Preparing for your trip.
Nothing here is complicated, but getting it sorted a fortnight out means the Friday morning is all coffee and no panic.
Get the bike serviced
Book it in a couple of weeks before, not the day before — that way there's time to fix anything the garage finds.
- Oil and filter if you're near due
- Brake pads with plenty of life left
- Chain cleaned, lubed and correctly tensioned
- Coolant and brake fluid topped up
- Lights, horn and indicators all working
Check your tyres properly
The single most important thing on this list. Welsh roads are unforgiving and a marginal tyre will not survive 600 km.
- At least 3 mm of tread, ideally more
- Pressures set cold, to your manual's numbers
- No cracking, cuts or embedded stones
- If they're borderline, replace them before you come
Sort your paperwork
Bring it, don't just assume it's fine. Photos on your phone are useful as a backup but bring the originals where you can.
- Full motorcycle licence
- Valid insurance certificate
- Breakdown cover that recovers motorcycles
- Valid MOT
Pack for weather, not forecast
You will probably get rained on. Being cold and wet at 11am ruins an otherwise brilliant day, and there's no fixing it once you're out there.
- Proper waterproofs, tested before you come
- Warm mid-layer even in summer
- Spare gloves — wet gloves stay wet
- Buff or neck tube
Set up your comms
Not compulsory, but the group works better with them. Get it paired and working at home rather than in a hotel car park.
- Cardo or Sena both fine
- Charged, plus the charging cable
- Practise the controls with gloves on
Load the routes
We send GPX files before the tour. You don't need to navigate — that's our job — but having them means you're never truly lost.
- Load the GPX onto your sat nav or phone
- Bring a way to charge on the move
- Download offline maps for mid Wales — signal is patchy
Kit list.
Remember you're at one hotel for two nights, so you can leave the bulk of it in the room and ride light on the Saturday.
- Helmet (and a clean visor)
- Riding jacket and trousers
- Waterproofs
- Motorcycle boots
- Summer and winter gloves
- Base and mid layers
- Buff / neck tube
- Comms unit and charger
- Phone charger and cable
- Sat nav mount
- Sunglasses / clear visor
- Basic tool kit
- Tyre repair kit
- Small first aid kit
- Licence and insurance
- Breakdown cover details
- Evening clothes for dinner
- Toothbrush and the obvious
- Any medication you need
- Bank card and a little cash
- Earplugs
On the morning
Arrive with a full tank. We'll do the briefing over coffee — hazards, fuel stops, lunch, meet points and anything tricky on the day's route — and then we go.
TO CONFIRM: meeting time and exact meeting point for the Welsh Three-Day
Tell us anything we should know
Medical conditions, allergies, dietary requirements, a dodgy knee, or the fact you've not ridden since October — all useful, none of it judged. Email it ahead rather than mentioning it at the first fuel stop.
Ask before you pack.
If you're unsure whether your bike, your kit or your riding is up to it, drop us a line. We'd far rather sort it now than on the Friday.
Get in touch