England : West Midlands Overnight ride From Birmingham to Rollright Stones

[kimble]

Postponed from March due to severe weather conditions.

It's a reasonably pleasant ride out of Birmingham, following the Rea Valley cycle route as far as King[']s Norton, before climbing Primrose Hill and taking to the lanes. There's a 24 hour Tesco at Stratford-Upon-Avon about 48km into the ride we can use as a halfway stop. The plan is to reach the stones for shortly after sunrise, then head to Banbury (a little over 20km away, mostly downhill) for breakfast and an abundance of trains back to Birmingham, That London, or elsewhere.

Meet on Friday the 24th of May in the main concourse of Birmingham New Street station - by the coffee place and the departures boards - at 23:30.

If you want to meet us at Stratford, I expect we'll be at Tesco between 03:00 and 04:00.

This is an inclusive ride - we go at the pace of the slowest rider, nobody's left behind. People who haven't done much night-riding before are especially welcome.

More details (including up-to-date route and list of who's coming) over in the Other Place...

 

[Wobblers]

Assuming spring will have actually sprung by that time - or at least have the snow thaw, I'm in.

 

[Davywalnuts]

Ahhh, 24th is the Fnrttc Southend.. Sorry!

 

[kimble]

Ahhh, 24th is the Fnrttc Southend.. Sorry!

D'oh! I completely forgot about that. I've got various FNRttCs in my calendar, but having previously lived and cycled in East London, I've limited interest in faffing about with trains from Brum for the Tesco Value FNRttC. On the other hand, I expect the same can be said for West Midlanders in general, so as clashes go it's a fairly minor one.

 

[kimble]

We're now up to 20 'yes's and another 10 'maybe's, which isn't quite the numbers we had originally, but still a respectable ride, and there's plenty of time yet. Good to see a decent amount of interest from the locals, given that many of the Londoners are opting for the more FNRttC to Southend. We're going to have nicer scenery, though. Hopefully it won't be covered in 6" of snow again.

 

[kimble]

In light of the part-refurbishment of Birmingham New Street Station, I should clarify that we're now meeting opposite the ticket office in the new foyer. March 24th, 23:30 as per the original plan.

It's walkable from Birmingham Moor Street station (follow the signs), or best accessed by road via the taxi drop-off on Hill Street. A map of the new station layout is available here: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/birmingham-new-street-station-map(from28April2013).pdf (the maps on the National Rail accessibility page still show the old layout).

 

[kimble]

Okay, to reiterate for anyone who hasn't thought to check the OP on YACF:

Meet on Friday the 24th of May opposite the ticket office in the part-refurbished Birmingham New Street Station at 23:30 for a midnightish start. It's walkable from Birmingham Moor Street station (follow the signs), or best accessed by road via the taxi drop-off on Hill Street. A map of the new station layout is available here: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/birmingham-new-street-station-map(from28April2013).pdf (the maps on the National Rail accessibility page still show the old layout).

If you want to meet us at Stratford, I expect we'll be at Tesco between 03:00 and 04:00.

The route (updated to avoid Birmingham Pride road closures) is here:
Bikehike
GPX download
Routesheet: PDF (for printing)

It's 106km / 66miles in total to Banbury station.


The current forecast is for heavy rain on Friday afternoon/evening, but it should have stopped by the start - there may be puddles. Temperatures down to about 5C overnight, and we should have a mild tailwind for the bulk of the ride. Make sure you've got an extra layer to put on while waiting for the group to catch up, the suspiciously unheated Tesco and admiring the Stones.

Do give your bike a once-over before setting out, checking for tyre damage, self-untapping screws, wonky mudguards, worn brake pads, mysteriously self-destructing cables, and the like. Make sure your batteries are fully charged and/or that you're carrying spares. Bring a spare tube; more than one if you're riding something exotic. Don't forget the magic allen key for your security skewers! A cable lock is probably a good idea.

See you all tomorrow night!

 

[kimble]

In summary: huge success.

Ride reports, photos etc. now appearing here.