!Welcome to the latest Arctic Ride Iceland blog.<br />
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Day 7 was another early start. I had to be at the ferry port by 8am to load the bike, so I was up at 6 getting my kit packed away, and making some porridge. </div>
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I arrived at the port, a few miles from my hostel, expecting a queue of cars, after being instructed to be there an hour before departure when buying my ticket, but there were no other cars just a few folk milling around. I was invited to bring my bike onto the ferry (ferry in the loosest of terms) and it got strapped down. I don’t think they get too many bikes and the V-Stein was placed against the wall and just sort of belted to it. I grabbed my stuff and headed onboard. </div>
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Before long another few dozen passengers had arrived and we set sail. There wasn’t a particularly strong wind but as soon as we got out into the Fjord I knew I was going to be an interesting crossing. I kept my mind off the swaying of the ship by listening to some podcasts and looking out the window but before long there was a child being sick into a bag next to me to I headed out onto deck. </div>
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Now some of you may know I spend 4 years at university in a special Royal Navy Reserve unit, meaning I have some old sea-legs from doing deployments on smaller patrol ships. The seas I encountered today were up there in the top 3 worst crossings. It got worse when we got out of the shelter of the fjord and had a side wind with some fairly rough seas as we crossed the North Atlantic. </div>
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I kept myself in the middle of the ship and looking at the horizon to keep any sea-sickness at bay. Half way through the crossing I needed to pop to the bathroom down-below. Being in full leathers and thermals I was down on the ship for a good 10 minutes meaning I’d been exposed to the severe movement of the ship. When I got back on deck, the smell, sight, and sounds of dozens of sea-sick passengers started to get to me. I found a quiet spot and turned up the volume of the iPod. I managed to not be sick but it was an unpleasant journey to say the least. </div>
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I rolled off the ferry (see photo above) and did a quick Facebook post beFore driving the few miles up to the Arctic Circle. Around 1pm I passed the Arctic Circle sign and stopped for photos... I’d done it. It was an odd feeling. I was really proud to have made it after the past few days of tough travel but as per my Nordkapp trip, there was also a feeling of loneliness and lack of purpose, now the goals has been achieved.</div>
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I decided to have a go at getting further into the Arctic while on the island. There was no more tarmac but there was a dirty track for walkers so I thought I’d see how the V-Strom got on. Big mistake, the path was narrow, pot-holed, and very steep. I wouldn’t have felt confident doing this on an enduro bike let alone the big heavy V-Strom. Half way up, after getting stuck in mud twice and nearly dropppng the bike, I turned around and headed back. It was partly my off-road confidence and partly that I know if messed up, I was on an island without a doctor or mechanic, 3 hours by sea from the mainland, and I was a good few miles from the ferry. </div>
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I headed back to the port and popped into a bar to grab a lunch of French fries and Coca Cola (full fat) and warm up watching the football. They did have deep fried puffin on the menu, but I thought I’d pass on that on.</div>
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I looked around the rest of the island then headednback to the ferry. </div>
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The crossing on the way back was night and day compared to the morning. Very smooth and it was so sunny I had to put sun cream on to stop my face getting burnt. I spend most of the crossing chatting to an American couple from Portland about everything from Iceland and travel, to Donald Trump and Brexit. </div>
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When I got back on the mainland at 8pm local time, I was going to try and head South to Akureyri, but I was pretty tired so went North instead to the closer town of Olasafjorur and set up camp </div>
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Another fun packed day for sure. Thank you again for the support and encouragement. I can’t tell you enough how much it helps. If I’m honest, even after such a major achievement it’s pretty lonely up here and I’m missing my wife and kids a lot, so you’re all keeping me going </div>
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Tomorrow I head West to the Western Fjords trying to avoid the rain. I have 5 days to kill before heading off Iceland (the ship only runs once a week) so I’m trying to enjoy seeing some of this amazing country. </div>
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Thanks for all the donations today too. Even though I’m completed my mission, you can still donate at www.virginmoneygiving.com/thearcticrider</address>
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Thanks for reading. </div>
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Ride safe. </div>
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Gordon. </div>
Gordon Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10224306638325366461noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5530957698205601333.post-19466523280021565692018-07-05T23:05:00.000+01:002018-07-05T23:05:36.404+01:00(Day 5) & Day 6 - The worst ride of my lifeHi everyone!<br />
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Welcome the blog for (day 5) and Day 6. I’ve combined again due to poor internet connection and the fact that Day 5 wasn’t that interesting. </div>
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Day 5 was an odd day. I awoke about 0530 in my shared bunk room. I had a pretty bad sleep as the doors on the room were saloon style (with no lock) so every sound and light came into the room. I waited until 0800 when the restaurant opened and got myself a banana and a cup of tea to start the day. I pretty much just plodded on as per the day before. Being stuck on a ship for two days, podcasts and reading become your best friends. </div>
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Fareo Islands in the background with Jon and Ming.<br />
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I bumped into quite a few other bikers onboard including Jon and Ming who were on the Harwich - Rotterdam ferry. We had a bit chat in their cabin about music and bikes, and they invited and treated me to dinner in the evening too which was very kind. Apart from that I took some photos of the Faroe Islands when we passed through and also tried to do a Facebook live video. Apart from the chat, it was pretty dull and I can say for sure I’ll not be signing up for a 2 day sea crossing in a hurry anytime soon. </div>
