We didn’t manage to set off particularly early.  It’s amazing how long it takes to have a cuppa and put a few bits on the bikes and then do a 20 minute run over to Squires.

Set off from Squires – 0 miles – 07:20

It is cold, wet and windy!  Yesterday a base layer and t-shirt were plenty warm enough but it was cold and damp coming over Saddleworth Moor and the forecast is not good for the next stage up the M6 so decide to put waterproof jacket on – underneath bike jacket as it won’t fit on top.  This should have been a quick “splash and dash” stop to top tanks up  but ended up nearer half an hour.

Birch Services – 51 miles – 08:10

M62/M60, M61, M6 and M74 .... it is very windy in places especially coming over the “tops” near Shap where the windsocks were at right angles to the poles.  Not raining is possibly worse than raining as then you just get spray from the road – at least if it rains it forms big blobs that drip off.  Doesn’t help that the waterproof jacket under my normal bike jacket means that the rain has dripped down my neck and halfway down my back is wet – lovely!  Then there is the crash helmet ..... I’m sure all the vents were done up so why was it dripping on my head?  Also the bike trousers are probably waterproof but the special finishes in the various layers mean that although you are dry it still feels like you are sitting in a cold puddle.  The good thing is that most of the motorway section is done; the bad thing is that the weather forecast is worse as we go further north – oh joy!   Decide to change wet t-shirt to avoid pneumonia and put some thin waterproof trousers under normal bike trousers to see if they stop the cold puddle effect.

Johnsonbridge Services – 205 miles – 10:50

Nice little village with lovely views from the service station – if only you could see them through the rain.  I’m warm enough and still dry so that is a bonus.  Think we do a fairly quick top-up here and then it’s onwards and upwards to Glencoe and Fort William.  I expect it’s going to be fairly murky over the hills before we get to Glencoe.

Callander Services – 300 miles – 12:30

Totally unexpected but the ride up here has been quite pleasant.  Rain for a while when we left Callander but the weather seemed to improve as we turned onto the A82 at Crianlarich.  Over the “tops” by Glencoe Mountain was unbelievable compared to the weather forecast; it can be bleak when it is wet and windy but this was just beautiful; snow on the mountain but the sun was shining.  Down through Glencoe, past lochs Leven and Linnhe and we’re there.  Do I sound shocked?  That’s because I am!  Take a while for a break with a drink and banana – these breaks never feel long but amazing how quickly half an hour can pass with filling tanks and emptying bladders.

Fort William – 385 miles – 14:50

Now to follow the A82 to it’s eastern end where it hits the A9.  Along the side of Loch Lochy (so good they named it twice?) and Loch Oich.  At traffic lights on a swing-bridge over the River Oich (or Caledonian Canal?) we filter to the front and  meet up with half a dozen other bikers.  There must be a lot of boats going through as we have time for one to tell me they are going camping in Fort Augustus (just up the road) for a week – he looks quite surprised when I tell him we are going to the top of Scotland and back to Leeds before morning.  Another three bikers filter just behind us and we all continue on together.  At Fort Augustus we wave farewell to the campers but we are still being followed by the three others who seem to be going our way.  At a layby somewhere at the side of Loch Ness they pull up – maybe they are Monster Hunters.  We continue to the end of Loch Ness and into Inverness which is miraculously dry – last year it was like a monsoon.  Onto the A9 and we carry on over Cromarty Bridge to turn eastwards along Cromarty Firth until we reach Skiach Services and we’re still fairly dry.  Just as we leave the three bikers we left at Loch Ness turn up – it seems they are on the RBLR1000 as well.

Skiach Services – 470 miles – 17:00

Carry on northwards over Dornoch Firth and follow the A9 coastroad all the way up to Latheron where it splits and we continue up the coast on the A99.  I’d say straight up the coast but the road is definitely not straight up here.  The scenery is stupendous but there is also a lot of low cloud that keeps drifting across the road and the temperature seems to drop.  We arrive at Tesco, have coffee from the flask and add a few extra warm clothes as it’s turning to evening now and we’ve learnt that it’s better to add layers before you start feeling the cold.  Chris is a bit slower than me due to a loo trip so – as he can ride these roads faster – I set off while he is still fuelling. 

