CATERING consultant and keen biker Carla McKenzie gave her green credentials a boost with a 540-mile road trip all the way from her home in Royal Wootton Bassett to Dublin.

The managing director of Stroud-based MYA Consulting, was due to speak at the Food and Drink Business Europe Conference and Exhibition on kitchen design and a sustainable future.

But instead of flying or driving to the ferry in an ordinary car she decided to make the trip riding an electric motorcycle – a California-built Zero DS – to raise awareness of the need to conserve the planet.

She was joined on her epic trip by motorcycle journalist and enthusiast Paul Blezard on another electric bike lent by Moto Corsa in Wiltshire.

“The first few miles are very strange, almost surreal, as my left hand and foot feel a sense of redundancy and the silence of the bike creates a brave new world sense in the mind,” was her first reaction when she mounted the electric bike.

“Once acclimatised this becomes a comfortable enjoyable experience, gone is the work involved in working an Internal combustion engine. This is twist and go at its very best.”

The pair had to stop several times, in pubs and cafes in Oswestry, Llangollen and Betws-y-Coed to recharge the machines on the way to Holyhead, meaning the trip took more than 12 hours. At one point cables were run through the window of a café with the help of an accommodating owner.

On another occasion she swapped with Paul and rode his £25,000 Energica Eva machine which she said made her feel like a ton up girl.

“It is one of the most expensive motorcycles I have ever ridden and it is absolutely gorgeous,” she enthused.

Carla was almost running on empty when she arrived just in time for the 2.40am sailing, but was able to recharge the bike again while the ferry was crossing the Irish Sea and arrived in good time for her 9.20am appointment in Dublin.

On her way back she found locals in one of the pubs on her route where she needed to recharge had already started to work out how much of a charge she would need to get the bike back to its owners in Halesowen in the West Midlands.

Now she says she is thinking up another adventure to raise awareness of green issues.