After being waved off from our Greenfield base by fellow team members and well wishers this morning, we’ve now started our ‘Long Way Roond’ fundraising motorbike trip in earnest.
Things got off to a shaky start ten minutes in when Andy nearly lost his phone, wallet and my spare keys from an open pocket! But we soon settled down to the serious business of riding motorcycles through the heavy traffic of a Saturday morning…
We had the usual busy and nerve wracking M61 and M6 motorway bit to the Scottish border, then headed West on the A75 past Gretna and Dumfries to the first team base – Galloway MRT.
The welcome we received from Martin and other team mates at their base in Newton Stewart was phenomenal, particularly since they had no idea we were coming! We were gifted not only a welcome brew but also two packets of that Scottish staple, Tunnocks Tea Cakes, which Andy was tasked with carrying.
After swapping stories and experiences, we left in high spirits made even happier by the stunning and quiet road between Newton Stewart and our rescheduled overnight stop at Prestwick. Adamton’s is a funky country house hotel where we were allowed to order a Domino’s pizza because their restaurant closed at 8pm!
Riding with full kit and for a bigger distance than we’ve done for a while has been tiring, particularly since my ribs are still sore from early August’s car crash. Even so, today has been everything we thought it would be and more besides. Tomorrow we’re excited to be heading for the beautiful Isle of Arran and the MRT base at Brodick.
And we have an extra bonus of a potential meet up with an old buddy in Lamlash on Arran – he’s sailing a yacht down the West coast back to England.
Has to be said, although we’re looking forward to day two, we’re nervous about the enormity of the task we’ve set ourselves as the mileage is high and we’ll definitely be riding well into the night. But all we can do is give it our best shot – hopefully we’ll get to all four bases as planned…
Galloway MRT…
The team was formed in 1975 and responds to a diverse range of incidents in Dumfries and Galloway from their base in Newton Stewart. Many folk when visiting the area are surprised just how mountainous and remote it is in parts. The team’s volunteer membership includes a variety of professionals such as Mountain Guides, police officers, farmers and forestry workers to name but a few.
The team has strong links to and exercises annually with other MR teams in the South of Scotland, namely Moffat, Tweed Valley and Borders – all of which Si and Andy plan to visit.