Dereham

Deer hunting territory!

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500 miles from Norfolk... the start before the start!

Safely back in Glasgow, some 11 hours after leaving Dereham, deep in the Norfolk flat-beer zone (Woodforde's Wherry, absolutely delicious). I stayed with the Allansons last night, Rob collecting me from Norwich airport after an astonishingly quick (50 minutes) flight from Aberdeen. Quicker than the one to Shetland.

This morning, it was off to Dave Wicks Motorcycles, where my much-anticipated Moto Guzzi Bellagio was waiting. A factory demonstrator that had been used mostly for posing models on (it's Italian), it is the most beautiful motorcycle in the known universe, with the possible exception of the Moto Guzzi 1100 Sport. I got an amazing deal on it, back when the Barnard Challenge was a Guzzi-only zone. Only for us to switch to Triumph for insurance purposes. Oh well.

I had also neglected to tell my wife about said purchase (fully tax-writeable-offable, holds its value, rare, cheap, honest) but then had to phone her to get some insurance details. I took my verbal punishment like a man. A man who had already signed the registration document.

Around 10.30, Rob, aboard his trusty Hyosung, and I headed off for Hinckley in Leicestershire to collect the official Barnard bikes, Triumph Street Triples. All Norfolk seemed to be on the roads, which in this neck of the flatlands are pretty minor. The Guzzi, a wondrous cross between a cruiser and streetfighter, was a revelation: great thumpy sound, sweet gearchange, easy handling, really comfortable. The weather was hot, too. Still, we made it to Hinckley where Paul, the Man Who, had been expecting us yesterday. Oops.

The Hyosung and Bellagio were carefully stored away for future collection, and the Street Triples rolled out. Rob's a lurid lime green and mine (an R, which stands for Ridiculous) in sober matt grey. With lurid orange lettering. These are not bikes for shrinking violets.

They hold hardly any luggage, but we'd expected that. Each weighs about as much as a mountain bike, only with a jet engine. They are insanely fast (basically stripped-down 675cc Daytonas) and yet, after a while on the motorway, they become quite comfy; they're surprisingly effective long distance tools.

Unfaired bikes are sore on the wrists, though. By the time Rob peeled off for Manchester to visit his in-laws, I was feeling the handlebar burn. Still, I made it through the filthy weather of the Lake District, left the holiday traffic behind at Penrith and was in Glasgow by 8.30pm. The aroma of various foods was overwhelming ( did you know that on a bike, each motorway service area smells, as you pass, of burnt fat?).

To the Student Pit of Depravity (flat) and then, once dry and luggageless, to a Place of Security And Safety for the Triumph. One theft of a Triumph from outside Mag's flat is quite enough!

Glasgow now until Monday night.

I leave tonight...equipped with a Leatt Brace. The 'helmet for the neck'.

Off on the boat tonight, and that'll be two weeks away from home on the Barnard Challenge. This strange collar I'm wearing is a Leatt Brace, the simplest, cheapest Adventure model. It was designed by a South African neurosurgeon, Chris Leatt, after he saw one of his friends die of a broken neck - a C2 fracture - in a motocross accident. There's been little use of them in road motorcycling, but I think that's going to change. It's light, simple to fit, and comfortable. It only works with a full-face helmet. Basically, in the event of an accident, it stops your head, its weight increased exponentially by the presence of a helmet, from snapping the twig-like thing it sits on. The spine. At least that's the theory.

We're going to be covering several thousand miles on this trip - longer than any other motorbike ride I've done other than my journey through South Africa on a BMW R1150GS several years ago - and various brushes with people who've suffered massive neck trauma convinced me that £200 - the price of a half-decent helmet, and half the cost of some models - was a worthwhile investment.

I know, I know: the best thing is not have an accident in the first place. That means several things. Care, skill, observation, caution (but not debilitating nervousness). And visibility. To the end, I'm wearing hi-viz stuff rather than going for the cool black look. And you have to be comfortable, too, as long-distance biking when cold and wet can lead to disaster.

But the Leatt Brace is, I think, a simple and useful addition to the personal safety gear I'll be using (boots, armoured jacket and trousers, gloves). And if I look like a wimp, so be it.

Rob and Tom 's itinerary - feel free to wave or ride with us!

