Safe Speed Forums

I read a book over xmas called Against The Wind by Ron Ayres. It's about his experience competing in the Iron Butt Rally in the USA. It's for motorbikes and the competitors have to cover incredible miles to collect points. They need to average 1000 miles per day to be in the running for glory! The winner did 12,266 miles in 11 days. Has anyone done any marathon miles?

My biggest day was driving from northern Montana to Ogallala Nebraska which was 750 miles in a day. I was hauling a combine harvester and wasn't allowed to haul an oversized load after dark, which is why, thank fully, our boss had to let us stop. Which we didn't get when we were in the field!

I read about a courier in Bike that averaged 600-1000 miles each day 5 days a week.

have done sydney-adelaide a few times, both the short way (900 miles) and the long way (1050miles). I don't think I'd want to try it solo though, at least not while the ridiculous speed restrictions are in place.

Last summer I did Calais to La Grade-Motte(nr Montpellier) which was about 650 miles. It was good fun, but the journey down through Millau was tricky at times with very steep hills to say it was a motorway. Still it was worth it to go over the Millau bridge . Came back via Lyon, maybe a bit longer but much easier.

I've done Home (Shropshire) to Barcelona, stop for a few days, then back about 4 times in the last 5 months, once with company the other times on my own, as non-stop journeys - apart from pausing briefly for the ferry of course! It's about 850 miles from Barcelona to Dunkirque, which I find an enjoyable day's drive and not at all tiring - though the bit round Paris can be a bit of a b*ll-ache depending on the time of day.


You're not kidding!! It's absolutely superb! The A45 from the general area of Montpelier up to Clermont Ferrand is a fantastic piece of road - and toll-free (apart from the viaduct, which at about 3 quid is well worth it)

I always find the other 225 miles or so between home and Dover to be a dismal experience, the state of the motorways and traffic densities in the UK compared to those is France and Spain is awful.

In my younger days when I had a bit more stamina than I do now, I used to do the 600-or-so miles from Santander (North Spain) to Malaga in one go - and that was virtually all cross-country, just a bit of motorway round Madrid... Still only used to take about 12 hours at most as the traffic was very light. Of course, in those days, when "men were men" things like the RAC rally used to start off with a gentle 3-day-non-stop section, before getting into the "serious bit".

I don't enjoy driving in the UK very much any more, but thoroughly enjoy my long-distance jaunts in Europe. Off again next week all being well

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"Politicians are the same the world over... We build bridges where there aren't any rivers." - Nikita Kruschev

In 1998, I went to my parents in France via Dover - Calais, instead of Southampton - Cherbourg. We went via Fastcat Hoverspeed, so we didn't have much of a rest on the boat - only 1 hour including clearing customs/passport control.
The total for the trip out was 753 miles.
From Calais to Ploermel in Brittany was done in baking hot sun, with no air-con, just the windows and the sun roof in our diesel Maestro!
We paid about £25 in various tolls too.

Now we prefer Weymouth to St.Malo, via Gurnsey, but it's more expensive and so we are looking at Caen or Cherbourg again. That's about 533 miles, but you get a 5 hour rest on the ferry.

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Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

Done 550 miles riding a Harley Davidson in the US from Denver to Cody Wy. Sturgis week I do about 2000 in total. The ambient was between 35 and 40C on the black top all the way.

Planning to go out in May to do a motorcycle ride coast to coast (LA to Miami) about 3000 miles in total in one week. It'll be a blast.

A lot of the guys I ride with in the US are Iron Butt riders, cover 800-1000 miles a day. Less than 500 is a coffee run.

By car in Europe I have done the Midlands to Austria, about 900 miles in one day.

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Speed camera policy Kills

If any of you have a Triumph (car that is) I would recommend the Round Britain Run, 2000 miles in 48 hours (at least two drivers required!) - I used to do in a Herald - which was put together on a chassis made in the UK, exported to New Zealand, shipped back to the UK, and is now back in New Zealand. Another two week trip in the car (with Mrs jaybkay) was to St Petersburg, out via Scandinavia, back via Poland and a recently reunited Germany. The strange thing is the car wasn't tiring to drive, we had a Rover 213 as well and after a few hundred miles (Coventry to Berlin) I would feel terrible in the Rover, quite OK in the Herald. The Herald also did the 3000 miles back to Coventry from Southern Morocco in four days, and the last 2000 in three days was with one driver (not me this time).
The hardest continual driving experience was the London to Cape Town in a Triumph Vitesse, 10000 miles in six weeks. The body and chassis was suffering terminal fatigue cracks by the finish, but it had also done the Peking-Paris the year before so perhaps it was understandable. And it's true what they say about dust - it does get everywhere - and the air filters had to be cleaned on a daily basis.
Ah well, looks like it's going to be another hot day, time to mow the lawns, catch you later.

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jaykay in NZ

FYI...... http://www.ironbutt.com/about/default.cfm

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Speed camera policy Kills

hagworthingham (lincolnshire)to Birmingham via chesterfied, then there and back because I forgot my lap top (not via chesterfeild)

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Oct 11 Birmingham Half Marathon. I am running for the British Heart Foundation.
http://www.justgiving.com/Rob-Taylor