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Day 6 - I woke up early again, had a shower and got my kit packed away. It was long before we were sailing through a magical fjord coming into port. With 30 minutes to go before docking, I headed down to the car deck to repack my bike. Before I knew it I was rolling off the ferry and onto Icelandic soil. It felt like a dream come true and I was so excited, although it didn’t last long.</div>
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For the past few days I’ve been trying to contact the shipping company who runs the ferry to the Arctic Iceland island. Emails hadn’t worked so I decided to phone them when I hit dry land. I got no reply and after some advice from tourist info, it become clear I was going to have to go and get my ticket in person at the port of Dalvík before tomorrow’s ferry. The only problem was that the office closed at 4pm and it was over 300kms away. It was going to be right down to the wire. </div>
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I had planned to visit some sites en-route to Dalvík but thanks to my new milestone, I just had to smash out the miles. The weather forecast had been for showers but I was not prepared for what was ahead. </div>
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When I set off from the port there was a light breeze, about 13 degrees and spitting with rain. By time I got into the counties route 1 ring road, the temperature was down to 6 degrees, the rain was in full flow and the wind was blowing a gale. </div>
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I can honestly say that today was one of the worst days riding I’ve ever had, and I’ve had some bad days. The wind never let up and at one point I was riding at a 30degree angle and getting blown onto the other side of the road. It was really scary stuff. I also had an air leak in my jacket somewhere. My hands were dry (thanks to my new gloves and headed grips) but my arms where like icicles the whole day. </div>
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300km later, after several mountain passes and a pit stop at a hot springs cafe for some goulash and bread, I was closing in on Dalvík, a very small port town in the far North of Iceland. I arrived with 20 minutes to spare, bought my ticket and felt a bit better about life. </div>
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Due to the battering I’d all day on the road, I opted for a hostel tonight to recharge my batteries and the batteries on my filming equipment, and also to get warmed up. </div>
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So tomorrow I aim for the Arctic Circle in Iceland. I have very few roads miles to do but after feeling pretty down today, I’m motivated and really to cross that line and add my second arctic circle crossing to my eventual goal of all 8. </div>
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Thank you so much for all the encouragement on social media today. I feeling very demotived and generally narked-off, butall your comments really helped me get back on track. </div>
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Also huge thanks to Steve Joice for his very generous donation and kind words, top man! If you haven’t donated yet you can still do so by following the link www.virginmoneygiving.com/thearcticrider </div>
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Thanks all for today folks. </div>
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Ride safe,</div>
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Gordon. </div>
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Gordon Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10224306638325366461noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5530957698205601333.post-42716094879040287922018-07-04T07:52:00.002+01:002018-07-04T07:53:24.640+01:00Day 4 - Departure for Iceland <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Hi everyone,</span><br />
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Thanks for tuning in again for Day 4’s blog.</div>
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I woke up early to get myself all packed for the ferry. I had another bad night, the ground is rock solid with the heat wave across Europe and my rollmat isn’t giving me much protection. As per yesterday, I set my water boiling for porridge and a cuppa while I packed the tent away and got the bike sorted.</div>
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Then it was off to the port to catch the ship. There was a lot of queueing. Firstly to get checked in. Then to get onboard the ferry. Then to get onto the upper deck, then to wait for a space to put the bike it. During these waits I did my bit for Brexit negotiations chatting to other bikers from Italy, Germany, and Denmark, all heading for Iceland too. </div>
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When I final got my space on the ferry I was thrown some straps by the deck hands and told to strap down my bike. Not what the shipping company had advertised but I got on with it anyway. It took me a good 10 mins to work the straps out and get my bike secure. I also had to take one of my side boxes off in order to get into the bike as I’d been packed so tightly alongside other bikes. I then ended up on the car deck for another 30 minutes helping out a German biker get this bike sorted. Even though neither of us spoke each other’s language enough to actually communicate, we did it by hand jestutures and a lot of ‘ya’ and ‘nein’. </div>
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I then had the joy of finding my shared cabin. I can only describe it as a set of bunk beds with a thin strip of flooring between them.. turns out I am sharing with the two Romanian chaps I met on the road yesterday and some other random chap. </div>
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With 48 hours in the ship I’ve had a lot of time to kill. I’ve made some new friends including Don, a US biker and fellow Iron Butt’er doing a 4-month tour of Europe, an Icelandic couple who celebrated England’s football win with me and have offers me a room when I visit Reykjavík, and also a few other random biker types. </div>
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I’ve also read 100 pages of my book, tucked into a Scandinavian lunch, and been for a swim in the onboarding ‘swimming pool’ / death trap which, due to sea state 3 water outside, was a 20ft wave machine. </div>
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And as I write this blog I’m listening to the onboard musician play some Irish folk songs while having a coke.. just another 36 hours to go 😔</div>
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Thanks or tuning in. </div>
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More updates to follow</div>
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Ride safe,</div>
