#Ride5000miles members pack in late summer miles with UK touring trips

Ditching the Pyrenees for Penrith and Stelvio for Somerset, #ride5000milers made full use of previously easing coronavirus restrictions to explore the scenery on offer across Britain.

With his usual 15,000 miles of foreign travel not possible, Duncan Sutcliffe took this exploration to new levels: dividing a two-week block of leave into three trips aboard his Triumph Thunderbird LT and BMW R1250GSA.

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Starting on Saturday, September 5, the software developer rode south for four days in Devon and Cornwall, meeting other members of MCN’s R5K group. A few days later, he headed to Brecon for a few days of exploring Wales. Returning home for a pitstop, he packed ready to explore Skye – a total 3000 miles in two weeks.

Duncan spoke to MCN during the second week of his trip, during an overnight stop in Cumbria. “I don’t commute and I don’t do many weekend rides. I mainly have bikes to see places, so this year has been a bit different,” he explained. “We all work hard and I divide my holiday between time with my family and doing some motorbike touring.”

There’s also been the chance to finally enjoy some road racing, with the Oliver’s Mount Gold Cup taking place.

After his trips to the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT were cancelled, Southampton-based, Gareth Fenn, jumped at the opportunity to get a piece of the action, snaking his way across the country on his Kawasaki H2 SX SE alongside biking buddy, Steve Gallup.

Setting off at 9am on the Friday, the pair did their best to avoid motorways, taking in a rural 290-mile blast – with a stop off at Chris Walker Kawasaki – plus a 270-mile route back.

“It was my first time at Oliver’s Mount and it was great,” Gareth told MCN. “It was just a good do all round. Sometimes, you can ride bikes just for the sake of it, but the ride there and back was just as good. It was just a good boys weekend.”