MCN’s classic bike ride from Lands End to John O’Groats

MCN’s Michael Guy is preparing to ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats onboard a 1960 Ariel Arrow and will be joined by his father, Don riding a 1960 Ariel Leader.

Both machines are 250cc 2-strokes developing around 16bhp and a lot less torque! Guy will be camping on route and is trying to raise £1000 for the charity the NSPCC.

He said: “My Dad just finished re-building the Arrow, it’s a fun to ride but couldn’t be more different to my long term Yamaha R1! There’s something special about riding a 2-stroke though, the noise, the smoke, measuring out your oil at petrol stations.

“Being an old British bike the gears are on the right and first gear is up and the other three gears are down so it takes a bit of getting used to. The rear brake is on the left and that does most the stopping as the front brake is just a bit of a token gesture.”

“The bikes are only really happy at around 55mph so we’re taking a few days to do the ride. I know it’s not the most extreme challenge, but we’re hoping to raise our target in sponsorship for the NSPCC which is a truly worthy charity.”

If you would like to donate please go to http://www.justgiving.com/thearielsride

To read Don’s blog go to http://top2toe2.wordpress.com/