East to East in 24 hours June 2012

[deckertim]

I have been thinking for some time about trying to see how far I could ride in 24 hours and figured that 250 miles was achievable. This weekend I did the Dunwich Dynamo and back totalling nearly 240 miles in 24 hours. I didn't quite make the 250, but was very pleased with how far I got. The ride to Dunwich was great and reaching the beach was a real achievement, but then I had to turn around and ride back into the wind to reach the Dartford Crossing. Not the most fabulous of end points for my epic ride!

So I started to think about a more interesting ride that could be done in a 24 hour period, with a great start and finish and around the same distance.

So here it is. My mini end to end. The most Easterly point in Wales, deep in the Forest of Dean near Symonds Yat across country in an Easterly direction to Lowestoft Ness, the most easterly point in England.

http://tinyurl.com/3jthyrp

The route needs a bit of work, as this is just from the Google Maps walking beta. Currently it is 217 miles, so there is some room to adjust the route to suit. The most easterly point in Wales is about 1.5 miles south west of Symonds Yat East on the cycle path towards Monmouth. This is not on the route at the moment and I am not sure what the condition of the path is.

So is anyone up for a challenge? Not sure about the logistics at all. I figured that camping or b&B at either end could work. I am also not sure about the best time to depart. As the ride will be midsummer, it will only be dark for 6 hours or so at maximum. Let me know what you think, as I have a year to plan this.

I will be doing this as a charity ride, probably for Help for Heroes, or ABF, the Soldiers Charity.

 

[martint235]

Tentatively interested. Will have a chat to you next time we're on the same ride.

 

[rb58]

Ah! Next year. At first I thought you meant this weekend........

Put me down as a provisional subject to diaries nearer the time.

 

[ianrauk]

Yup... put me down for a maybe also

 

[Aperitif]

In a Good Cause, might as well kick of at The Cenotaph and do the 'out and back' - as before. Only about 500 miles I would imagine, so that's about 48 hours. Less if no walnut breaks.
Aim for Solstice again, Tim, and hit Stonehenge but just ride on by toward the Severn Bridge etc... across and out, maybe a pint in The Mumbles, turn around, cross the Bridge and head for RWB. Then those two bugger me hills on the way to Marlborough! (I so want people to do those, it's a lovely view). People like Davy are camping it all the way on every ride; hardcore like Big M prefer the out 'n back with a mere nod to any culture that might get in the way.
All that to say I could be interested, providing it is not a bimble and laggards don't mind being dropped...

 

[martint235]

In a Good Cause, might as well kick of at The Cenotaph and do the 'out and back' - as before. Only about 500 miles I would imagine, so that's about 48 hours. Less if no walnut breaks.
Aim for Solstice again, Tim, and hit Stonehenge but just ride on by toward the Severn Bridge etc... across and out, maybe a pint in The Mumbles, turn around, cross the Bridge and head for RWB. Then those two bugger me hills on the way to Marlborough! (I so want people to do those, it's a lovely view). People like Davy are camping it all the way on every ride; hardcore like Big M prefer the out 'n back with a mere nod to any culture that might get in the way.
All that to say I could be interested, providing it is not a bimble and laggards don't mind being dropped...

I so want people to do them too cos of course the view is fantastic (and I have no sinister, underhand, sadistic motives at all!!!

)

It's true I prefer an out and back ride but at the end of the day, this is your ride Tim and your rules. As the film said "If you build a route, they will ride it" . Well ok it didn't say that, it wittered on about a field or some such c**p but it should have said that.

 

[StuAff]

Also interested. Fancy having a crack at my first 200 miler in a couple of months, this would be something good to aim for after that.....

Tim, to add a third charity to your list of possibles....the Royal British Legion.

 

[Aperitif]

Also interested. Fancy having a crack at my first 200 miler in a couple of months, this would be something good to aim for after that.....

Tim, to add a third charity to your list of possibles....the Royal British Legion.

Sort your ride out, Stu! Then you can get van minded folk to roll with you Martin's ride was the right blend of horseplay and purpose. Once it becomes a sole motivator, the charity business becomes a bit burdensome perhaps. (And your mates will bung you in the wagon in order to keep up the schedule.)

 

[deckertim]

I will already have to change the date, as I realised it is my son's 18th birthday that weekend, so it will probably have to be the weekend or mid week. My advancing age and the fact that this is son number 4 is my excuse for not realising earlier!


Obviously there is a bit of faff involved getting there and back, so adds to the complexity and cost, but hopefully the route will compensate. I would probably intend to get a train down to Bristol mid afternoon, then ride up to Monmouth, which is about 30 miles and stay overnight, with an early start in the morning. This would mean arriving in Lowestoft a day later. A snooze on the beach then train or ride home for those training for LEL.

The charity thing can indeed be an issue if this becomes too organised. The way I see it, if I tell my friends and colleagues that I intend to ride 200 + miles in a day, they are likely to be impressed, or think I am mad and because I only do something to get money off them every couple of years I find they can be quite generous. But I would not want this to be the reason for doing the ride. I have a bit of a pet hate about people who get their friends to effectively pay for their holiday, with the remainder going to charity . When I did my Lejog ride I made it clear to people this was my holiday in lieu of a mid life crisis and any money raised would go direct to the charities involved and this approach worked well for me.

As to laggards being dropped, I wholeheartedly agree. This weekend I really benefited from riding with others (thanks Ross and iZap), but at times it was a real struggle because of tiredness so I stopped for a snooze a couple of times which was vital for me. But luckily I caught up again later and we carried on together. On the one Audax I did this year, the Invicta 300km, I had a similar experience, in that I was riding with some riders then we split up, then met again later etc. This was a much more pleasant experience for me, than having to struggle to keep up with someone, or equally to slow down for someone to catch me. (Although I still love doing the FNRTTC).

Let's continue to discuss on here and when out riding. Thanks everyone for your thoughts.

 

[Alberto]

I would also be interested in that Tim! In a way, I was a bit jealous of all the riders cycling back from Dunwich, although I was not quite prepared for that this year. Are you thinking beggining, mid or late June?