R5k members find different ways to boost their miles

It doesn’t matter how you make up your miles, as members of our #ride5000miles group prove, there are many ways to hit that target.

With a spirit of adventure, Rob Wright and his mate took a trip to Ecuador and once there couldn’t resist a day on two wheels. “Motorcycling wasn’t originally on the agenda,” Wright told MCN. “We wanted to climb the volcano, Cotopaxi, and a pro-mountaineer suggested that we ride up, rather than climb.

“We rented a couple of Honda XR250s, which had clutch cables that might not have been lubed in years, wooden brakes and ropey suspension. We had to carry the bikes across gorges, ride along goat trails with kilometre drops to the side, make it up to the refuge at 4800m on Mt Chimborazo, brave river crossings and chug through amazing landscapes.

“The owner of the bike shop and two of his mates came with us. They didn’t really speak English and we didn’t speak Spanish, but it didn’t prevent us all having a cracking day out.”

Visit the Nürburgring

At the other extreme, the Nürburgring circuit in Germany has been a firm favourite for R5K members Steve Hutchins and wife, Carol, since 2001. The couple regularly make the 900-mile round-trip to the track from their Bedfordshire home and now purchase an annual track pass.

“Over the summer we ride over 2000 track miles,” says Steve. “In fact, we cover more miles on a four or five-day trip to the Ring than we used to cover in a full year of normal riding.

“As a result we easily break the 5000-mile mark. We love being on the bikes and remember: the more miles, the bigger the smiles.”

Attend a trackday

Ducati Panigale rider and trackday fan John Jess is fortunate to live within easy riding distance of the Circuit de Catalunya on the outskirts of Barcelona. He got bitten by the track day bug in late 2017 and hasn’t looked back.

“By the end of this year, I’ll have completed 15 track days and have done around 1700 adrenalin-filled miles towards my #R5K target. If you’re considering doing a track day but are worried you’ll be out of your depth, don’t be! Book it right away and trust me, you’ll never look back.”

• Join us today for the #R5k Saturday Social at the Super Sausage in Towcester from noon-2.30pm

MORE FROM MCN

• How #ride5000miles works
• Join the high miles club in 2019
• The first ever R5k meet-up