CycleChat End-to-End Relay
- Thread starter Will1985
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LeeW
Well-Known Member
Looks intresting. Any idea what would be used as the "batton item", idealy should be small enough to fit in a back pocket, be able to contain a GPS/GPRS tracking device for live tracking and be robust as it could get dropped during a bad changeover.
I'd consider doing a leg in the middle of the route, perhaps near manchester or lancaster. I'd perfair a flatter or mostly downhill section as I would be riding the Quest (weight=74lbs), or if the conditions and roads are sutible I may use a streamliner which would enable to do a flat 18 mile leg in under 30 mins. maybe down the A6?
Will the legs be exactly the same distance each? It would prob be better to vary the leg distance so that the changeovers are at sutible places like where there are lay-bys and not in the middle on a fast motorway-like A road.
I'd consider doing a leg in the middle of the route, perhaps near manchester or lancaster. I'd perfair a flatter or mostly downhill section as I would be riding the Quest (weight=74lbs), or if the conditions and roads are sutible I may use a streamliner which would enable to do a flat 18 mile leg in under 30 mins. maybe down the A6?
Will the legs be exactly the same distance each? It would prob be better to vary the leg distance so that the changeovers are at sutible places like where there are lay-bys and not in the middle on a fast motorway-like A road.
paddy01 said:Personally, given the short distances involved, I don't honestly see the need for a full on setup for support vehicles.
Maybe 1 vehicle per 75 to 100 miles, parked up at a mid-point with extra spares and more elaborate tools onboard.
At each handover the rider setting off checks in with the vehicle giving an eta based on their own knowledge of their abilities. If it gets to eta +50% and no news from the current rider then the 'pool car' so to speak, sets off to drive the route and meet up with them. The pool car could also be carrying spare rider / bike.
Most riders would / should be capable of being fairly self sufficient in terms of dealing with punctures or minor gear failure over legs of 18 miles and if there's a catastrophic failure or injury then the pool car is never going to be more than 30 or so minutes away.
Of course all the above assumes there wouldn't be a time based record attempt being made, for that you need a much more elaborate setup.
Just some thoughts as I was ruminating on my ride tonight, whilst towing my brother 4 miles up hill and down dale back to town after his freewheel / cassette collapsed
I agree with this... we are not the RAF or a small cycle club so raising sponsorship has not really crossed my mind and may be tricky to aquire(TBH I would rather they donate money to a charity). As previously discussed I would invisage there being 5 area organisers, each organiser should have driven their section (180 miles ish) once and will be able to identify change over spots.
Each area organiser should have their own support vehicle and possibly another vehicle that floats along the route and can collect/deliver riders in those hard to reach places (or if needed to drop off a sub rider). This way each vehicle is on the road for 10 hours max. There is no reason why a driver can't be one of the riders providing they have another rider insured to drive the vehicle and are prepared for the take over.
An alternative option is support riders... Many regions will have a good mix of experienced roadies, hardened commuters and beginners. For those riders that want to be involved but are not confident enough to fix chains, punctures etc relatively quickly should talk to the area organiser who could ensure an experienced, fit and willing cyclist is doing the stage before so they can hand over and then ride the next stage with the less experienced rider. It would mean they would do 36 miles (plus maybe the pootle back) but that should be relatively easy for some of us.
A GPS tracker in a bottle/baton would be a great idea so we can monitor the progress... where's Magnatom when you need that little scottish technology addict?
Wigsie said:
I think 180 miles is rather a long distance for regional organisers to be responsible for .
Thats responsibility for 10x riders and a 360+ mile drive minimum . Given the slow speed thats too much for one individual imo.
I think that I would prefer to see the route broken up into 108 mile sections ie 6x riders doing roughly 18 mile rides each.
This would still mean a minimum of 216 miles for the organiser to drive ,108 of which at a snails pace possibly all in darkness .
Wigsie said:
NOoooooooooooooooooooo
I just thought the prospect of having to drive 100's of miles at 12mph terrifying
This sort of thing is a pretty thankless task to be honest.