Wick – 558miles – 19:00

As I leave Wick it appears that the local pipe and drum band are just about to march but I get waved through.  I take a nice, steady meander back down the A99 taking in the scenery and thinking that Chris will be held up so I will be able to find somewhere picturesque to have a non-smoke break (I’m on e-cigs now).  After 20 miles I stop in a layby at Latheron overlooking the sea – ideal! – I look back up the road to make sure that Chris will have a clear view of me on his approach and ..... he’s pulling in behind me!  No break and we continue on back past Skiach Services and into Inverness where the Esso appears to have a technical problem so our 15 minute stop turns into 45 minutes when we have to go to a different garage.  We do however decide that, as it is still light, we should do as many miles as possible before dark and decide that we don’t have to go to a petrol station in Perth and that we can go straight for Edinburgh – this will make it a 150+ stretch but may even put us in line for an early finish.

Inverness – 665 miles – 21:45

We continue south on the A9 and it is amazing to see the scenery – at Aviemore we see that there is snow on the mountains still – another surprise as normally we can’t even tell that there are mountains – when it is dark up here you can see nothing but your lights on the road.  The clouds have thinned and we can see a big full moon that is making the sky around it blue – not daylight but certainly not pitch black.  After about 80 miles we take a short break in a layby then continue on but unfortunately the good weather is not following us; it’s back to rain and spray from the roads before we reach the motorways and ring roads of Edinburgh.  We reach Dreghorn Services on the A720 ring road to find a few other bikers there; one needs to be back for 05:00 and the other two by about 06:00 so we are looking good as we don’t need to be back until 07:20.  We have more (cold by now) coffee from the flask and a stretch then continue on.  We just need to find the A1 and then follow it south now.

Edinburgh – 827 miles – 01:15

I don’t think there is anything much to say about the short run from Edinburgh to Berwick on Tweed.  It was dark and wet whereas there have been other occasions when we have done this in the dry around daybreak and seen the sun coming up on our right.  This is definitely not the day to inspire anybody to sing “morning has broken”.  The hopes of a coffee at Berwick were thwarted as it is open 24 hours but only from a service window so we don’t stop too long and head off with the aim of a stop and a coffee at Durham Services.

Berwick on Tweed – 886 – 02:45

I think daybreak occurred on this section but it wasn’t particularly noticeable – it just went from black to a dark grey – definitely more like a November morning than a June one.  I was also beginning to feel  extremely tired and achey with a need to get off the bike so we decided to stop at Washington Services for a coffee.   A loo trip, a coffee, 10 minutes doze in a chair and I was amazed to be told “...it’s five o’clock...”.  Errrm – we’re still 100 miles away and that gives us just over 2 hours to get back so no early finish for us.  The rest of the A1 is pretty much just a long slog down with nothing much to report except perhaps the few bikers who joined the A1 with camping gear at about 06:00 - they must have had a very early start from the Farmyard Rally near Helmsley!  We arrived back to the usual warm welcome from the marshals – they do an excellent job even making sure that you stop and get off your bike safely just in case you are exhausted.  People have been arriving back all night so the marshals have had no sleep either so it’s a question of who needs holding up most.  Our fuel logs are signed to time us back in, we get a cup of tea and settle down to sort out our receipts as proof.  Paperwork sorted then it’s handed in and the extremely organised organisers immediately hand over the certificates to say we have completed the RBLR1000 and achieved an Iron Butt Association SaddleSore 1000 award as we completed in under 24 hours.  Yet again it’s taken over 23 hours – hopefully giving sponsors their money’s worth!

Back at Squires – 1052 miles – 06:28

Notes -

Official IBA mileage is given as 1018 miles for this route – this shows how far out an odometer/speedo can be!

From the log on Chris’ Triumph our time on bike was 18.4 hours and time off was 4.8 hours.  This is only an average of 55.3 mph .......... and where did all the breaktime go?