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<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;" />Gordon Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10224306638325366461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5530957698205601333.post-85154692362422745622018-07-02T18:36:00.000+01:002018-07-02T18:36:49.198+01:00Day 3 - traversing Denmark Hello,<br />
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Welcome to the Day 3 blog of my Arctic Ride Iceland, raising funds and awareness for Tiny Lives Trust and Cerebra. </div>
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Last night wasn’t the best sleep, the ground was hard and I was a little warm in my 4 season sleeping bag, but I got some rest none the less.</div>
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This morning was a fairly relaxed one, not rushing to get gone super early as I had only 220ish miles to do. So I popped to the local supermarket to top up my supplies then boiled some water for tea and porridge while I packed the bike away. This was a really efficient use of time considering how long it takes to boil water on my mini stove.</div>
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I set off about 10am and headed into Flensburg city centre. As I was close by I wanted to pop to the spot that my wife and I first met, almost 10 years ago to the day, while we were both on deployment with the Royal Navy Reserves. It was nice to be able to fit in a personal moment into the trip and reminiss. </div>
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After this I got back on track and road into Denmark, and then back on the motorway heading North. The roads were fairly quiet and the weather was sunny and hot again. The ‘mercury’ hit 32c at one point when I stopped, wowza! Not what you expect from Denmark. </div>
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I carried on north without incident (again, I’m not complaining, this is what I want for whole trip). I pulled over a few times on the motorway, at their very nice rest areas, for food and a drink. On my last stop just south of Aalborg, i got chatting to two Romanian bikers on 650s who were travelling back to Iceland for work. Vlad and Paul seemed like nice chaps, but I forgot to get a photo with them. </div>
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I arrived in Hirtshals about 4pm where I checked out the port so I knew where to go in the morning, got some fuel, and had a bit of a nose around town. There wasn’t much going on to be honest, like any small port towns, there were travellers like me killing time waiting for ferries and some locals charging marked-up prices for beer and ice cream. </div>
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There are two campsites in Hirtshals and I headed for the cheapest which is 6km out of town. However upon getting there I couldn’t see the reception and something just didn’t feel right after riding a narrow lane and dirt track to get there, so I quickly spun around and headed back for the more central campsite. </div>
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I got there and got checked in only to be led up a big hill to my plot. When I unpacked the bike it was clear there was no WiFi at this plot and the going down the steep hill in the morning with the bike packed didn’t fill me with joy, so I jumped on the bike and took it down the hill empty and found another plot. The owner clearly wasn’t happy by the look he gave me but never said anything so I carried on. </div>
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I got all set up and popped some pasta and avocado on for my dinner, and it was pretty tasty. </div>
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Tomorrow morning I’ll be up early to catch the ship to Iceland. It takes 2 full days to get there and I’m not sure how much WiFi I will get, so this may be my last update for a few days. </div>
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Thanks again to everyone got their support. It means a lot and really helps me keep going.</div>
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Days mileage - 247</div>
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Total mileage - 1008</div>
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Ride safe</div>
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Gordon </div>
Gordon Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10224306638325366461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5530957698205601333.post-73427512325197558682018-07-01T20:15:00.002+01:002018-07-01T20:38:03.607+01:00Day 1 & 2 - motorway milesWelcome to The Arctic Rider blog,<br />
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I’m pleased to say that yesterday I set off my house bound for Arctic Iceland, my latest charity motorbike challenge.<br />
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Firstly, apologies I wasn’t able to blog last night . I got to the ferry later than planned and the WiFi wasn’t working onboard so I’ve had to defer to tonight.<br />
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Day 1<br />
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I set off from my house just after lunchtime on Saturday afternoon. Unlike my last 2 Arctic Rides, there was no fanfare or big send off. I decided to keep it low key due to the short preparation time I had for the Iceland trip and to make sure I focused on getting packed and not forgetting anyway (I still managed to forget tea bags and a few first aid kit items, but heyho).<br />
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My destination on Saturday evening was the port of Harwich in Essex to catch the 2100 ferry to Rotterdam, some 325 miles... not bad for an afternoon.<br />
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Before I left however I did have to say bye to my wife and kids. It’s always hard leaving your family but I found this goodbye particularly tough. I’ve never spent this long away for our family unit, and having 2 children who’ve been poorly in their early years, it felt a bit like I was letting them down by going, even though Tiny Lives charity who are benfiting from the ride have helped them both so much.<br />
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The ride down the road was uneventful. I’ve ridden most of this route so many times, not only doing my Arctic Rides but visiting my mother-in-law who used to live in the area, plus other trips to France. It was a lovely summers day (maybe a bit too hot) and apart from an accident just south of Leeds and a few roads works on the A1 going south of Darlington, the bike just ate up the miles. I did have some slight discomfort in my shoulder but that’s an ongoing issue.<br />
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After a few stops for petrol and food, I arrived at Harwich around 7pm ready to board their ferry. While queing I got chatting to a jolly German man who was asking about the bike. Turns out he was a bike nut like me and was looking for a new bike to ride to work. Before I knew it, it was time to board the ferry. After a helter-skelter to get onto the ship, I got parked up and strapped the bike down and headed to my cabin. It was nicer than I expected with double bunk beds, a hot shower, and tv. I then checked in with my wife Kirsty and did my Facebook live video.<br />
