johntosullivan
Premier Member
The Genesis
In November 2023, IBA Ireland held its end of year Ride to Eat (RTE) in Maynooth, and at that event, I received the Mile Eater Gold Award from IBA Ireland past president Chris McGaffin. The new president, Graeme Ferguson insisted that Chris present the award, as most of my 20 rides that contributed to the Mile Eater were earned under his presidency.
The Mile Eater Gold requires 5 of the 20 rides to be at gold or insanity level, or be greater than 48 hours in duration. For that reason, I had completed two gold rides recently to get across the line. They were the Governments SS1000 Gold in August, and the Ireland Compass Gold in September. I had thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of the Governments ride, or the 5 Parliaments, as I call it. Within 24 hours, one has to visit and photograph “the Houses of Parliament (London), the Welsh Assembly (Cardiff), the Scottish Parliament (Edinburgh), the Northern Ireland Assembly (Belfast) and the Republic of Ireland Oireachtas or Dáil Éireann (Dublin)”. Quite the challenge considering one has to visit 5 locations, get photographs, get receipts nearby and take a 2 hour ferry where the ferry miles don’t count, but the clock does not stop ticking! I started in Cork, then rode north to Dublin and Belfast. I took the P&O ferry from Larne to Cairnryan, then motored onto Edinburgh, south to London and then west to Cardiff. I had a short extra hop to Swansea to complete the 1,000 miles, and I finished with only 20 minutes to spare. Considering that nothing went wrong for me; no delays, no road works, no wrong turns, no traffic, that was a tight squeeze at the end. When I returned and told Graeme the news, he said that the ride had been recently upgraded to Gold level, due to its difficulty.
I cannot remember how I came up with the idea for the Titanic ride, but I live near enough to Cobh, formerly Queenstown, from where the Titanic last left port. And I had recently enjoyed a stay at the Titanic Hotel in Belfast, which occupied the former administrative and design offices of Harland and Wolff, the shipyard that built the Titanic. So, it must have been on my mind. But at the November RTE, I made the suggestion to Graeme, thinking that it was an interesting thought experiment and conversation topic and nothing else. I suggested a ride similar to the Governments SS1000 Gold, but with only 4 points to visit, and keeping the ferry journey. The four general places connected to the Titanic that I suggested that day were Cobh, which was the last port visited, Belfast, where the ship was designed and built, Liverpool, her port of registration and headquarters of the White Star Line, and finally Southampton, from which she set off on her maiden voyage.
Our conversation must have sparked something, as Graeme did some research and came back to say it was a viable ride and that he would work on getting it approved. In early 2024, I put together a rules document and added some detail with exact locations and GPS coordinates. i.e. the Titanic Experience in Cobh, the Titanic Hotel in Belfast, Albion House in Liverpool and the Titanic Engineers Memorial in Southampton. While the first three were obvious choices, there were many memorials and buildings in Southampton that I could have chosen. The port and dock itself is off limits to the public and some of the memorials were either indoors, or very small plaques. i.e. not great for photographs. The Engineers Memorial stood out to me as a large, impressive monument, which could be easily photographed from the roadside. Also, as an engineer myself, I found it a fitting spot.
By September 2024, Graeme had approved the ride, and now it was up to me to prove that it was possible.
Fast forward to February 2025, and I had now completed the Mile Eater Platinum with a winter blitz of rides through November, December and January. My plan was to slow down on the certified rides, so I needed to start planning to complete the Titanic. At that stage the anniversary of the voyage and the tragedy, April 1912, was approaching. Added to that, Graeme had been sending me examples of other Titanic memorials and places of historical relevance, so I had quite the library of “bonus places” to visit.
Taking inspiration from the IBA Pie Pursuit ride (where a gold cert is awarded for riding on Pi day, 14th March, 3/14) and the Coffee Cup ride (where a standard certificate requires 4 photos, but a gold certificate requires 6 photos), I did some research and I found 12 extra bonus locations around Ireland and Great Britain. I modified the rules to include a gold option. To earn the Titanic SS1000 Gold, one has to visit the four original spots, plus 2 bonus spots from the list of 12, and obtain a Dated Business Receipt (DBR) in the period of the anniversary of the voyage, i.e. 10th April to 15th April. Once again, Graeme agreed to the new rules, and I had a date set: Saturday 12th April 2025.
The Plan
The route was obviously going to be from Cobh to Belfast to Liverpool to Southampton, based on my home starting point. I devised a plan similar to my Governments SS1000 ride, to finish close to the South Wales ports of Fishguard and Pembroke to allow me to get home to Ireland promptly.