The trip is a bit tight for time, particularly in its latter stages. But if you're in the vicinity of any of our stops, or fancy a wee ride-out with us (we'll be riding...sedately) feel free.


Saturday 24th July
Collect Triumph Street Triples at Hinckley. Rob and Tom set off north, Rob for Manchester, Tom for Glasgow.

Sunday 25th July - Monday 26th
Tom in Glasgow, Rob in Manchester. TM Show broadcast from Pacific Quay, Glasgow

Tuesday 27th July
Tom rides to Inverness, broadcasts TM Show at Radio Highland. Rob travels from England. Both overnight in Fortrose, The Black Isle

Wednesday 28th July
AM: travel to Wick. Visit Old Pulteney Distillery. PM:Tom broadcasts show from BBC studio in Wick, then R and T ride to Scrabster for 19.00 ferry to Stromness. Ride to Kirkwall, stay overnight.

Thursday 29th July
AM - visit Highland Park Distillery. PM, TM show from BBC Kirkwall. Overnight Kirkwall.

Friday 30th July.
Early rise...06.30am ferry from Stromness to Scrabster. Ride to Inverness. TM Show from Radio Highland. Dalmore visit by Rob. Whisky tasting/Malt and Barley Revue/ Whisky Sessions house concert in Strathpeffer. See: http://houseconcerthub.ning.com/events/tom-mortons-whiskey-sessions
Overnight Fortrose.

Saturday 31st July
R and T ride to Wigtown, overnight at Bladnoch

Sunday 1st August.
Visit Bladnoch Distillery. R&T ride to Stranraer. Stena Line ferry to Belfast, leaving 14.30. Arrive Belfast 16.40. Ride to Antrim. Overnight Bushmills

Monday 2nd August.
Visit Bushmills Distillery. Ride to Cork. Overnight.

Tuesday 3rd August:
Visit Midleton Distillery. Stena Line Ferry Rosslare-Fishguard leaving 15.00, arriving 17.00. Ride to Penderyn, near Merthyr Tydfil. Overnight at Ty-Newydd Hotel

Wednesday 4th August.
Visit Penderyn. Travel to Norwich. Visit St George’s. Overnight Norwich

Thursday 5th August
Travel to Belladrum.
Friday 6th August - Sunday, 8th August.
Tartan Heart Festival, Belladrum. Tastings, workshops, tall tales and more music.

Rob: One week from departure. 'I have the beginnings of a nervous feeling...'

Rob Allanson muses on the past, and what lies ahead. We set off from Norfolk in a week

I have to admit I am really looking forward to riding with Morton again. Since last year's Journey's Blend trip I have made several long trips on my own, the only company being other bikers you hook up with on the road. The things you have in common are you are heading in the same direction.

That camaraderie is what helps make these long trips so addictive, in fact makes travelling by bike something to look forward to. The Zen thought that goes into packing your life down into small expanses of luggage, then swooping through the scenery like some sort of modern armoured knight.

I am sure there are people trapped in their cars who look on in envy as the steel steed and the leather and textile wrapped rider pass by. The bike, any bike, stands for freedom. The turn on, pull away and keep going feeling of escape. Your head filled with the sights, sounds and smells denied to car occupants by glass, filters and metal. It's all a heady potent mix, especially on longer trips when you know the next day you are heading off somewhere new and sleeping in a different place.

Anyway back to the Morton connection. He may not realise it, in fact I am sure he doesn't, but he has been tangled up in my life and friends almost since I started university in Glasgow.
I was told by a friend in my first year of this Scottish John Peel sort of radio show. Week days, great music and engaging chat in between. Something the commercial stations never really got right. I had no real interest in chart music, actually still don’t, and this dj was playing interesting, new, thought provoking and foot tapping music.

Then, after discovering the alternative worship group of the Late Late Service - again an ethos and vision that I was happy with, then came the revelation of Red Guitars in Heaven.
I still have the dog-eared, spine bleached copy that went around all my friends in Glasgow. It spoke to us all of bands, music, religion and of course the fair city that supported us. Four very important ingredients for us back then, all of which still occupy part of my existence these days, well most.

