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1000 Miles in 24 Hours – Oli and Gilli Rhys spend 24 hours on motorbikes, covering 1,000 miles for the Peter McFerran Incubator Appeal

Our intrepid travellers, about to set off When you are stood at the side of a dark road, in the wildest wind and rain you have ever seen, in a part of the world you have never been and have a countdown going mad in your head, have you ever though why did I think this would be easy?

Like many people, we watched Long Way Round with Charlie and Ewan. We marvelled at how £6 million could allow for 2 friends to be living the dream.

For our holidays this year, we wanted to do a bike ride with a difference. The event would be sponsored with the money going to the Peter McFerran Incubator Appeal. We were looking for a trip worth doing.

I read on one site about the direct line from John O Groats to Land's End which passes through Anglesey. This gave us Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogeryllwyndrobwychllandysilioggogogoch and 1000 miles.

We would be riding a 2 year old Suzuki SV650S and a Honda Fireblade from 1994 in the famous orange urban tiger paint scheme. I bought some tyres for the Blade, and gave the SV a polish.

Next day, I got the Blade out for a test run. I set off and accelerated out of the lay-by. Moving into second, at about 8k revs, I hear a bang, and no more acceleration. When I stop and get off the bike, I step into a growing puddle of oil. I notice a lack of chain around the back wheel and multiple layers of chain around the front cog and see that the casing around the gearbox is broken. My bike was going to be expensive to fix.

EBay to the rescue. 6 hours later, I am riding home on a Cagiva Elefant, 1996 with 36k kilometres on the clock. We now had bikes, a route, a reason, and the time off work.

I started getting nervous. Would my Elefant let me down? It is generally a fact that Italians can't do vehicle electrics. Was I up to the challenge of being on the road for 24 hours?

The big day arrives. We arrive at the scout hut at 12.30. and see the local press and our closest supporters. As we leave, Gilli's dad, rides with us for a while on his Honda Shadow 1100.

We arrived at our Friends in Pollock after travelling through the Glasgow rush hour. The Cagiva's clutch was proving to be hard work effecting the low speed engine control. It was, however, very comfortable. Gilli was not as comfortable on her bike. She had damaged her wrist a few weeks earlier and the bike was not helping.

We rested the evening and early, next morning, we were again on our way. Getting out of Glasgow, we were soon on the A9. We were stopping for fuel every 150 miles or so - the tank range of the SV650s. Our backs and bums needed a break every 75 miles or so.

Eventually, The A9 became the A99 and the road becomes 'rural'. Lots of corners, plenty of serious chevrons, good quantities of Shell grip. Finally, we get over a brow of a hill to reveal the most amazing sight of the whole trip. The Orkney's.

Finding our hotel and our room, we feast on chocolates, crisps and biscuits and get to sleep. In 5 hours we are off on the trip of a lifetime.

11.30 the alarm goes off. It is a mad rush of getting ready. Into leathers, a quick coffee, paperwork sorted, bags prepared, bikes loaded up and it is 0.01, on the August the 9th, 2008. Feat4Pete is on. We get out of town and find a problem.

My normal beam is not working and Gilli is getting blinded by my microwave main beam. We swap and I lead. The Elefant has a high, desert type screen, which magically stops the wind going into my face, and I find I can actually ride at 60 with my visor open as I forgot to clean my visor.

In no time at all, we are going over the bridge that leads to Inverness. We go to the garage and fuel up. On our itinerary we are a few minutes behind schedule. I was getting cold now and glad it was not raining. I wasn't looking at the distance only the time. travelling at 60 - 70 ish meant we were doing roughly a mile a minute which made predicting our next stop easy and manageable.

I noticed that while I was dipping from Microwave to sidelights, my normal headlights would appear for a split second. With some wiggling of the button, I could get the standard light to remain on. Gradually, the daylight broke through, and we started riding in the morning gloom.

A few miles from Perth, out of the corner of my eye, I see what looks to be a large cardboard box jump out of the undergrowth, Within a few more miles, we arrive in Sterling and have a break for fuel. Over our coffee and French breakfast, Gilli asks if I saw the deer. I had startled it into panic which made it a moving target for Gilli. She had avoided it, but it made me realise that luck was certainly more than just a word.

Hello, RAC? We need a van sent to Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogeryllwyndrobwychllandysilioggogogoch. How do you spell that? You mean you don't know... At 8.03, we pass the signs for England. The weather is getting misty, and by Lancaster, it is raining. By Blackpool, it has become spray and 5 million cars. This is not nice. We pass Preston and I feel a little more at home. We arrive at the M56 and settle down for the short trip to the next break. In few miles we would be stopping at Gilli's parents house for a bacon sandwich.

We get a chance to get our sore backs treated to a hot water bottle and had some great home made coffee. Unfortunately, time was not on our side and we had to move off. I did get a chance to stick some oil in the Cagiva.

All Ducati engines sound like a box of spanners. This is even more so when the clutch is free to wine and rattle as it does. I had already had Russell at A1 give the bike a quick once over, but, as he said, they all sound like that! I was glad I had earplugs in. Italians must all be deaf to put up with this kind of racket!

Next stop was LlanfairPG, Anglesey. In no time, we were going over the Bridge and into the train station car park.A quick photo op, and we were off again. Back over the bridge and into 6th gear. I suddenly noticed my speedo was at 0. I guessed that the cable has snapped in all the excitement and gave up after 941 km. Gilli's SV was different. digital with two tripometers. .

Next stop was our home service station, Junction 14 on the M56. Here we saw our fans with their sign and support. We filled up again and were treated to a nice coffee and encouragement.

Within an hour we were on the outskirts of Birmingham, a quickly few lane changes and we were on the M5. Traffic was still heavy, but at least the rain was not the problem it had promised to be earlier in the day.

By 6pm we arrive at yet other services with an idea we might get some food. Quickly nibble at it and leave to get back on the road. Next stop will be Exeter as we see blue skies. We finally arrive in Exeter services at 8.30. We quickly fill up and make our way to the A30.

The road is wide and empty and we are making good time. However, the light is going and there is a bit of a wind building up. We need to hurry up, but the rain is getting worse. Gilli has slowed right down in my mirrors, so I slow for her to catch up. Her visor works well as a Kaleidoscope. The lights are reflecting and splitting making it impossible for her to see where she is going. She can't lift it and ride because the rain is stinging her eyes.

To make matters worse, this is a dual carriageway roller coaster. All we can see is a road which goes up, and then goes down for ever. Add into that mix that we are being over taken by everything. We stop for the 4th time to clean the visor and Gilli breaks. Is this helmet going to defeat her?

We decide that the best thing to do is to build up her confidence again. I would guide her and keep the speed down until she felt comfortable. Slowly, Lands End is getting closer. By 11pm, we are still at least 25 miles from Penzance.

It is 11.45 and only12 miles from Lands End . Gilli is leading and she is getting faster. Her confidence has returned. 5 miles to go, 6 minutes to midnight.

We arrive in Sennen. Every building is the last of its type in England. My clock shows 0.01, I see a stone carving of the word End and I stop. To the minute, we have travelled 1000 miles in 24 hours.

Editors Note:

This is a fantastic effort by Oli and Gilli, to raise money for a very worthwhile cause. If you would like to show your support, or just let them know what a great job they did, why not donate a small (or large) sum to the Peter McFerran Incubator Appeal? For more information, log on to: http://feat4pete.pledgepage.org/

Been somewhere great on your bike and want to pass on the good news to other bikers? Or done something heroic like Oli and Gilli? Then click here to find out how to tell the world



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