The problem with organising anything on a forum I find, is that very few people want to contribute any real work or effort to helping . Lots of people like to offer their negative suggestions and scoff or argue or find fault with what you've achieved but when you ask for them to spend a bit of their time helping ? they melt away to another thread.B)
Eventually you usually end up with 2-3 people who do all the work, incur all the costs, and a few others who are happy to ride if someone else does all the organising for them and all they have to do is turn up and ride.
I welcome constructive critism provided those offering it are prepared to roll their sleevs up and pitch in
I realised last night that being a regional organiser and support driver is almost certainly going to mean I don't even get the chance to ride for the record myself!...
I hope my posts did not come across as negative, they were certainly not meant to. I was just trying to contribute without wanting to become overly involved. Been there done that and got the Tshirt spring to mind. I was trying to give you some insight into how we did it, I will refrain from any more contribution for fear of sounding negative.
no not at all. Just ignore me I was just having a rant .
your suggestion is a very valid one that had'nt seemed to have occured to anyone yet.
If insurance becomes necessary I should think this event will founder at the first real hurdle.
Maybe the only way this will happen is if it stays unofficial and adhoc
your suggestion is a very valid one that had'nt seemed to have occured to anyone yet.
If insurance becomes necessary I should think this event will founder at the first real hurdle.
Maybe the only way this will happen is if it stays unofficial and adhoc
peanut said:no not at all. Just ignore me I was just having a rant .
your suggestion is a very valid one that had'nt seemed to have occured to anyone yet.
If insurance becomes necessary I should think this event will founder at the first real hurdle.
Maybe the only way this will happen is if it stays unofficial and adhoc
+1 all your contributions have been valid and only seem negative as the tell us just how much work would be involved if we were to try and beat a record rather that simply just set one.
I guess insurance, distance riders/support vehicles etc are all really just chit chat untill we hear back from GWR. If we get a negative from them... or a time of 30 hours to beat then i would be inclined to keep it unofficial.
So have we got any regional organisers other than peanut? is it time for an announcement in another part of the forum to broaden the audience?
Bear with me as I am not 100% on all regions so some may need shortening and others lengthening depending on populations (available riders) and the landscape. I have based on the Romero/Cracknell route but I would suggest something along the lines of:
South 1 - Lands End - Exeter =
South 2 - Exeter - Thornbury = Peanut
South 3 - Thornbury - Wolverhampton =
Mid 1 - Wolverhampton - Warrington =
Mid 2 - Warrington - Lancaster =
Mid 3 - Lancaster - Carlisle =
North 1 - Carlisle - Biggar/West Linton =
North 2 - Biggar/West Linton - Pitlochry =
North 3 - Pitlochry - Inverness =
Glory run - Inverness - John O' Groats =
10 Regions 65-100 mile stretches... any volunteers for organisers? Feel free to copy and paste the region lists and add your name!
South 1 - Lands End - Exeter =
South 2 - Exeter - Thornbury = Peanut
South 3 - Thornbury - Wolverhampton =
Mid 1 - Wolverhampton - Warrington =
Mid 2 - Warrington - Lancaster =
Mid 3 - Lancaster - Carlisle =
North 1 - Carlisle - Biggar/West Linton =
North 2 - Biggar/West Linton - Pitlochry =
North 3 - Pitlochry - Inverness =
Glory run - Inverness - John O' Groats =
10 Regions 65-100 mile stretches... any volunteers for organisers? Feel free to copy and paste the region lists and add your name!
peanut said:
I think the organisers should ride, perhaps doing the last stint of their region. So organisers should be able to do basic repairs and/or ensure they have a support rider with them. That way 5 miles or so from the end of the second to last riders section they can drive on ahead and park car/get ready at handover point, they then ride the last section, handover to the next region and pootle back to their car. How does that sound?
Garz said:
oops
http://www.pewseys.eclipse.co.uk/route_files/LEJIOG ROUTE1.jpg
here is a LEJOG route with mileages. If you use this as a rough guide and break the route into about 8x stages you won't be far off .
Wigsie said:
Wigsie I'm doing the Devon/Somerset bit not Cornwall. That would be 200+ miles away too far to travel for me realistically.I live 20 miles from Taunton
I have mapped out the 6x sections I'm volunteering to organise ,the maps are on the thread.
I have also mapped out a further 2x sections of someone elses route in Devon .
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