The Arctic Rider

There are two kinds of days off. The sensible kind, where you do chores, cut the grass, maybe buy a new sponge, and earn brownie points with your other half. And then there’s the kind where you set an alarm for 5.30am  so you can ride 260 miles in the rain for the sheer fun of it. Guess which one I chose this week? I rolled the Suzuki V-Strom 650XT out of the garage, Kies heated vest plugged in on standby like an old friend whispering, “You’ll need me, mate.” And, right enough, just outside Carlisle the heavens opened in what can only be described as biblical fashion. The sort of rain that makes you wonder if Noah is about to sail past. I had to pull over and sit it out for 10 minutes, staring at the sky like a disgruntled farmer, waiting for a gap in the deluge. The Carlisle rain Mercifully, as soon as I crossed into Dumfries and Galloway the sun decided to make a grand reappearance, as if nothing had happened. Suddenly, everything sparkled. The roads dried, the hills lit up, a...

Let’s get something straight right away: you don’t need to grow a beard, sell all your worldly possessions, buy a 300kg adventure bike, and ride around the world for 12 months to have a proper motorcycling adventure. Don’t get me wrong—those long-haul, “Quit my job to find myself” trips are epic. But they’re not the only way to ride adventurously. I’ve got a full-time job, a family, bills to pay, and the same 24 hours in a day as everyone else. And yet, I’ve ridden across the Arctic Circle, blasted through freezing wind stroms, and explored some of the most remote parts of the UK and beyond—all without needing a sabbatical or a divorce lawyer. Myth: You Need a Year Off to Be an Adventurer Reality: You Need a Week. Or Less. Adventure isn’t measured in miles or time off. It’s about mindset. I’ve had more meaningful experiences on a long weekend trip than some people get on a year-long cruise around the planet (and I bet my dinner stops were better, too). Take my 10-day 4,000 mile b...

Let me start this article with a bit of bitter honesty: I am not a Keis ambassador. In fact, I applied to be one and was politely turned down. (Their loss, really—I look great in a heated vest.) So rest assured, this isn’t a paid ad. It’s more like a mildly obsessed love letter to a piece of gear that has literally kept me alive. I’m talking, of course, about the Keis Heated Body Warmer. This unassuming bit of kit might not look like much on the hanger, but out on an Arctic ride, it becomes your best friend, your personal sun, and—on particularly miserable mornings—your reason to keep going. I’ve taken it through snowstorms, biting headwinds, and the kind of freezing fog that makes you question every life decision that led to that moment. And the Keis? It just keeps on glowing, keeping my core warm while my brain tries to remember what toes used to feel like. Seriously, before I started using it, I’m not sure how I survived. I think I must’ve just relied on blind optimism and adrenalin...

Well, here we are. A revamped website. A digital home for my stories, scars, and slightly suspect roadside snack recommendations. If you’ve stumbled across this page looking for luxury motorcycle travel, polished influencer poses, or people who only ride when the weather’s dry—this probably isn’t the place for you. But if you like tales of muddy roads, blown tyres, spontaneous roadside friendships, and camping in a tent with a cat on it… welcome, my friend. You’re in the right place. Who Am I, and Why Am I Always Cold? I’m The Arctic Rider—motorcycle adventurer, charity fundraiser, and man with a habit of going very far north on not-so-fancy bikes for reasons that seem sensible at the time. Since 2011, I’ve been raising money for causes close to my heart—Cerebra, Tiny Lives Trust, the National Autistic Society—riding thousands of miles in sometimes questionable weather, all inspired by my younger brother and my kids. This site is where I’ll be sharing my stories. The good. The bad....

 Hello, Welcome back to The Arctic Rider blog. 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.  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 r...

 Hi there, 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).  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. Exploring Northumberland's gravel roads rather than Russia t...

Welcome to the latest Arctic Rider blog, Today was the day I was meant to be hitting the road bound for Arctic Russia 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.  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.  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 diff...

Greetings, Welcome to the latest installment of The Arctic Rider blog. 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! 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 r...

Hi all, Welcome back to The Arctic Rider blog. 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 ( click here  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). 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 regar...

Hello, Welcome to the latest Arctic Rider blog. 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. I've already had several articles posted about my ride with a few more to follow too. Suzuki news: NEWCASTLE TO THE ARCTIC CIRCLE ON A V-STROM 1000XT Biker and Bike: THE ARCTIC RIDER - THE ICELAND MOTORCYCLE TOUR Devitt Insurance blog:  THE ARCTIC RIDER’S EPIC TRIP TO ICELAND Traverse Magazine: SERVED OVER ICE (p84) 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. So what's after Iceland? I've heard a lot of bikers who do year-long plus trips around the world come home with a sense of...

Hello, Thanks for tuning into another edition of the Arctic Rider blog. 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 :) Day 12 - Southern Iceland 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. The battle against the elements was 100% worth it though to raise so much money for two amazing charities in Tiny Lives Trust and Cerebra. 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 midnight 31st July...

Hi everyone. 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? 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.  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.  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.. rus...

Hi, Welcome to day 16’s blog. Not long until you no longer have to read my daily updates, haha.  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.  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.  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 ...