David, 25th September 2010: I'm happy to report the trip was a blinding success but not without incident. We (Tina, Kevin, Aaron & myself) set of yesterday just 5 mins behind schedule at 2.35pm, stopping in Diss for a quick fuel fill up for Aaron's bike. We arrived after 2 and a half hours at the Burgh Castle campsite just after 5pm. Stuart, who was running support, had given us a 30min head start but he hadn't banked on the tail back [we'd probably caused] on the road into Yarmouth. My apologies go to anyone who was caught in the traffic build up behind us, but it was all for a good cause. The weather was predominantly wet/overcast but it was great to finish the first leg with no mishaps.

Big respect to Debbie at Burgh Castle Church Farm Camping & Caravanning who waived the campsite fee for us.

We ate and drank in the Queens Head and was joined by Barry and Rose, Kevin's parents, which was a welcome surprise.

Slept well in the tent. It rained quite a bit throughout the night but my tent held up well and I was dry and warm.

Sunrise Our gaggle of tents The overnight rain made everything wet Moon was still visible over the broads Why is it I've never got a proper camera when I need one Where there's a rainbow there's rain (the clue is in the name)

We left the campsite before schedule at around 9am and found a petrol station on our way to the sea front where we met up with Roger. We promptly headed for the cafe opposite Britannia Pier for a breakfast after Simon, Justin, Danny and the girls had rendezvoused with us. While eating we had a message to say that the real bikers had left the Old White Bell at 10.10am.

The map for the rest of the route was in my head and it all seemed so clear as we headed away from the pier at 10.45am. We'd agreed between us 4, that if the road was good we'd enjoy it rather than stay in a strict group and once we hit the B1159, the old coast road, I was able to open up the throttle for the first time in 85miles since we left yesterday. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get far before I took the lead to then pull in - my oil light had come on. It was a delay of 20mins after a confirmation call to Ling's Honda in Harleston, that the light was just a service reminder light and was reset with a bit of experimentation of console button pressing and ignition switching.

The weather was holding out well but was a little blowy and things were going well when we really did have a bit of a disaster. Just as we were reaching Bacton, Kevin was struggling to break 30mph and after we had to pull over due to a navigational error (I went wrong by 50yds) Tina pointed out to Kevin his rear tyre looked flat. After a quick visual inspection it was obvious he had apuncture. He was visibly crest fallen as he knewthe chances of getting it fixed was remote. It was decided we'd get to the next petrol station and add some air and hopefully be able to keep going by adding air where we can. As luck would have it, 100yds later we came across Eden Garage. Mr Plummer, the garage owner, was a biker and sorted out the flat for us to keep us on our way, despite being really busy. A big heart felt thanks goes out to all of us for his help as we knew we would have had a major problem on our hands. (Eden Garage, Coast Road, Bacton, Norfolk 01692 650719)

Everyone was smiling again as the sun was out and we were on our way again. The puncture had cost us 50mins and with the time at 12.40, we could swear we could hear in the distance the noise of approaching motorcycles.

In Bacton itself we finally saw the sea for the first time since leaving Yarmouth. The surf was up because of the howling wind and white topped waves were giving off a spray which was making the road very damp. The wind was against us too, so despite the rear tyre of Kevin's bike being at a proper pressure, progress was slow, topping out at around 34mph on the level.

By the time we hit Cromer the weather had really taken a turn for the worse. Stuart in the support vehicle said he'd had to put the wipers on his car to the fast speed yet was still not clearing the rain. My non fog device on my helmet was fogging up, Kevin could only hit 28mph due to the head wind, the rain was relentless, I could hardly feel the ends of my fingers and there was a big draft coming up my trouser leg.

Eventually, as we neared The Wash, "Sunny Hunny" Hunstanton lived true to it's name as the cloud cover cleared and the sun shone. We all thought we were seeing things as we left Thornham. Coming toward us on the other side of the road was what appeared to be an enormous man on a tiny bike, dress entirely in black except for his white open face helmet. As he rode past me it was apparent it wasn't an enormous man but a member of the clergy dressed in his cassock, his robes billowing in the wind like a yachts sail, the bike lost beneath the uniform. All I could think of was to make a mental note of a future possible fund raiser along the lines of 'Priest on a Ped' or 'Bish on a bike.' Food for thought.

We arrived on Hunstanton sea front at 3pm and piled into a Cafe for a cuppa. After 30mins Tina spotted her friend Soji riding in to town by himself. It had turned out he'd lost the main group when he'd been riding ahead to stop and take pics (below) so had decided to head to the Hunstanton rendezvous point. Fifteen minutes later the rest of the riders turned up. As they rode into Hunstanton and parked up, I can admit to getting a bit emotional.

After a brief break we gave Kevin a head start and I set off in the lead. Pausing only for a petrol stop we rode to Knights Hill roundabout, proceeded into King's Lynn via the docks, around the one-way system, passed through Southgates, onto the Hardwick roundabout and then down the A10.

Now out of the coastal wind and a clear but cool late afternoon air, Kevins bike was able to hit the mid 40's. Despite this, with the other 12 bikes all following behind we still managed to cause a bit of a hold up (apologies if you were following us.)

With the emotions running high (I was blubbing) we pulled into the Old White Bell car park and it was great to see a huge turnout for our return with flags waving and people cheering.

Click the image above for the pics taken by Roger and Soji	For Claire's pictures, click on the image above
A little movie clip of the riders returning to the pub car park

My heart felt thanks go out to all that joined in and helped to make it possible, especially Tina and Euan who brought with them their experience and practical suggestions, Kevin for actually making it (he was rather pleased,) Aaron for coming with us at the last moment and Stuart for driving his car around the route with all our gear (he wished he was on a 'ped.) A big thanks also to everyone who gave up their time and petrol and rode around the route. Roger for supervising the sea front collectors at Yarmouth, the sea front collectors Holly, Sam, Simon, Danny and Justin for getting up when they'd usually be recovering from a hang over, Debbie for waving the camp site fee, Mr Plummer at Eden Garage for getting us out of a fix, Louise for standing in her high heeled boots helping Claire out with the bucket waving in Ely and Claire for being my wife.

Break Down of Funds Raised for Project Norfolk

The following table is a brief break down of the funds raised from the little trip around Norfolk. The Online Donations are all via the Charity Giving web site (see side panel to the left) and all money donated via that method has Gift Aid tax reclaimed, hence the total on the line below. Cash donations are as a result of the all the little fund raising events attended over the course of the project including the street collections, quiz, sponsorship, guess the mileage of the trip, etc. Cheque donations are listed seperately for no other reason that it helped me keep track of things.