LDU 2023 Latest Topics

LDC 2023 - The Ride

Wed, 21 Jun 2023 05:47:05 +0000

And they're off! https://fb.watch/lihEsike2q/

This year's LDC started in rain at 4.00am this morning, with 35 riders making the start. There's a long way to go, but the weather looks to have dried up and so far all going well.

First check in was Spike on his GPZ 500, stopping for petrol near Ilminster on the A303.

You can follow the story of this year's event throughout the day in this thread, a year that's shaping up to be a huge success!

LDU 2023

Wed, 21 Dec 2022 11:19:22 +0000

Today is the shortest day of the year, which means that in exactly six months “The Longest Day Challenge 2023” will be underway and once again raising much needed money for Cancer Research UK.

It is also the day that I open the book for “LDC23” and start collecting names and contact details of those of you who are interested in taking part in 2023 either as participant or volunteer.

Last years event raised an astonishing £60,000 which took the running total for the event to over £310,000 raised for Cancer Research UK since it all began back in 2013. It is an extraordinary amount of money, so Thank You to everyone who has taken part, volunteered, donated, or simply spread the word over the years. You have all made a difference to people lives.

The eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed that 2023 is the 10th Anniversary of the event, which is a remarkable achievement given its humble beginnings and not something any of us involved with the first one ever thought would be possible.

I've given a lot of thought on how to appropriately mark the challenge's 10th birthday, but the truth is that every idea I came up with just took away from the very format which has made it the success it is, and the very thing that seems to appeal to so many.

The best way to mark the special occasion would be to simply raise another pile of money for Cancer Research.

Therefore, there won’t be any changes to the format for 2023, which means.....

The maximum budget for the bike that you use for the challenge is still £600 (not including the cost of tyres, brakes or MOT).

We will continue to run from Lands End to John O’Groats on the 21st of June.

As usual, I’ll set a route nearer the time, and as usual it will be different to all previous routes used.

No MOT, no entry.

Regrettably, the £300 entry fee, which has been the same from the very beginning no longer covers the cost of the accommodation, food and on-road support. Despite our fuel costs for the broom wagons kindly being paid for by TDR Haulage and the broom wagons being provided by Bathams Racing and Anglian Water, the accommodation costs are significantly more than even last year, let alone five or six years ago.

Therefore, I have reviewed the pricing structure and decided that the best way to keep the entry fee as low and as fair as possible, there will now be a single occupancy price and a shared occupancy price as follows......

Shared occupancy: £300 per person
Single occupancy: £400 per person

What happens next?

For now, all I need to do is establish a list of people who want to be kept informed about the 2023 event. I’ll start looking for deposits/firm commitment from that list of people around February and full payment at Easter when I'll close the book, so I can then get all the accommodation booked.

So, there it is, the 2023 book is open for people to register their interest – it is not a guarantee of a place. If you want your name putting in it, DM me with your (real) name, e-mail address and phone number, and I’ll add you to the 2023 database, then get back in touch with everyone on that database in February.

I'm going to limit places to an absolute maximum of 35, so if we do end up over-subscribed, I'll treat it on a first come first served basis and give priority to people who didn't do it in 2022.

LDC 23 exclusive souvenir

Thu, 22 Jun 2023 07:04:53 +0000

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Famous-Cbr600-F1-Peg-Hanger-/235060402648?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p4429486.m46890.l6249&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0

The Route

Thu, 18 May 2023 07:23:54 +0000

The 2023 route is as follows.

If anyone fancies popping along to one of the pitstops, or even the side of the road to give this years riders a wave or pat on the back, then this is what you'll need to know.