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While I was on the ship I bumped into Jon and Ming who are a couple I ‘know’ from Twitter. They are also heading to Iceland on their bikes for a 2 week holiday but won’t be getting as far North as the Arctic. They were kind enough to invite me into their posh, sea-view, cabin and gave me a cup of tea and some chocolate while we chatted about motorbike, music, Icleand and Norway. It’s one of the best things about these bike kind of trips, meeting other travellers along the way. They are on the same ship to Iceland as me too which should help with the boredom of a 2 days sea crossing.<br />
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After our chat I unsuccessfully tried to get the WiFi working onboard, so instead I transferred all my media for the from my GoPro and iPhone to my backup drive and then settled down to bed.<br />
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Mileage.- 325<br />
Total mileage - 325<br />
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Day 2<br />
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Only 5 hours after going to bed there was a wake-up call from the ship. After grabbing a quick shower I headed back down to the car deck ready to depart. I must have chosen the right deck as in no time I was off the ship riding towards passport control. After waiting only 15 minutes, and witnessing some crazy queue-rage (GoPro footage to follow) I was on Dutch soil and heading for Germany. I got a bit lost in Rotterdam but after a quick consult with google maps I was on my way.<br />
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Day 2 ride was another fairly standard days riding (I like this... the less near misses, the better). Only my second stop of the day getting petrol just after the Dutch-German border, I bumped into the jolly German man again! He wishes me well on my ‘banana bike’ and thought it was funny we had seen each other again, although he was heading home to Kiel which isn’t far from Flensburg where i ended up after riding 440 miles. There were lots of roadworks either side of Hamburg and some very fast driving (85mph is too slow for the autobahn by my reckoning).<br />
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The only other happening of the day was during one of my stops when an Irish gypsy approach me while I was lubing my chain. He claimed he’d been robbed over night and had no money to get home and wanted some cash for him and his family. I said I didn’t carry cash (I genuinely live a cashless life) but he then suggested I accompany him to the next services and buy him a tank of fuel. I was a bit suspicious as he was heading east-bound like me and thus not ‘home to Dover’ as he claimed. I challenged him on this and he told me he’d need to turn around, which I agreed he would to get home. I then declined his offer of paying for his petrol and got back to fixing my bike. I felt bad after the incident, I normally always help folk in need but this chap just didn’t seem genuine at all. At first I though he was coming over to check on me as I was working on the bike, but alas he just wanted some petrol for free.<br />
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So I made it to Flensburg (the meeting place of my wife and I) and I set up camp ready to get some sleep. As per night 1, I’m really missing my family. I was able to FaceTime them all before the kids went to bed which was great but part of me wishes I was still at home to tuck them in<br />
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Mileage -440<br />
Total mileage 765<br />
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Thank you to everyone so much for all the support and Facebook and Twitter, and for all the donation s. . It really means a lot! If you haven’t yet, you can donate at www.virginmoneygiving.com/thearcticrider<br />
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No photos today I’m afroad as the blogger app is playing up but I’ll do my best to get some posted tomorrow when I get to Denmark<br />
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Ride safe,<br />
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Gordon<br />
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<br />Gordon Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10224306638325366461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5530957698205601333.post-45642130031858124522018-06-23T22:45:00.003+01:002018-06-23T22:45:29.218+01:00Arctic Ride Iceland... The RouteHi everyone,<br />
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Due to the very short time-frame to my rearrange ride to Iceland I've got a lot of blogging to do to update you all.<br />
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This blog will be all about the route I will take to get to Arctic Iceland.<br />
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Overall I've got 3,700 miles to ride across 18 days although 6 of those days I'll be at sea in transit between countries. This means my average daily road mileage will be just over 300, which is almost the same as my Arctic Ride 2014 to Norway. This gives me confidence that I can do these miles but I also know having done my Iron Butt that if the unexpected happens I have it in my locker to put in some big days to catch up.<br />
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<b>Days 1-3</b><br />
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In order to get to Iceland I need to catch a ship from the port of Hirtshals in Northern Denmark, so the first part of my journey is to get from my home in Newcastle to Denmark.<br />
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On day 1 I'll head 320 South from Newcastle, leaving early to afternoon, heading to the the Port of Harwich in East Anglia. I've decided to catch the overnight ferry from here to Rotterdam in The Netherlands. This means I can get a good nights sleep before 2 long days up to Denmark, and also cross the channel at night to save it eating into my riding hours.<br />
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On day 2 I'll hit the road mid-morning, by time to ferry has docked and unloaded, heading North east through The Netherlands and into Germany. The plan is to make it 420 miles to the Danish border, probably stopping near Flensburg in Germany. If I'm making good time I may press on and head another 50 miles North to Kolding in Denmark, on recommendation of my biker buddy Stu.<br />
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Day 3 will see me ride another 200 - 220 miles continuing North to almost the Northern tip of Denamrk and the Port of Hirtshals, ready for the catching the ship the following morning.<br />
