R5K: 'I love the way riding lets you forget the mundanities of life'

With a bumper summer and a mild, long autumn we’ve seen huge numbers of bikers not just complete their 5000-mile challenge, but push far past that as well.

This year we’ve seen more members than ever get way past the 5000-mile figure and most have vowed to ride through the winter come what may.

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“I’m up to 14,900 miles and counting,” said Triumph rider Alexander Thorpe. “The total is going up by about 400 a week at the moment and it’s not going to stop. Autumn can be a brilliant time of year to ride; gorgeous sunsets and sunrises. I plan on riding through winter.”

Fellow Triumph-mad member, Andy Goodwin, is another rider who has clocked up big numbers. “I’ve done 12,400 miles on my Speed Triple R, commuting touring and on track, another 1500 on my 955 Daytona riding to and from work and on track. I also did about 700 miles in Spain aboard a Yamaha MT-09 with Biking Abroad and there’s plenty of the year left!

“The highlight of 2018 so far has been a tour across Ireland, riding some great roads and chatting with some friendly locals. Or maybe my knee skimming the tarmac at Rockingham on a Bike magazine trackday? Or is it just the sheer joy of each time you swing your leg over a bike?”

Regular contributor to our Facebook group, Ian Speight, has also hit an impressive total. “I’ve completed about 16,500 miles. About 10,000 of them have been on my R1200GS Adventure, 1500 miles have been covered on a Superduke GT I owned briefly and another 4500 miles have been clocked up on my S1000R. I went to The Alps on the S1000R. I’ve also had a few weekends away on my GSA to the Isle of Wight, the Scottish borders twice, Northumberland and Wales. It’s been a fantastic year.”

But perhaps our highest-mile rider of 2018 so far is Jaybee Taylor. Jaybee lives the motorcycling dream, travelling all over Europe purely for fun. He’s already completed over 30,000 miles in 2018. “There are so many highlights,” he says. “The B470 and the roads around the Elan Valley, Snowdonia and the Brecons. Riding as the sun came up in the Sierra Nevadas, avoiding the tolls in Spain, the smell of eucalyptus as the heat started to build riding through Portugal and trying to ride a K100 up a goat track in the Alps. I love the way riding lets you to forget the mundanities of life.”

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