2023 LDU Route

Lands End

A30 to Exeter

A30 to A303 to A350 to Warminster

@ Warminster A350 to Chippenham

@ Chippenham A350 to A429 (@M4)

A429 to Cirencester

Pitstop 1 (Cirencester Services at A429/A417 Junction)

A417 to Gloucester

@ Gloucester A38 to Tewksbury

@ Tewksbury A38 to Worcester

@ Worcester A449 to Kidderminster

@ Kidderminster A442 to Bridgenorth

@ Bridgenorth A442 to Telford

@ Telford A518 to Newport

@ Newport A41 dir. Whitchurch

Pitstop 2: Prees Heath services A41/A49 junction

@ Whitchurch A525 to Wrexham

@ Wrexham A483 to Chester

@ Chester A55 to A41 to Birkenhead

@ Birkenhead take Mersey Tunnel to Liverpool

After Mersey Tunnel turn left onto A565 to Southport

@ Southport A565 to A59 to Preston

@ Preston A6 dir Lancaster

Pitstop 3 – Guys Thatched Cottage, A6 Billsborrow

A6 to

Lancaster

Kendal

Penrith

At Carlisle take A7 to Longtown

At Longtown take A6071 to Gretna

At Gretna take A75 to Dumfries

At Dumfries take A76 to Kilmarnock

At Kilmarnock take A71 to Irvine

At Irvine take A78 to McInroys Point, Gourock

** Ferry to Dunoon**

Pitstop 4 – Gourock Ferry Terminal

At Dunoon take A815 to A83

Turn right onto A83 to A82

A82 to Fort William

At Fort William take A82 to Inverness

Pitstop 5 – Inverness Motorcycles – Haggis Tours, 43 Harbour Road

At Inverness take A9 to Wick

At Wick take A99 John O’Groats

At John O’Groats drink a beer, then go to bed.

Help Needed: Take a day off work and Fuck Cancer

Thu, 30 Mar 2023 15:19:22 +0000

Well, it’s that time of the year again when now all the riders are confirmed and they’re all flat out in panic mode getting their bikes ready for the big day, and I turn my attention to the help needed on the day.

The format on the day is going to be pretty much the same, the route will be roughly similar, so the location of the pitstops will be more or less the same. They seem to work really well, so P1 at Cirencester, P2 somewhere in Cheshire, P3 north of Preston (Guys Cottage), P4 the ferry and P5 the Highland Tours HQ.

This year however, I would really like some broom wagons based at the pitstops and able to go and help stricken riders in either direction (North or South) on the route if needed, and also to sweep the route up to the next pitstop once the last rider has passed through.

As the number of riders has grown on the event, I’ve found it virtually impossible to provide support on the route and get to JoG before the first rider, which is a source of regret for me. Riders arriving at JoG should at the very least be able to grab tier luggage and go to bed and not have to sit around waiting int he dark car park.

Obviously I’ll sweep the route from Lands End to P1, but I’ll be looking for a van or vans to be based at P1 which will then drive up to P2 once the last rider has gone through P1, then likewise a van stationed at P2 which can drive to P3 and son on and so on. This will let us jump on the M5 at Cirencester and cruise up the motorway in parallel to the route so we’re still on hand to help any stricken riders, but much better able to get to JoG before any riders do.

Hope that makes sense.

If you are able to spare some time to help at a pitstop or if you've got a van and fancy sweeping the route between pitstops, send me a DM.

As always, thank you so much in advance for helping out. It’s not an exaggeration to say that without the supporting e day, I would not be organising the event. The peace of mind that comes by having you guys and others on the day supporting the riders in person literally makes the difference between me organising it and not.

Laters,
JM

Discount for LDU 23 riders

Wed, 15 Feb 2023 07:45:12 +0000

Hi all you ~~idiots~~ brave hardy bikers.

If anyone is looking for good aux lights (not cheap Amazon shite) or camera systems for their LDU steeds (or others) I have applied a 15% discount voucher for all Gooeylight and Global Eagle products on www.moto-mate.com

The Code to apply at checkout is: LDU15 and is valid until June 21st

If you are looking for anything other than these products please contact me and I will do what I can to support but margins are thin on a lot of the other products.

Thread for potential LDU steeds

Sun, 08 Jan 2023 00:57:19 +0000

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/144889535541?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=MkCEMR1eRoC&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=pHHE6k2DS7u&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=WHATS_APP

This has LDU written all over it