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Having done my Iron Butt in 2016 and having done some big miles on past trips, part of me wanted to do Newcastle to Hirtshals in 2 days, but this would leave me with very little contingency for a puncture, severe roadworks, or weather delays. Due to the fact that the ship to Iceland only sails once a week, missing it would be a disaster so I've allowed myself 3 shorter days to give me the best chance of making my crossing to Iceland. Newcastle to Hirtshals is about the same distance as riding from Newcastle to Barcalona or Vienna<br />
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<b>Days 4-5 </b><br />
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Days 4-5 will see me ride a grand total of about 3 miles.. riding from my campsite in Hirtshals to the port. I'll be spending 48 hours in the confines of the ship which luckily has a gym, cinema, and swimming pool (although I'm dubious about the quality and size of these amenities). I imagine I'll spend a lot of my time reading, listening to podcasts, and sleeping (in a shared 6 birth cabin), the latter not being my idea of fun. I think this will be one of the hardest parts of the ship. Cut off from the world for 2 days and not being able to ride the bike is going to be pretty soul-destroying, although I'm going to think back to my time stuck in the <a href="http://arcticride.blogspot.com/2011/06/day-ten-still-waiting.html" target="_blank">town of Ornskoldsvik in Sweden</a> when I crashed my bike in 2011 for inspiration of how to keep myself occupied.<br />
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<b>Day 6 - 12</b><br />
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On day 6 I'l land in the East Icelandic port of Seydisfjordur. This is where the fun and amazing scenery will start. From here I will start my 1,400 mile anti-clockwise circumnavigation of the Island of Iceland. Day 6 will be a 300 mile day although due to the road conditions (no motorways and lots of gravel roads) I'm expecting this will be a fairly huge day of riding, google maps estimating 8-9 excluding stops. My planned destination at the end of Day 6 is Dalvik, a village of 1,400 people and my launch pad for Arctic Iceland.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seydisfjordur, Iceland</td></tr>
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To cross the Arctic Circle in Iceland I need to head to the Island of Grimsey, and the only boat leaves from Dalvik. I'm aiming to do this as early in the trip as possible as the boat only runs 5 days a week and is often cancelled by poor weather.<br />
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If day 7 goes to plan it will be another low mileage day where I have a 2-3 hour sea crossing to Grimsey where, when I land, I'll ride to the North of the island and cross the Arctic Circle and I'll head back to Dalvik with a big smile on my face. Its great to know I could be as little as a week away from the Arctic Circle when I depart Newcastle, but I'm also not counting my chicken just yet due to the very changeable weather and tough road conditions I could face in Iceland.<br />
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Days 8 and 9 will see me head to Iceland's North West to the Westfjords, offering some of Iceland's most amazing scenery, and some amazing gravel roads to test the bike on. I've very lucky that Suzuki have given me their latest adventure bike the V-Strom 100 XT. Part of the deal is that I put the bike through its paces and see how it handles, and report back.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3DdfOJHB3F15jdhLyJdM-_oDRC9tqFojmz-byBQ1TDfW8-nrfLhFmmO1Dr_KC7AYDIiik0bqkIl4TgdoVoLuQSlA8lQqy1ETH2w0LacEJplWfJzAFvE9n1fIsKHiL_FJvK9t0XjWa6fGM/s1600/Westfjords.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="1600" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3DdfOJHB3F15jdhLyJdM-_oDRC9tqFojmz-byBQ1TDfW8-nrfLhFmmO1Dr_KC7AYDIiik0bqkIl4TgdoVoLuQSlA8lQqy1ETH2w0LacEJplWfJzAFvE9n1fIsKHiL_FJvK9t0XjWa6fGM/s640/Westfjords.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Westfjords, Iceland</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
At the end of Day 9 I should be in the capital Reykjavik, a city I visited only a few months prior to my Arctic Ride 2014 to Norway, but hopefully there will be less snow than last time.<br />
<br />
Days 10 -12 will see me head along the South coast and into Iceland's volcano region. There will be more off-road riding and changeable weather as I make my way back to Seydisfjordur to catch my next ship.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Day 13 - 17</b><br />
<br />
Day 13 is another sea crossing, this time from Iceland to The Faroe Islands. The shipping route means that on the way back to Demark I will have a 2.5 day layer over in the Fareos. Its not a place I'd ever had on my to visit but I'm going to grasp the opportunity. The Faroe Islands are a group of 18 major islands situated in the North Atlantic between Iceland, Norway, and Scotland with a population of only 50,000 people.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr8W3qlEWYWOGosPtlGhj7Q89AeqbcIIEMLBiEAG9QDeUCL2Jod-YS7xC-o-u1lmr_qIeq8CaJLymP8_56MmUU6xjedg522Ul8m8XdV3z_xJH5ZIXzojsvhOp7mFu6jXOt136MCxuFXowR/s1600/Faroe.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1509" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr8W3qlEWYWOGosPtlGhj7Q89AeqbcIIEMLBiEAG9QDeUCL2Jod-YS7xC-o-u1lmr_qIeq8CaJLymP8_56MmUU6xjedg522Ul8m8XdV3z_xJH5ZIXzojsvhOp7mFu6jXOt136MCxuFXowR/s400/Faroe.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Faroe Islands</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I'll have half of Day 14, and all of days 15 and 16 to tour the Islands and try not to get too bored. I expect to cover 200 - 300 miles while on here.<br />
<br />
Day 17 is another sea crossing back to Denmark.<br />
<br />
<b>Day 18 - 19</b><br />
<br />
I'll land back on mainland Europe around 0900 hours and I'll have 2 days to get myself the 1,200 miles back to Newcastle, most likely via Calais - Dover crossing.<br />
<br />
So that will be my route of 3,700 miles, broken up by 5 different sea crossings.<br />
<br />
Thank you very much for reading and the recent donations. If you would like to donate please visit <a href="http://www.virginmoneygiving.com/thearcticrider" target="_blank">www.virginmoneygiving.com/thearcticrider </a>- All donations got direct to charities Tiny Lives Trust and Cerebra.<br />
<br />
6 days to go!<br />
<br />
Ride safe,<br />
<br />
GordonGordon Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10224306638325366461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5530957698205601333.post-41111368192681996382018-06-18T23:40:00.001+01:002018-06-18T23:40:44.743+01:00Arctic Ride....IcelandGreetings,<br />
<br />
Welcome to the latest Arctic Rider blog.<br />
<br />
Further to my blog a few days ago announcing that I've had to postpone my Arctic Ride Alaska, I'm very pleased to say that (in quite short order) managed to sort my next adventure which I will take on in July 2018...<br />
<br />
