Hi everyone!
Thanks very much for logging on to read this week's Arctic Ride blog.
As always there has been lots going on in the Arctic Ride world this week. The week started with a 300 mile car drive back up from The South after visiting my wife Kirsty's mum. As the 6 hour drive went on I got more and more jealous of seeing all the bikers out on road and I thought 'I've gotta get my bike out on the road this week'. Luckily for me the weather took a turn for the better (no ice and no rain) which allowed me to take the new bike out for a few short rides. Even with the cold North East air streaming into my visor, every time I ride my GSX650f I think more and more that this bike is going to be ideal for the 6,000 trip to the Arctic Circle. I was fortunate enough to inherit the bike with an upgraded and very comfy seat which is going to come in handy doing plenty 300 mile days next May. In addition, the power of the bike is perfect for sitting at the speed limit and above even with a pillion passenger and it has plenty of power to bomb past middle aged men in Mercedes SLK sports cars who cut you up on a roundabout. Finally, the fuel economy is great at around 50-55mpg around town. This is vital for my trip as my biggest expense is fuel and I'm looking to keep costs as low as possible. All in all I'm a very happy biker and I can't wait for the weather to properly turn to spring so I can start getting the bike out on some big practise trips.
As the weeks go on I'm getting closer and closer to having my press release ready to, well, release. The final review by my team of expert advisers (my wife Kirsty and my mate Adam Clery who is a journalist) is due this week and after that all I am waiting on is for the charity Cerebra to get back to me on which donation website they would like me to use to collect sponsorship/donations. Last time I used JustGiving however I have since learnt that different giving sites charge the charities different amount so I'm awaiting a reply from my contact at teh charity to see which website is going to make to the most money for Cerebra and then I will set it up. For all those who are waiting to donate (many thanks for those who have already contacted me asking how) do not fear, I will hopefully announce which site I will be using THIS WEEK, so watch out and start donating.
Also in the Arctic Ride news this week, I've had my first article published online... woop woop. 'Our Gateshead' heard about my trip through my twitter page and they were kind enough to publish an article telling all their viewers about my challenge. You can read the article at http://www.ourgateshead.org/articride2014.
Our Gateshead is one of a number of contacts that I have made over twitter as well as one of my sponsors Nomad Biker. Twitter has been a revelation for Arctic Ride 2014 and with the help of my social media consultant (yes my wife Kirsty again) I have managed to get 240 follows in just under 5 weeks which I think is a very promising start indeed. I've also started joining in with a weekly chat on Wednesday evenings at 9pm GMT called #motochat which is run by an American guy who asked questions all about bikes. If you are on twitter and want to chat bikes its great fun, especially finding out some of the funny words that the Americans bikers use.
Here are a few examples;
Also, if you have any questions, please email me at: gordon_stuart1@hotmail.com All the questions I get I will publish on a blog post and answer for all to see. It can be about anything; my 2014 trip, my previous trip in 2011, or anything to do with bikes.
Thats all for this weeks folks. Thanks very much for reading. Amazingly I'm averaging around 900 pages views per month which is great so please keeping passing this on to others to raise awareness about the challenge I am taking on
Ride safe!
Gordon
Thanks very much for logging on to read this week's Arctic Ride blog.
As always there has been lots going on in the Arctic Ride world this week. The week started with a 300 mile car drive back up from The South after visiting my wife Kirsty's mum. As the 6 hour drive went on I got more and more jealous of seeing all the bikers out on road and I thought 'I've gotta get my bike out on the road this week'. Luckily for me the weather took a turn for the better (no ice and no rain) which allowed me to take the new bike out for a few short rides. Even with the cold North East air streaming into my visor, every time I ride my GSX650f I think more and more that this bike is going to be ideal for the 6,000 trip to the Arctic Circle. I was fortunate enough to inherit the bike with an upgraded and very comfy seat which is going to come in handy doing plenty 300 mile days next May. In addition, the power of the bike is perfect for sitting at the speed limit and above even with a pillion passenger and it has plenty of power to bomb past middle aged men in Mercedes SLK sports cars who cut you up on a roundabout. Finally, the fuel economy is great at around 50-55mpg around town. This is vital for my trip as my biggest expense is fuel and I'm looking to keep costs as low as possible. All in all I'm a very happy biker and I can't wait for the weather to properly turn to spring so I can start getting the bike out on some big practise trips.
As the weeks go on I'm getting closer and closer to having my press release ready to, well, release. The final review by my team of expert advisers (my wife Kirsty and my mate Adam Clery who is a journalist) is due this week and after that all I am waiting on is for the charity Cerebra to get back to me on which donation website they would like me to use to collect sponsorship/donations. Last time I used JustGiving however I have since learnt that different giving sites charge the charities different amount so I'm awaiting a reply from my contact at teh charity to see which website is going to make to the most money for Cerebra and then I will set it up. For all those who are waiting to donate (many thanks for those who have already contacted me asking how) do not fear, I will hopefully announce which site I will be using THIS WEEK, so watch out and start donating.
Also in the Arctic Ride news this week, I've had my first article published online... woop woop. 'Our Gateshead' heard about my trip through my twitter page and they were kind enough to publish an article telling all their viewers about my challenge. You can read the article at http://www.ourgateshead.org/articride2014.
Our Gateshead is one of a number of contacts that I have made over twitter as well as one of my sponsors Nomad Biker. Twitter has been a revelation for Arctic Ride 2014 and with the help of my social media consultant (yes my wife Kirsty again) I have managed to get 240 follows in just under 5 weeks which I think is a very promising start indeed. I've also started joining in with a weekly chat on Wednesday evenings at 9pm GMT called #motochat which is run by an American guy who asked questions all about bikes. If you are on twitter and want to chat bikes its great fun, especially finding out some of the funny words that the Americans bikers use.
Here are a few examples;
- Cagey - Any non-motorbike vehicle.
- Twisty - Roads with twists and turns.
Also, if you have any questions, please email me at: gordon_stuart1@hotmail.com All the questions I get I will publish on a blog post and answer for all to see. It can be about anything; my 2014 trip, my previous trip in 2011, or anything to do with bikes.
Thats all for this weeks folks. Thanks very much for reading. Amazingly I'm averaging around 900 pages views per month which is great so please keeping passing this on to others to raise awareness about the challenge I am taking on
Ride safe!
Gordon