Road Trip

[Graham]

hi, all im planning a little 4 day uk jaunt, Kidderminster to Glasgow, Glasgow to Ft William and back ( maybe a trip to mallaig) and then back to kidder vi a Glasgow...


I quick play on google maps gives me a route of 340 miles to glasgow ( avoiding all motorways)

using roads such as A49,A6,A75,A76 etc. I know the route to ft william like the back of may habd so no probs there, but anyone any experience of the other roads, or suggest a better route... I might consider comming back down the east coast, rather than the same way?

I want to travel light and as i've got rellies in Glasgow and Ft william i'll post clothes and stuff up before hand, and get the minging stuff mailed back, so I should get away with just tank bag...

I reckon on about 1000 miles over the 4 days.. google maps reckons 9-10 hours to get to glasgow !!! so even more with a few stops... I'd need to stop for fuel every 100 miles or so. ( 150 at a streatch but thats with the orange light of death showing)


What do you guys reckon mad or a great Idea...

G

p.s. Oh yes I'll be doing it in october !!!!

[Ruttager]

Great idea. (not 100% sure on the posting clothes thing though ) I'm trying to sort out my first road trip and yup, Scotland is where I'm heading too (I was born up there). I've only just started sorting stuff out though but I've managed to get some sof panniers off the bay for about 40 quid (alwas worth a look) you just throw then over the back seat and clip them down. I've been out on the bike with them on and you don't notice. They are not waterproof but my stuff will be in plastic bags inside the panniers anyway.

I was hoping to take a tent and go right up into the highlands. the only thing really stopping me is the gear (I'll need proper waterproofs) I'm hoping to get some in sep.

I'd be interested in your route up to Glasgow, I live in northampton and have driven to Scotland a lot. (mostly to Edinburgh) I usually take the boring drudge up the M6 but last time I went east and along the A68 which is a fantastic road (though littered with speed cameras)

Will this be your first long trip?

[Graham]

Hi yes first long trip... My total biking so far is about 1700 miles including the das!!!

to get the basic route I just went to maps.google.co.uk and bunged in kidderminster to dumbarton... avoiding highways.. seems to have come up with an interesting route, although probably wants modding to avoid town centers etc, and I need to work out stopping points..

alot of it runs close to the mway, so if we end up running behind there is always the opportunity to stick some miles on the motorway, but I'd rather not...

I think I will look at route planning to come back via the east coast or a bit.... just need to work out where to come back across to the west...

I've got high level termis on my bike now and all the panniers are designed to work with the low level exhausts... :-( I could get a top box i suppose.. I might look at that if they dont look to daft...

are you thinking about tt nav of any sort?
G

[Ruttager]

The motorway would probably be the best bet to get you out of the midlands an hour or so on the M6 will mean you can enjoy the more fun roads at your leisure.

I'm still testing my panniers I need to load them up and see how they cope under weight and at motorway speeds. I also need to do a long stint to make sure they don't get too hot as I have underseat exhaust and the panniers are fairly close to them. If we ever get any sunshine I'll be going out for a few hours to test it but all we get is rain these days.

My bike came with the BMW top box which is the ugliest thing I've ever seen. It's going on ebay when I get off my lazy ass and take photos of it. My grand plan is to get some sturdy pannier brakets then modify some pelicases to clip on and use them as hard cases. Tried and tested by other bikers and a dam site cheaper than the alloy ones.

I'll probably get/borrow some sort of sat nav but keep it in a bag until I get lost. the bike versions are too expensive for me right now. A good ole map and compass will def be part of the kit.

Hopefully the autumn will be nice and sunny (it was last year).

[RizzoTheRat]

Personally I'd either take the motorway to get up to Preston, or take the A51 from Lichfield up to Buxton and then hop on another bit of motorway to get round Manchester, then head up through the Dales (Settle to Hawes is nice) Once you hit Cumbria if you take the A686 from Melmerby to Alston it takes you over Hartside Pass, fantastic road with a biker cafe at the top. If you wanted even more miles the road between Selkirk and Moffat via St Mary's Loch (another biker friendly cafe) is lovely, and there's a huge buddist temple on the B723 between Eskdalemuir and lockerbie that's well worth a visit and has a very nice cake shop.

[pistol pete]

Go one way or the other Stirling -> Calander -> Glencoe rather than up Loch Lomand. Stop at Dreadnought en-route (You'll pass their door) & buy a supercharger...

Pete