That's right (as you probably guessed from the blog title) I'm please to present...<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">ARCTIC RIDE ICELAND</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJN5TmFeaFYBj79QKvzZKu2rLcz_yrrcmmKzZVP-sVY_n_VndLiFVTXGzJ2ZpkgyQc6KZVogJLwbkDH8AMxmvbXzw8T0Dml-x3mtZQnN6veZzS7gZTBzVLUi9mh5PUvvHi9usn2_cwyFr6/s1600/iceland-flag-vector-20266948.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="822" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJN5TmFeaFYBj79QKvzZKu2rLcz_yrrcmmKzZVP-sVY_n_VndLiFVTXGzJ2ZpkgyQc6KZVogJLwbkDH8AMxmvbXzw8T0Dml-x3mtZQnN6veZzS7gZTBzVLUi9mh5PUvvHi9usn2_cwyFr6/s320/iceland-flag-vector-20266948.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
To find out more about how I came to my decision to take on Iceland, please check out my below Facebook live announcement video.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="407" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fthearcticrider%2Fvideos%2F1699075053494414%2F&show_text=1&width=560" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
I'll be back on my blog with more details of the route and challenges on Iceland very soon but I just wanted to share this news for those of you who hadn't caught up with the Facebook live video.<br />
<br />
Thanks again for all the support!<br />
<br />
Ride safe,<br />
<br />
GordonGordon Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10224306638325366461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5530957698205601333.post-4725872533857650332018-06-13T20:36:00.001+01:002018-06-13T20:36:05.878+01:00A week is a long time... when planning a motorbike adventureHi everyone,<br />
<br />
Wow... what a week I've had. For those who don't follow my social media...<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><b>***Due to unforeseen circumstances relating to motorbike insurance in USA and Canada, Arctic Ride Alaska has been postponed until further notice.. another challenge will be done in 2018 in its place and a new date announced soon***</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><b><br /></b></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy8a-1FPMhKarJU5ewbZnt0-7jEHehPn-5aL-3aqJgzrJ7MrNXVr4EJ8ARhNm3-rHRooOe3tCHH24WO0mOQhQu8ByuVSN0Wubg9ZcQaYr9Ez37h3wxLa0yXCsqLbiXZHEQD26X9Z8dFZbe/s1600/update.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="555" data-original-width="586" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy8a-1FPMhKarJU5ewbZnt0-7jEHehPn-5aL-3aqJgzrJ7MrNXVr4EJ8ARhNm3-rHRooOe3tCHH24WO0mOQhQu8ByuVSN0Wubg9ZcQaYr9Ez37h3wxLa0yXCsqLbiXZHEQD26X9Z8dFZbe/s320/update.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Facebook update on Monday night</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><b><br /></b></span>
Postponing my trip to Canada and Alaska has been on of the hardest decisions I've had to make as The Arctic Rider and is up there in the 'disappointing' list with my crash in Sweden in 2011 and getting ill the day after my Iron Butt in 2016.<br />
<br />
To try and summarize the insurance situation with the US and Canada, I've create a Q&A of the questions I've been asked by all the folk trying to help solve my problem.<br />
<br />
<b>Insurance Q&A?</b><br />
What is the problem with your insurance?<br />
<span style="color: blue;">There is one provider in North America, via several brokers, who supplies insurance to overseas riders for their motorbikes visiting Canada and the US short-term. From 21st May, they have stopped providing this service, stating that they can't comply with new EU data protection legislation.</span><br />
<br />
Surely they aren't the only provider?<br />
<span style="color: blue;">While there are many insurance providers, none provide cover for riders who don't have a US/Canadian address or are riding a temporary import bike (which is my situation). I worked with brokers, other adventure bikers, and my large network to find a solution over a 7 day period and nothing was forthcoming.</span><br />
<br />
Can a UK insurer not give you a policy?<br />
<span style="color: blue;">No, I spoke to 3 of the biggest UK insurance providers and they all confirmed that they would not provide cover outside the EEA and that no-UK-based underwriter would.</span><br />
<br />
Can you not just use a friends address in the US to get cover?<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Whilst I have friends who would happily let me use their address, insurance cover states this has to be your main residence and if I declared that it was I would knowingly be giving false information and would invalidate my insurance</span><br />
<br />
Was this an easy way out of not going to Alaska and not do the trip?<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Not at all. I've been planing this trip for over 2 years and have put my heart and soul into making it a success. I worked tirelessly to get Suzuki on-board and ensure I was fully set to take on the challenge. The trip has also cost me personally over £1,000 which I will now not get back. Making this decision was tough but totally logical and sensible out.</span><br />
<br />
If you had bought your insurance before 25th May would you not be covered?<br />
<span style="color: blue;">In a word, no. The company has invalidated any insurance they had provided and given refunds. I know of a couple who's bike are currently stuck at Toronto airport as they had bought insurance and it was cancelled while they were in transit.</span><br />
<br />
So that is that then... no Arctic Ride Alaska 2018... however, in ture adventuere spirit, I'm not going to let this bump in the road slow me down on my mission to raise money and funds for two amazing charities.<br />
<br />
That's why I'm pleased to say there <span style="color: blue;"><b>WILL be a trip to the Arctic this summer</b></span> from the Arctic Rider...<br />
<br />
Those of you who have been following me for a while will know that my long term mission is to <b>Ride The Arctic Circle in every country possible by motorbike.</b> I've dubbed this 'The Great Arctic Motorbike Challenge' (<a href="http://arcticride.blogspot.com/p/the-great-arctic-challenge.html" target="_blank">you can read more here</a>). So the setback with Arctic Ride Alaska will allow me to bring forward one of my other challenges into this year. I will announcing which it will be very soon, along with the logistics and other information available, so look out for that.<br />
<br />
Thats it for this time. Huge thanks to my wife Kirsty for here guidance, support, and understanding in what been a very difficult decision process to go through. And thank you to everyone for your understanding and support, I couldn't have kept going without you all.<br />
<br />
Ride safe,<br />
<br />
Gordon<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Gordon Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10224306638325366461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5530957698205601333.post-64849666272377681072018-06-04T22:46:00.002+01:002018-06-04T22:46:33.419+01:003 weeks to goHi everyone,<br />
<br />
Its just 3 weeks until I head off to Canada and Alaska to take on my latest charity motorbike challenge!<br />
<br />
Since we last spoke I've been very busy getting myself and the bike prepared for this epic ride.<br />
