Welcome back to he latest edition of The Arctic Rider blog.
It's my first (proper) blog of 2016 so I can officially say it's this year that I'm doing my Iron Butt challenge! Woohoo! While it's not as big an undertaking as my trip to the Arctic Circle in 2014, it's still going to be a mighty challenge but one that I am really looking forward to.
It was Winston Churchill who said "You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks"...And like my Arctic Ride in 2014 I've managed to attract some unexpected negative responses...
Only a few days ago at work I was chatting to a colleague about my Iron Butt ride and another colleague (who I don't know) butts in and queries "Are you doing it on a peddle bike, like?" To which I truthfully replied "nope, motorcycle in less than 24 hours" "well how's that a challenge? People peddle it in a few days don't they?"
Now I'm not a big cyclist, so I don't know how quickly the 875 miles could be covered, but in my mind I know I'm covering a lot of miles in a short space of time even though I'll have an engine helping me along. I'm putting my body under intense mental and physical strain in order to complete this challenge. The biggest motorcycling day I've ever done was from the Northern tip of Denmark to Central Netherlands (over 1,000kms) which by the end of that day I was absolutely knackered.... And that was all motorway.
Whilst I've not had a lot to blog about over the past few months I've been making good progress in the background and I've managed to secure a film maker by the name of Andy Qualtrough who has kindly offered to film my challenge to support Tiny Lives. Much like my Arctic Ride, I'm trying to open up as many avenues as possible to raise funds and awareness for Tiny Lives, and having footage of my trip is key to this.
I've also had the annoying news that my bike, a Suzuki GSX650F, has a recall out against it for a stalling issue. Suzuki are recalling 68,000 bikes worldwide according to CNN. Many Suzuki models between 2008 and 2012 are affected so check out the CNN article for more info. Big thanks to my biker buddy Paul for sharing the news.
I'm now working really hard on getting my ride out there and my press release will soon be going out. Also I've already blogged about how companies can get their logo on the bike and sponsor my ride. Check out the Becoming A Sponsor of the Iron Butt challenge page.
Also, my sponsorship page is now open. Click here if you'd like to sponsor me. Any donations, now matter how big or small, are welcome.
Until next time...
Ride safe.
Gordon
It's my first (proper) blog of 2016 so I can officially say it's this year that I'm doing my Iron Butt challenge! Woohoo! While it's not as big an undertaking as my trip to the Arctic Circle in 2014, it's still going to be a mighty challenge but one that I am really looking forward to.
It was Winston Churchill who said "You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks"...And like my Arctic Ride in 2014 I've managed to attract some unexpected negative responses...
Only a few days ago at work I was chatting to a colleague about my Iron Butt ride and another colleague (who I don't know) butts in and queries "Are you doing it on a peddle bike, like?" To which I truthfully replied "nope, motorcycle in less than 24 hours" "well how's that a challenge? People peddle it in a few days don't they?"
Now I'm not a big cyclist, so I don't know how quickly the 875 miles could be covered, but in my mind I know I'm covering a lot of miles in a short space of time even though I'll have an engine helping me along. I'm putting my body under intense mental and physical strain in order to complete this challenge. The biggest motorcycling day I've ever done was from the Northern tip of Denmark to Central Netherlands (over 1,000kms) which by the end of that day I was absolutely knackered.... And that was all motorway.
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| Enjoying a Coke after a 1,000km day - July 2014 |
Whilst I've not had a lot to blog about over the past few months I've been making good progress in the background and I've managed to secure a film maker by the name of Andy Qualtrough who has kindly offered to film my challenge to support Tiny Lives. Much like my Arctic Ride, I'm trying to open up as many avenues as possible to raise funds and awareness for Tiny Lives, and having footage of my trip is key to this.
I've also had the annoying news that my bike, a Suzuki GSX650F, has a recall out against it for a stalling issue. Suzuki are recalling 68,000 bikes worldwide according to CNN. Many Suzuki models between 2008 and 2012 are affected so check out the CNN article for more info. Big thanks to my biker buddy Paul for sharing the news.
I'm now working really hard on getting my ride out there and my press release will soon be going out. Also I've already blogged about how companies can get their logo on the bike and sponsor my ride. Check out the Becoming A Sponsor of the Iron Butt challenge page.
Also, my sponsorship page is now open. Click here if you'd like to sponsor me. Any donations, now matter how big or small, are welcome.
Ride safe.
Gordon