Among the 12 bonus points, the Frank Dwan Memorial in Waterford and the John Law Hume and Thomas Mullin Memorial in Dumfries, Scotland would require the shortest diversions from the ideal route. As usual, I used Google maps to plan the distances and times of the ride. This gave me a 313 mile, 6 hour journey from first fuel receipt in Midelton, Co. Cork to Larne Port. As the P&O ferry sailed at 1200 noon, and last check in was at 1130, I had to start at 0530 exactly to arrive on time and not waste time waiting to sail.
I worked out that by time I reached Southampton, I would have covered 783 miles, or 217 miles short of 1,000. Or 267 miles short of 1,050 miles, my preferred 105% buffer. I had to add a trip eastward to Cobham services on the M25 around London, then back to Pont Abraham Service in South Wales to reach a theoretical 1,044 miles. It should be noted that IBA adjudicators do not grant you your odometer mileage, but instead give you credit for the shortest distance between DBRs. So, a buffer is always warranted.
The Ride
After a long day at work on Friday 11th April 2025, I got home and prepared the bike, the suit, and the bags for the trip. In the previous week, I brought my Harley Davidson Electra Glide (perfect bike for motorway mile munching) to the mechanic for some maintenance and service work. It needed new fork seals, and new front brake discs. While it was "under the knife", I asked for engine oil and filter, gearbox and transmission fluids, and plugs to be replaced. It was ready and running well for this demanding trip.
Although good dry weather and mild temperatures were predicted, I opted for Gore-Tex jacket and pants just in case. I always carry a bag of essentials, such as warm gloves, extra layers, puncture repair kit etc. but for this international adventure, I included the extra gear: fuel can, battery booster and electrically heated jacket (luckily, none were needed).
After a good 6 hours sleep, I was up at 0430 on Saturday 12th Apr, riding out at 0500 and got the first petrol receipt at Midleton at 0530, right on schedule.
Then I headed for Cobh, a short 30 minute journey. There was thick fog at that time and I hoped it would clear soon as the lack of visibility was slowing me down.
I still reached Cobh a few minutes early and got the first photo. In writing the rules, I had followed the example of the Governments SS1000 Gold and required a receipt local to each of the four main points. Graeme had agreed to allow a Spot Walla check-in in lieu of a receipt, but I decided, spur of the moment, to also get DBRs at each point, just to prove it was possible for future riders. In the case of Cobh, there is an ATM across the road from the Titanic Experience. [1] The Titanic Experience is an interactive tour of the original White Star Line building from which passengers departed.
Titanic SS1000 Gold Photo 1/4. Titanic Experience, Cobh, Co. Cork.
From Cobh, I retraced my path back to Midleton, then onto Dungarvan, Waterford and onto the scenic Copper Coast road to Bunmahon, location of the Frank Dwan memorial bonus point. There was no scenery to enjoy on this leg, as the fog persisted.
Titanic SS1000 Gold Bonus Point Photo 1/2. Frank Dwan Memorial, Bunmahon, Co. Waterford
Dwan was travelling to Morris Plains, New Jersey where his daughter Alice, his son Michael and their families lived. He paid £7, 15s for 3rd class ticket number 336439. His body was never found.
From the Dwan memorial, it was short hop to Kilmeaden and onto Waterford and the M9 motorway to Dublin and Belfast. Thankfully, the fog cleared as soon as I moved inland. The morning was bright and dry. The Electra Glide is thirsty at motorway speeds, so I stopped a little earlier than planned for fuel at Kilcullen services, Co. Kildare. From there it was non-stop to Belfast.
The Titanic Hotel is located in the building that was the Harland & Wolff Headquarters and Drawing Offices. I reached the hotel at 1045 and ran across the square to the gift shop in the Titanic Belfast Experience to get a small gift and a receipt.
Titanic SS1000 Gold Photo 2/4. Titanic Hotel, Belfast.
Titanic Belfast Experience
I was delighted to arrive at the Larne port and be checked in at 1123, for the 1200 sailing. On the Governments SS1000 ride, I had misjudged the time, and I sat at Larne for an hour, so I could have started an hour later, and had an hour to spare at the end.
After a pleasant calm crossing, where I took advantage of the non-riding time to eat a hot meal (a luxury on a normal Saddlesore) and short sleep, I arrived at Cairnryan port in Scotland. This is where I had the one and only delay on the trip.
From experience, it is very easy to get flustered on an IBA ride, when even the smallest inconvenience or delay can seem a huge problem, because those 24 hours are ticking away inexorably. These can manifest themselves as traffic delays, getting lost or bike tech issues.
When I was preparing to ride off the ferry, I plugged in my phone to the bike’s cigarette lighter charger before starting the engine. The charger and the cable were new and I was using them for the first time. They had given me no trouble on the journey so far. But once I plugged it in, the dashboard dials started to flicker with the dash lights going on and off. As it turned out, there was nothing wrong with the bike, and it was related only to the charging cable. But at the time, I was now worried that the battery or electrical system of the bike were going to fail. I spent the entire rest of the journey with one eye on the battery voltage. Thank you Harley-Davidson for making that data available.