<br />
Last week I headed up to the boarders to Duns Motocross to get some off-road training from former Scottish and UK Motocross champion Bryan MacKenzie.<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-Gb1wq5HZqc" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
It was a great and tiring morning but much needed to get some off-road skills ready for taking on the Alcan and The Dalton Highway.<br />
<br />
I did the training on a Yamaha 250 which is about half the weight of the V-Strom I'll be taking across the pond, but it was a great introduction. After doing a few laps of a dirt road on the bike, Bryan taught me the basis of braking and cornering on gravel, and then gave me a crash course in standing on the pegs and being in control of the bike off-road. Ever since watching Long Way Round doing this sort of thing has always been a dream of mine.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkaFv0WmI-X9ayrQKL2O7qs0UAu4QHKa7y975muoncs3diC0KQFUWsbhmgbJv4mzBcUWfe3TLMtMJF82CUXcjAnL3faEiLhBFCWFcTli1Yi0d7rRqClEXI-3pCPv2OcdrngYAAbbcnexM_/s1600/image1+%25281%2529.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkaFv0WmI-X9ayrQKL2O7qs0UAu4QHKa7y975muoncs3diC0KQFUWsbhmgbJv4mzBcUWfe3TLMtMJF82CUXcjAnL3faEiLhBFCWFcTli1Yi0d7rRqClEXI-3pCPv2OcdrngYAAbbcnexM_/s320/image1+%25281%2529.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
From there I moved onto the motocross track with some big jumps and tight turns. I started to get a bike nervous on the track and when trying to do some low speed control I lived my fear.. falling off the bike. It hurt my backside a bit but didn't hurt my pride as much as I thought it would. Bryan just told me to get up and get myself out of the mess I'd gotten myself and the into.. and I bloody well did.<br />
<br />
I finished by doing a full lap of the motocross track with Bryan and tackling a long sleep gravel track, which I never thought I'd be able to do at the start of the day.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQbpv5I3djr3y7_5RnEorlIyjlInl5zha3xhKnOl5gxcO8lQtt9j5c_IwyCmtGprP1eMbsN89TMse7hTga8nYwH8-mB0uWoTzn1avXpB-w40qBm1kGbB7A9OJ6csepGXFY7ARo3F0mG9W/s1600/image1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQbpv5I3djr3y7_5RnEorlIyjlInl5zha3xhKnOl5gxcO8lQtt9j5c_IwyCmtGprP1eMbsN89TMse7hTga8nYwH8-mB0uWoTzn1avXpB-w40qBm1kGbB7A9OJ6csepGXFY7ARo3F0mG9W/s320/image1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
It was a fantastic experience and I can't thank Bryan enough for his guidance. He had a great way about him and really built my confidence.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF8CsO4R8WZY4eFtFiVOokxRnNgBm4-xVfn5e8gwpywFVgE2OTT3EnHt1MMA5aAu46ON9_l4s69KozUG4-mIwolMO1_DVCkRmEx7AXDCJb0BsdILaV87uBdAs0xADHcGRY3DtQ0Brj6_Pe/s1600/IMG_0388.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="634" data-original-width="1600" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF8CsO4R8WZY4eFtFiVOokxRnNgBm4-xVfn5e8gwpywFVgE2OTT3EnHt1MMA5aAu46ON9_l4s69KozUG4-mIwolMO1_DVCkRmEx7AXDCJb0BsdILaV87uBdAs0xADHcGRY3DtQ0Brj6_Pe/s320/IMG_0388.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">B6351 - Near the Scotland-England border </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
In the afternoon I then took the V-Strom the long way home to get some miles into the bike. From Duns I headed through the boarders to Kelso, and Jedburgh. Then along some awesome b-roads to the back of Kielder Water and into Northumberland national park. These roads were a perfect test of what I'm likely to face on the road in Canada, including the bugs eating me alive when I stopped for a bite to eat and a drink.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4SKVWQ41aatmSHmObhqLLWPFDNX4ba4Sdiftq_6weQUTsgt1MUkRGNCTRLh1VKCNHIe1ppVeOyG-LtrYgDAiwymm9-fCVQChROxz8VAdbQUl3heh1fP9w0twwvcvsBzM4JLY8oQsgzCj0/s1600/IMG_0385.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4SKVWQ41aatmSHmObhqLLWPFDNX4ba4Sdiftq_6weQUTsgt1MUkRGNCTRLh1VKCNHIe1ppVeOyG-LtrYgDAiwymm9-fCVQChROxz8VAdbQUl3heh1fP9w0twwvcvsBzM4JLY8oQsgzCj0/s320/IMG_0385.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">V-Strom 1000 XT</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Also since we last spoke I've drawn the Arctic Ride Alaska Raffle with an amazing £420 raised.. Thanks so much to everyone who bought a ticket and congratuations to the winner.<br />
<br />
I'm also pleases to say that finally been able to book my bike onto the Air Canada flight to Calgary... woohoo and arrange my Canadian Visa... although a few items have now been added to the list too!! So the to do list now looks like this:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><strike>Collect the bike from Suzuki GB HQ in Milton Keynes</strike></li>
<li><strike>Test the bike out on a pre-trip trip to Scotland</strike></li>
<li><strike>Arrange and complete off road training (I'm now booked in with Duns motorcross! Woop).</strike></li>
<li><strike>Book my flights to Canada</strike></li>
<li><strike>Book the bike freight to Canada</strike></li>
<li><strike>Canadian Visa</strike></li>
<li>US Visa</li>
<li>EPA motorbike import form for the USA</li>
<li>Get Dangerous good documents for shipping to Canada</li>
<li>Get Dangerous good documents for shipping to London</li>
<li>Arrange for freight forwarder to clear bike through customs in the UK</li>
<li>Arrange insurance and breakdown cover for Canada and USA</li>
<li>Arrange adventure travel insurance</li>
<li>Buy new sleeping bag</li>
<li><strike>Draw charity raffle <a href="https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/the-arctic-rider-raffle" target="_blank">(tickets here)</a></strike></li>
</ul>
<div>
Thanks for reading as always. more updates to follow soon.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Ride safe,</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Gordon</div>
Gordon Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10224306638325366461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5530957698205601333.post-30156844029469014242018-05-23T00:50:00.001+01:002018-05-23T00:50:29.430+01:005 weeks to go... The Arctic Ride Alaska RouteHello!<br />
<br />
Welcome back to The Arctic Rider blog!<br />
<br />
5 weeks today I'll be setting off once again for the Arctic Circle on my motorbike to raise money for charity.<br />
<br />
I wanted to do a quick blog to share my route with you all. Its been chopping and changing due to different flights, not knowing what bike I was going to be riding, and where I needed to start from but now that it is all sorted I can share with you my plans.<br />
<br />
Now I'm going to be honest, this route looks tough... very tough for a number of reasons.<br />
<br />
Firstly, the mileage. I've got around <span style="color: red;"><b><u>5,800 miles to ride in 18 days...</u></b> </span>but 2 of those days the bike and I will be flying, so its actually 16 days.. meaning I have to average 360 miles per day.. I've also included 2x contingency days into my plans, so its actually more like <b><span style="color: red;"><u>400 miles per day</u> </span></b>with a few 500+ mile days thrown in there for good measure. Now I might have completed the UK end to end Iron Butt which was an 875 mile day but that just about killed me. Its good to know if push came to show I could do a mega day, but I'm not counting on it.<br />