So that was it, Morton was truly on the radar. His show became avid listening material, and a friend through the finals.
After Uni, moving away from Scotland, the connection dropped, until one odd day working for Whisky Magazine an email dropped in from him. He was pitching a story about the Shetland distillery project. Well we at the magazine had never really touched this as it seemed a little dodgy to say the least. So there was I, turning the big man down. An odd state of affairs really.

The next crossing point was to prove the clincher. I found myself face to face with this voice I had grown accustomed to. The scene was the Wick Prohibition ball at Old Pulteney distillery. There he was across the table - voice so familiar. The man that unknowingly had accompanied me through the finer points of medieval Scottish Literature had become tangible.
By this point I had found his second tome, The Spirit of Adventure, which together with Ted Simon's writings was fuelling my passion for a long motorbike trip.

Tom's epic voyage round Scotland's distilleries on a motorbike, well MZ sidecar outfit to be precise, sparked an idea.
The idea slowly morphed into Journey's Blend, and after I passed my big bike test, the plotting became more definitive. Round the main compass points in Scotland and create a blend. So taking samples from Highland Park in the north, Bladnoch in the south, Kilchoman out west and Glen Garioch in the east.

Then head to the centre, Glen Turret, to make the one -off blend. Of course I would need a partner, so after a few, ok well a lot, of beer and whisky I mentioned it.

The plan was met with interest so as we sat hung over the next day, I went into more detail and vowed to get back in touch.
Things started to fall into place and off went the email. Thus started a riding partnership, it's just a shame the third musketeer Ken Hamilton cannot complete the set for this next trip.

I thought Tom was joking when, at Whisky Live Glasgow, he mentioned the prospect of following in Alfred Barnard's steps and touring Great Britain's modern distilleries. Becoming Barnards of the present day.
Of course the only form of transport suitable, the motorbike, most excitingly Triumphs again. This time their big naked street bikes.
It's a week now until the launch day. I have the beginnings of a nervous feeling in my stomach. But soon I will just want to go.

Official launch of The Barnard Challenge

Here's me, Rob Allanson from Whisky Magazine and Vladimir McTavish (alias Paul Sneddon) at the launch today of The Barnard Challenge at the Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh. The bike is a Triumph Speed Triple - me and Rob will be using identical models for our 2000 mile-plus trip. The whisky is part of the extraordinary collection of more than 3000 bottles held in Edinburgh.

Here's the press release:
Biggest whisky pilgrimage will raise cash for film star's charity

The Barnard Challenge 2010 - A comedian, a broadcaster, an actor, thousands of miles, millions of gallons of whisky. And all for charity.

PRESS LAUNCH: The Scotch Whisky Experience, 354 Castle Hill
Edinburgh EH1 2NE, Monday 21st June, 09.45.

It is 125 years since an eccentric traveller called Alfred Barnard set out to visit every distillery - 162 - in Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales. It took him three years to do it, and the result was the most important book every published about the water of life: The monumental Whisky Distilleries of Great Britain and Ireland.

Now an actor, a comedian, a journalist and a broadcaster will attempt to equal his feat - starting this June with visits to 50 of the distilleries currently operating (out of 106) including an epic motorcycle trip taking in the most northerly and southerly Scottish distilleries, along with one each in England, Ireland and Wales. The 2010 leg will conclude at the Tartan Heart Festival, Belladrum, near Beauly, followed by a charity auction of special whiskies, signed by all the participants, from each distillery visited.

It is the beginning of The Barnard Challenge, and the main beneficiary will be a charity set up and run by top Scottish actor David Hayman, Spirit Aid.

David is the star of TV's Trial and Retribution, as well as many big screen epics such as The Jackal with Bruce Willis, and The Tailor of Panama, starring Pierce Brosnan. He is the operations director for Spirit Aid, which is dedicated to children whose lives have been devastated by war, genocide, poverty, abuse or lack of opportunity at home and abroad.

"I'm thrilled that a celebration of Scotland's spirit will, appropriately, highlight the work of Spirit Aid, and the needs of children both here in Scotland and across the world,' said Hayman. 'I didn't even like whisky until a couple of years ago, when I was given a masterclass in its wonders by the great Richard Paterson. Now, not only do I appreciate its greatness, but I love the fact that it illustrates the essence of Scotland - generosity, hospitality and conviviality."

