Meet the next generation stepping up to the #ride5000miles challenge

The #R5K group is no stranger to experienced riders, leaning on decades of biking knowledge to achieve their annual mileage goal, but plenty of new riders on restricted A2 licences are chasing the 5000-mile target, too.

This includes 19-year-old Tori Allen, from Norwich, who has covered 3000 miles on her 2006 Suzuki SV650S since passing her test in August.

Having previously ridden 10,000 miles aboard a Honda CBF125, she says she’s made countless new friends on her two-wheeled travels.

“I’ve got friends dotted around the country who I wouldn’t have met without motorbikes. We’re all different characters but there’s that one thing that unites us all.

“Having the licensing structure work in this way is a good thing and having to wait for a bigger bike gave me something to look forward to. Being 5ft2in, I have no idea what I’m going to buy next, but I like the idea of the freedom to buy anything I want.”

Another new rider is James Read, 19, from Dorset, who jumped off a Yamaha YZF-R125 onto a Kawasaki Ninja 650 in July, before completing his #R5K challenge in a month-long European tour.

“I’m on it every day,” he told MCN. “I commute and go out at the weekend. A few weeks ago, I spent a weekend riding to Germany and the Netherlands.” Bought with just 150 miles on the clock, James’ Ninja has now passed the 13,000-mile mark.

Another rider who began biking at 16 is Oxfordshire-based bike technician, John Morris, 20, who took his A2 test in September 2018 after being inspired to ditch the L-plates by a trip to the Isle of Man TT.

Now riding a KTM 390 Duke, he told MCN: “I’ve also got a car, so I use my bike purely for leisure. I bought the KTM with 400 miles on the clock and now it’s got 1100 on it and I’ve loved every single minute.”

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