mate ?”. I was being deadly serious but also incredibly nervous behind the confidence I ’ d projected in front of my peers .
“ You ’ ll be lucky to make it to Peterhead in a day , let alone the rest ” one shared as part of the conversation . While I ’ d done some long days in the past , including an Iron Butt challenge in 2016 and some huge days across Germany on the Autobahn , this was the first ‘ endurance ride ’ I ’ d attempted that wasn ’ t mainly motorway . I was also a little rusty on riding big days on the bike . The restrictions of the pandemic and my now changed family life of working and homeschooling had meant my bike had spent the best part of 15 months looking at the inside of the garage rather than out on the open road . I felt underprepared and scared of the potential consequences as a biker .
Over the past 10 years I ’ d been using my bike , coupled with my imagination , to take on different ‘ challenges ’ under my pseudonym The Arctic Rider to raise money and awareness for different charities in the UK that I ’ m connected with . I ’ d ridden my bike to Arctic Norway , Arctic Iceland , as well as my above referenced Iron Butt challenge , riding the length of the UK in less than 24 hours ( 18.5 hours in fact ). My long-term goal , to ride through the Arctic Circle in every country possible , was put on ice with the pandemic and restrictions in place , postponing my next planned ride to Arctic Russia . This led me to look closer to home and after studying the Scottish map I produced the idea of this ‘ 4 corners challenge ’.
Back at the Mull of Galloway , I was too nervous to have a proper lunch , so I guzzled a one litre bottle of water as the sun continued to shine high in the sky . I pulled on my jacket and helmet , fired up the engine of my Suzuki VStrom 650XT and waited for the clock to tick over to 1200 hours ready to start my challenge . I was relieved when the time came to go , and I pulled out of the lighthouse car park and down the sloping hill off the plateau . The first few kilometres were a bit of a blur . I spent time rambling into my helmet cam , trying to convince myself that what I was doing was a good idea , knowing deep-down I ’ d need to draw on some mental and physical fortitude to get me through .
After taking a wrong turn at the first village I came to , I managed to make some progress following a picturesque coastal road up to the port-town of Stranraer , and then on towards Ayr riding alongside the calm Loch Ryan , enjoying the views of passing ships and ferries on the Loch . This early part of the route surprised me a lot . Scotland ’ s highlands and national parks are well known to bikers and travellers , but the Southwest counties of Ayrshire , and Dumfries and Galloway are truly stunning . The A77 which takes you from Stranraer up towards Glasgow has some glorious sections of winding bends which cut between bright green rolling hills .
After frustrating roadworks on the A77 which had put me 20 minutes or so behind my well-planned schedule , I found the start of the dual carriageway / motorway section of my route which allowed me to make up some time . This section of the ride was un-eventful apart from a huge pot-hole smash where , for a few seconds , I waited for the tyre-wobble which comes from slicing open a rubber which thankfully didn ’ t come .
After 3 hours and 210 kilometres I pulled into Stirling services for a restroom break , a bite to eat , and a stretch of my legs . Even though I was only a sixth of the way through my ride , my calves were really painful , which was quite worrying knowing what lay ahead . The heat from the sun had left the air-temperature a pleasant 25 degrees while riding but as soon as I stopped , I was melting in my textiles . I ’ d planned to keep my breaks to 20mins maximum but by the time I ’ d refilled the bike with the extortionate priced motorway service fuel ( a good 20 % mark-up on the usual forecourt prices ), I was 10 minutes over my allotted time and now behind schedule again .
I continued along the motorway , passing the vast Stirling Castle and the towering Wallace Monument , and headed on to Perth and then Dundee . As I started to run out of dual-carriageway I hit the Friday rush-hour traffic around Dundee , with the temperature continuing to rise to an unexpected 29 degrees . I was getting extremely uncomfortable with the heat but decided to continue on riding in the interest of time , rather than stop to de-layer .
I continued North following the North Sea coast past Aberdeen and towards the fishing town of Peterhead , location of Keith Inch , the Easternmost point in Scotland . After confusion as to how to get to Keith Inch with a closed bridge at the harbour , I twisted my way around the back streets of Peterhead and found another way . My time stamp was 18:41 , another 3 and a bit hours on the road , and over 6 in total , which would usually be a full day ’ s riding for me . My milage was up to 488 kilometres for the day . I took a quick snap and a video before finding a petrol station to re-fuel both the VStrom and me with much-needed juice .
After inhaling a sandwich , crisps , and some-more water , knowing hydration was the key to any long ride , I sat in the shade next to my bike and took a couple of deep breaths to prepare myself for the next section of my journey . My calves were even more painful than before , so I took my boots off to give them space and air for 5 minutes . It was at this point I remembered an article I ’ d read about an Iron Butt
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