‘I’ll average 500 miles every week’
Biking scribe Justin Hayzelden shares his year-round riding tips
‘Iwork as a roving reporter for MCN, which means that I’m generally on the road for several days every week, travelling around the country testing out cafés for the Golden Sausage feature, covering events for Great Gatherings, visiting various places for the Best of British articles and picking up any other stories that happen to come my way. “I’ve held a full motorcycle licence for over 20 years and have ridden all over Europe, a good deal of the USA and racked up thousands of miles in India. I’ve also had my fair share of getting up close and personal with the tarmac. My career has included being a courier, instructor, road tester and tour guide, all of which has stood me in good stead when it comes to survival on our roads.
“My average weekly riding tally is around 500 miles, although it’s not unusual for me to do that in a day, so some weeks my total could be three times that! Add in a couple of jobs en route and there are some pretty long hours involved, too.
“I don’t work from an office, so all my travel is in the pursuit of content. I don’t have a regular commute and will often spend multiple days away on roads that I’m not necessarily familiar with.
“The nature of the job is such that I cover the whole of the UK and all the different riding scenarios that entails, from city centre rush hour chaos and four-lane motorway madness, to the solo serenity of rural B-roads and blissful isolation of remote single tracks.
“The two thoughts that I always have at the forefront of my mind are how vulnerable I am as a motorcyclist and the fact that I alone am responsible for everything that happens to me when I’m riding. “I learnt very early on to challenge myself; what was significant about that ride? How could that situation have been avoided? I believe that it’s attitude, more than anything else, that is the key to being a safer, and hopefully better, rider.”
‘It’s your attitude that’s key to making you a safer rider’