Now slightly flustered by the possibility of an electrical problem on the wrong side of the Irish Sea, I did not prepare for the inevitable and predictable lack of phone signal in the belly of the ferry, so I left the boat and port with no sat nav guidance. I then compounded my error by turning left out of the port, because I always turn left out of the port when I visit Scotland. Of course, I should have turned right to head for England and the border. That cost me 10 minutes. Then I went to Stranraer for fuel instead of hitting the road to Dumfries, but the tank was low, and I was unfamiliar with the local petrol spots. (I soon discovered that I could have headed East directly and there was a fuel stop only a few miles down the road).
This all meant that I headed for Dumfries 30 minutes behind schedule, but I finished in Wales the same 30 minutes behind schedule meaning I lost no more time.
I arrived in Dumfries at 1600. When planning the journey on Google Maps and using Streetview, I was worried that the memorial would be hard to photograph with the bike visible as it was situated in a pedestrian park area. I had hoped that worse case, I could park in the car park and have a distant view of the spire-like monument near the grandstand. But I was lucky to get to park right alongside it. There was a narrow lane to the park, and a short ride on the tarmac to the monument. I would not normally ride a noisy bike on footpaths, but there was no one around and large inflated bouncy castle blocking me from any groups of people.
Thomas Mullin was a third class steward onboard the Titanic whose body was the last to be recovered from the sea, fourteen days after the liner sank. John Law Hume was a violinist in the band and bravely played on until all the lifeboats were gone, to help calm the passengers and prevent panic.
Titanic SS1000 Gold Bonus Point Photo 2/2. John Law Hume and Thomas Mullin Memorial, Dumfries, Scotland.
From Dumfries to Liverpool, I stopped once for fuel at Killington Lake, Kendal. Then I ventured into the centre of Liverpool to get a photograph of Albion House, the former headquarters of the White Star Line, near Albert Docks and the famous Royal Liver building. Albion House is now a hotel called 30 James Street.
Titanic SS1000 Gold Photo 3/4. Albion House, Liverpool.
As well as hitting a Spot Walla check-in, I stopped for a fuel receipt on the way out of Liverpool. I had contemplated and planned to complete a Coffee Cup 1000 on this journey, but my plans for a Liverpool independent coffee shop were scuppered. The places I had counted on from research were close to Albion house but, once in the area, I discovered that they were in shopping centres, not street side, and the city centre was now heaving with Saturday night revellers and hen parties. I decided not to leave the bike on the street and run off to get a coffee. Parking safely would have taken too much time. While there was no shortage of chain coffee shops on my route, the Coffee Cup 1000 requires at least two independent coffee shops or roasteries, and my schedule would not allow.
Onwards to the last photo and after a short splash and dash at Milton Heights, near Oxford, I arrived at the Titanic Engineers Memorial in Southampton at 2330, right on schedule.
Titanic SS1000 Gold Photo 4/4. Titanic Engineers Monument, Southampton.
It was unveiled by Sir Archibald Denny, president of the Institute of Marine Engineers, (now Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology (IMarEST)) on 22 April 2014, with over 100,000 Southampton residents in attendance. He spoke of how Chief Engineer Joseph Bell, and his engineers, stayed below to keep the electricity on, and to continue pumping. "fighting for every inch of draught to give time for the launching of the boats, not one of those brave officers was saved".
While exiting the centre of Southampton, there was a spit of rain, but it quickly stopped and didn’t evolve any further. Close the monument, I got a DBR at a local late night convenience shop.
Based on my odometer reading, I had now completed enough miles to head directly to Swansea and complete over 1,000 miles. Based on my experience of inaccurate odometers and fastidious IBA verifiers, I decided to stick to my original plan and ride east to the M25.
At Cobham services, I met a group of men, who arrived in numerous cars around the same time at the station. They were very interested in my bike and my journey, and most, if not all of them had experiences of Harleys. They did not inconvenience or delay me and were very friendly. As they waved me off, I wondered had I met a 1%er MC club on a night out, perhaps in unfriendly territory as they wore no vests or patches.
At 0410 I arrived at Pont Abraham services, 22 hours 40 minutes after starting, with 1,094 miles on the odometer (later verified by IBA as 1,045 miles. See what I mean?). A successful ride and a great way to inaugurate a new ride, which I hope many more will complete in the coming years.
Spot Walla map of Titanic SS1000 Gold ride, 12/13 April 2025.
John O’Sullivan, Cork, Ireland, 19 April 2025
Ride Rules: https://www.ibaireland.org/rides
Ride Rules: https://www.ibaireland.org/rides
[1] As point of interest to maritime historians, the Lusitania Memorial is directly across the small square from the Titanic Experience building.
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