Britains biggest motorcycle challenge Rant

[fontana]

Well that's what MCN claim in their 5,000 mile in a year challenge.
REALLY

Have motorcycles become toys to the extent that doing a poultry 5,000 miles is seen as a challenge.
For crying out loud I'd struggle to do less than that.
Excluding my commuting mileage, I normally reckon on about 10,000 miles dry weather leisure mileage.
I really cannot believe that people are going to feel like they've achieved something momentous by doing 400 miles a month.
Yes Yes I know that some people simply don't have the time to ride much, and I get that.
A friend of mine travels a lot in his job, and is lucky to get a few thousand miles a year in, but come on.
The fact that MCN have set this up is because they've realized that the vast majority of riders barely use their bikes.
There are organisations that spend a lot of time and money trying to convince the non biking public that bikes are a viable alternative to cars.
I find it hard to believe they can achieve this goal, when even the owners of motorcycles don't believe that.
http://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/2017 ... challenge/

[milleplod]

They might be calling it a 'challenge', but they're just trying to get people to use their bikes more. Is that a bad thing? Personally, I can't be bothered to get wound up by what people do or don't do with their bikes - live and let live!

Pete

[fontana]

Surely if you're an enthusiast, you don't need someone encouraging you to ride more.
You just do it naturally.

[milleplod]

I have a friend who has a Bentley Continental R, '94 vintage. Its a glorious, glorious thing. He drives it less than 2k miles a year. He is, most definitely, an enthusiast. Do motorcyclists have to prove their 'enthusiasm' by riding lots of miles? Is that the definition of enthusiasm?

I don't know the answer....but it doesn't bother me!

Pete

[Herb]

I do considerably more miles on my bicycle than I do on the motorbike.

Too many toys, not enough time.

Owning, fettling and enjoying is enough for some. I know a guy with 5 classic bikes including MV and Gilera former GP bikes. He rides a grand sum now of zero miles. He keeps the road legal ones MOTed but takes them on a trailer. He spends all day, everyday in his workshop. You don't need to ride them to enjoy them.

[fontana]

Do motorcyclists have to prove their 'enthusiasm' by riding lots of miles? Is that the definition of enthusiasm?

I don't know the answer....but it doesn't bother me!

Pete

Well it is a measure of how much of an enthusiast a person is.
If I claimed to be passionate about running, but only put a pair of trainers on once a fortnight for a jog around the block, then a serious runner would be justified in questioning my enthusiasm.
If you love doing something, then you do it as often as you can.
Simple

[boxerscott]

The other side of the coin is Quality not Quantity. Possibly younger riders or newbies may be more inclined for a challenge than seasoned mature bikers

Personally speaking I have given up buying MCN and publications. It does not engage me anymore. I have moved on and left it behind. I use the website and net for info I really am interested in. I just wonder how many papers they sell now compared to 10 /15 years ago?

Chris

[Grip Fast]

When I was working, I tended to arrive at 3,500 miles a year without having that as a goal - it just happened. If the weather was ok (not raining), I would commute by bicycle. Almost never went on the motorbike. So that was all spare time biking.

Now I'm retired, it hasn't gone up a huge amount - 5,000 approx during each of the first two years.

It is true what they say about retirement, I have no idea how I ever found time to go to work. I seem to have an ever-growing to-do list which fills every day, and this year, I fear I'll be lucky to do the 3,500 miles of the past. Though that might be rescued by a couple of trips I have planned.

I do a lot of things other than motorcycling, but if I had to choose one activity and give all others up (spending precious time with my wife is excluded from the choice - she is non-negotiable), then I'd have to pick the motorbike.

Does that make me an enthusiast? Not bothered about the label, really. All I know is I'd be kicking and screaming if you tried to take my bikes away from me.

[Herb]

I do a lot of things other than motorcycling, but if I had to choose one activity and give all others up (spending precious time with my wife is excluded from the choice - she is non-negotiable), then I'd have to pick the motorbike.

I used to think that. Now I am not so sure, I think I'd keep the bicycle. I get the freedom and the buzz on the bicycle that I used to get on the motorbike. Riding my motorbike is becoming a chore. I still enjoy it enormously when the right circumstances come together, but that seems rarer and rarer these days, what with endless 50 limits, dreadful road surfaces, shocking standards of driving etc.

[Phil]

I'll certainly be doing more than that, but I did buy my bike for commuting. So far I have done about 1200 miles in a month and it was not used for about a week as I was on annual leave.

[fontana]

I do considerably more miles on my bicycle than I do on the motorbike.

Too many toys, not enough time.

Owning, fettling and enjoying is enough for some. I know a guy with 5 classic bikes including MV and Gilera former GP bikes. He rides a grand sum now of zero miles. He keeps the road legal ones MOTed but takes them on a trailer. He spends all day, everyday in his workshop. You don't need to ride them to enjoy them.

Does the same go for bicycles.
I have quite a nice Trek that cost me £500.
I enjoy it when I'm riding it, but it only comes out twice, maybe three times a year at the most for a couple of hours.
Would you say I'm as much of a cycling enthusiast as you ?

[Herb]

I do considerably more miles on my bicycle than I do on the motorbike.

Too many toys, not enough time.

Owning, fettling and enjoying is enough for some. I know a guy with 5 classic bikes including MV and Gilera former GP bikes. He rides a grand sum now of zero miles. He keeps the road legal ones MOTed but takes them on a trailer. He spends all day, everyday in his workshop. You don't need to ride them to enjoy them.

Does the same go for bicycles.
I have quite a nice Trek that cost me £500.
I enjoy it when I'm riding it, but it only comes out twice, maybe three times a year at the most for a couple of hours.
Would you say I'm as much of a cycling enthusiast as you ?

Not sure I follow?

I think the main point I was making is that you don't even need to ride to be a motorbike enthusiast. I know people who give up weeks every year to Marshal (for free) at the IOM TT, but they don't ride themselves. I know people who prefer to fettle than ride, they are all enthusiasts and passionate about their motor biking niche. Mileage in and off itself is irrelevant.

I am currently commuting 100 miles a week as a minimum on my bicycle. I can't remember the last time I took the BMW out. I don't get much time, so if I do find myself with a few hours to myself at the weekend I will normally try to do a few more miles on the bicycle. Slowly improving my power to weight ratio for when I do get out on the beemer.

[fontana]

Not sure I follow?.

OK I'll ask the question in relation to your post.
You cycle 100 miles a week.
I probably do 50 miles in a year if that.
Would you say that I am as much of an enthusiast as you, even though whilst I do enjoy it, I hardly ever use my bike.

[Herb]

Not sure I follow?.

OK I'll ask the question in relation to your post.
You cycle 100 miles a week.
I probably do 50 miles in a year if that.
Would you say that I am as much of an enthusiast as you, even though whilst I do enjoy it, I hardly ever use my bike.

Probably not, but same as motorbikes, perhaps you marshal at your local Time trial, maybe you hang round on cycling forums, collect classic campagnolo groupsets and follow the Tour de France in a motor Home?

My point still stands, you can't gauge someone's passion and enthusiasm by the single metric of how many miles they ride!

[slparry]

and ultimately does it "really" matter in the grand scheme of things? If everyone is happy doing what they're doing, however much or little that is then that surely is what fits for them