Paterson, master blender for distilling giant Whyte and Mackay, is a legend in the industry and among whisky lovers for his spectacular tasting sessions and passionate enthusiasm for whisky's unique qualities. those attending a Paterson tasting are warned: "If he sees you drinking whisky too quickly, he'll slap you. And if he sees you holding a tasting glass the wrong way, he'll kill you."wPaterson will be conducting a masterclass at Belladrum, along with the editor of Whisky Magazine, Rob Allanson, Stephen Rankin of distillers, blenders and bottlers Gordon and Macphail, and the writer and broadcaster Tom Morton.

"This is a dream come true for me ," said Paterson. "Barnard is a crucial figure in the history of whisky and for many years I have longed to see his achievement celebrated properly. This is a fitting tribute to the man, his muse and his mission."

Morton and Allanson will, in 10 days, use motorcycles to visit Scotland's most northerly distillery, Highland Park in Orkney and the southernmost, Bladnoch in Wigtown. They will also go to the most northerly mainland distillery, Old Pulteney in Wick, as well as Bushmills in Antrim, Northern Ireland, Midleton in Cork, Republic of Ireland, Penderyn in Wales and St George's in Norfolk, currently England's only whisky producer.

Morton, BBC Radio Scotland's weekday afternoon presenter, wrote the seminal whisky travelogue Spirit of Adventure in 1992, later made into an STV series.

"Rob and I will be covering over 2000 miles on motorcycles, so any drinking will have to be extremely moderate," he said. "We aim to collect bottles from each distillery for auction, and I hope people will follow in our wheeltracks in later years - the Barnard Challenge is a continuing charity project and I'm hoping people will visit distilleries on pushbikes, on footm, on horseback, following Barnard, having fun, enjoying the occasional dram and raising money for Spirit Aid."

And if all this wasn't enough, step forward, Mr Valdimir MacTavish - or, to give him his Sunday name, Paul Sneddon. One of Scotland's top comedians, Paul will be visiting up to 30 distilleries, some with David, and will use his experiences and some filming of the trip in his Edinburgh Festival Fringe Show An idiot's Guide To Whisky. An hilariously sobering look at drink and its role in the Scottish psyche, the show will use a mixture of stand-up, stories, poetry and short film to look at the vital contribution drink has made to Caledonian culture. As Paul/Vladimir says: "No-one has ever been to a teetotal ceilidh. And no sober person could ever have invented the bagpipes."

"It's going to be a frantic period of activity," said David Hayman, "and it works on several levels. The Barnard Challenge revives the story of the extraordinary man who was Alfred Barnard, draws attention to Scotland's national drink, raises money for charity and offers anyone the chance to get involved by setting up their own mini - or maxi - Barnard Challenge. Nnext year It would be great to see dozens of folks involved, and dozens of means of transport."

END

The Barnard Challenge, in partnership with Spirit Aid (http://www.spiritaid.org.uk), is supported by:

Scottish Ethical Events Ltd and Fairpley Ltd ( http://www.fairpley.com )
Triumph Motorcycles Ltd ( http://www.triumph.co.uk )
The Mediacroft ( http://www.mediacroft.eu )
Whyte and Mackay ( http://whyteandmackay.co.uk )
Gordon and MacPhail ( http://gordonandmacphail.com )
Belladrum Festival ( http://tartanheartfestival.co.uk )
Square Wheels Ltd ( http://squarewheels.cubecycles.co.uk/ )
Whisky Magazine (http://www.whiskymag.com)

The Scotch Whisky Experience (www.whisky-heritage.co.uk)

Additional Websites/Biographies/background:
The Barnard Challenge ( http://www.barnardchallenge.org )
Alfred Barnard on Wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Barnard )
Vladimir MacTavish (aka Paul Sneddon) (http://www.comedycv.co.uk/paulsneddon/index.htm
Tom Morton on Wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Morton )
Richard Paterson ( http://www.themasterblender.com/ )

New dimensions to the Challenge...

...welcome aboard comedian Paul Sneddon, who IS Alfred Barnard, or will be for a period in June and July!. He will be visiting over 40 Scottish distilleries, adding a new dimension to the Challenge. He will be joined at some of them by actor David Hayman, founder of Spirit Aid, our charity partner.

Also involved: Richard Paterson of Whyte and Mackay. Gordon and MacPhail.

And Triumph Motorcycles...