<br />
Secondly, the logistics. I'm starting my ride in the UK, then I'm flying to Canada, then I'm clearing my bike through Canadian customs, then I need to enter the US, then I need to re-enter Canada, and finally fly the bike and I home... thats a whole lot of admin I could do without which will no doubt cost me time.<br />
<br />
Thirdly... jet lag. I've got an 8 hour time difference between days 1 and 2 which I'll need to recover from fast to get the mileage in.<br />
<br />
Finally, I've got 800 miles of one of the worlds most dangerous roads, The Dalton Highway, thrown in there for good measure... wow, this is going to be one hell of a trip.<br />
<br />
Right, so what does each days look like? Here is a quick break down and a short animation:<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mDcRXqUvSRo" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
Day 1 - 300 miles - A nice warm up day from my house in Newcastle to Heathrow airport in London, via Suzuki HQ and meeting a few of my biker buddies along the way (get in touch if you want to meet up and ride some with me.. my route is very simple.. (A1 -- M1 -- M25)<br />
<br />
Day 2 - 60 miles - The bike and I fly out on a 9 hour flights from London to Calgary in Canada. I'll then check the bike out of customs, pick up some supplies and get out of Calgary towards the Rockies (hopefully)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzlHgm2G4IUHdvu5mlR1I665d_kLJ9o4fesHxR3fpr9GmOLQ-W_OQuktmXugNqEd50M1qNJgyKEkNis3uHy_a_SS39MomvwCxA3tX_S0HCJYz0jJmp_TOdnQabah3foxcHpHrODEron-jH/s1600/Banff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzlHgm2G4IUHdvu5mlR1I665d_kLJ9o4fesHxR3fpr9GmOLQ-W_OQuktmXugNqEd50M1qNJgyKEkNis3uHy_a_SS39MomvwCxA3tX_S0HCJYz0jJmp_TOdnQabah3foxcHpHrODEron-jH/s1600/Banff.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Banff National Park</td></tr>
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Day 3 - 444 miles - A long out days from the start of the rockies via Banff and Jasper nations parks onto Grand Peairie.. a good 9 hours riding to to be done a late finish<br />
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Day 4 - 438miles - Another long day riding through the forests of Canada arriving at the start of the Alcan Highway (Alaska-Canada) by the end of the day<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCsavKuKDp9M3oDbFmJhHDTdh5Zt2PyhPtM7T58EFO7vlYmth08rsJ-gdJYER02ciXrRxkJBWM3WfZQBr_oAST4axTyfZ0P7MTI3ggpyHn6Z49zZ5mAnWPYGAIUrXFRPS7QaNFBAlgMUWv/s1600/The+Alcan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="750" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCsavKuKDp9M3oDbFmJhHDTdh5Zt2PyhPtM7T58EFO7vlYmth08rsJ-gdJYER02ciXrRxkJBWM3WfZQBr_oAST4axTyfZ0P7MTI3ggpyHn6Z49zZ5mAnWPYGAIUrXFRPS7QaNFBAlgMUWv/s320/The+Alcan.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Alcan Highway</td></tr>
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Day 5 - 403 miles - A full day on the Alcan and back into the Canadian Rockies for some great views.<br />
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Day 6 - 503 miles - Biggest planned day of the trip. Carrying along the Alaska Highway and finally entering Alaska and riding through the Alaska Range mountains.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidKXKjybQq8HpeSAGQY_GE9gsmUhfb-vqce_cRDOpWFUg9tBjOhliyvrtu4d-3Kvf_FCFKGsdo1qc5YADslb8LARRoUR_kHwf9QnDBXirlGBx-hsYVtwzedFqgqS7pYTlp2g2mlzZ1yTdn/s1600/Yukon+river+bridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="184" data-original-width="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidKXKjybQq8HpeSAGQY_GE9gsmUhfb-vqce_cRDOpWFUg9tBjOhliyvrtu4d-3Kvf_FCFKGsdo1qc5YADslb8LARRoUR_kHwf9QnDBXirlGBx-hsYVtwzedFqgqS7pYTlp2g2mlzZ1yTdn/s1600/Yukon+river+bridge.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yukon River Bridge - The Dalton Highway</td></tr>
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Day 7 - 341 miles - From Tok up to Fairbanks, my last touch point with civilization and a stop for supplies, before starting on the Dalton and setting up camp at Yukon River Bridge.<br />
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Day 8 - 219 miles - What seems like a shorter day in miles will actually be longer in hours. 200+ miles of dirt road on The Dalton will be where I test my riding skills. I'll cross the Arctic Circle and aim to stop at Galbraith Lake just over the Brookes Range, the last mountains in North America and home to the Anaktuvuk Pass, 2,200ft slope I'll have to navigate.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEZSDQOKwtYVqhkOiCY3-sk3TXlmmqiTVAnm9RWeR6CaF2qAgzclsx-jFevV18YhHJ1cw2FReiRT-QTLz_er65IZbRsSrvVhwsItuQJFqWuK4u8O6RK7qQ4QlOspev8Jd_7nnIFpRiCiB5/s1600/Galbraith+lake+campground.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="368" data-original-width="550" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEZSDQOKwtYVqhkOiCY3-sk3TXlmmqiTVAnm9RWeR6CaF2qAgzclsx-jFevV18YhHJ1cw2FReiRT-QTLz_er65IZbRsSrvVhwsItuQJFqWuK4u8O6RK7qQ4QlOspev8Jd_7nnIFpRiCiB5/s320/Galbraith+lake+campground.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Galbraith Lake Campground</td></tr>
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Day 9 - 296 miles - Galbraith Lake to Deadhorse (Prudhoe Bay) is my destination and as far North as you can go on a motorbike in Alaska. I'll grab a photo at the convenience store bearing the towns name, and start heading South back to Galbraith Lake for the night to camp.<br />
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From here, depending on my progress, I'll have another 8 days to get back the 2,445 miles to Vancouver (including my 2 spare days). If I'm on track or ahead of schedule, I'm going to try and make it down into Alaska, passing mount McKinley and on to Anchorage, before heading back to Canada. If I'm behind, I'll be taking the most direct route back to Vancouver so I don't miss my flights and freight home... Then the last leg is a 300 ride back home from London to Newcastle after another 9 hours fight... easy right?<br />
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If you have any comments about my route or local knowledge, please get in touch! I certainly don't know it all.<br />
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Thanks for reading. Please keep up with my preparations and the ride on my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/thearcticrider" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/arcticride2014" target="_blank">Twitter</a> pages.<br />
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You can donate to my cause will all the funds going direct to the charities at <a href="http://www.virginmoneygiving.com/thearcticrider" target="_blank">www.virginmoneygiving.com/thearcticrider </a><br />
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Ride safe,<br />
<br />
Gordon<br />
<br />Gordon Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10224306638325366461noreply@blogger.com2