CycleChat End-to-End Relay

[Muddyfox]

I would'nt of thought we would need mini buses as the riders will only be cycling about 18 miles from their designated start point so once we have completed our stint most will probably be either collected at the handover point or take a leisurely ride back to their vehicle at their start point or ride home ?

simon

 

[peanut]

I would'nt of thought we would need mini buses as the riders will only be cycling about 18 miles from their designated start point so once we have completed our stint most will probably be either collected at the handover point or take a leisurely ride back to their vehicle at their start point or ride home ?

simon

It would be expensive but the problem is that it only takes one single rider not to be where he is supposed to be for a changeover and the whole thing collapses into chaos.Especially in areas with no mobile signal

There is a big advantage to dropping each rider off with their bike a couple of miles in front of the previous rider. Warm and dry and rested with little waiting time

It guarantees each rider will be there at the right place at the right time without hours of waiting around in the cold and possibly wet dark night.

 

[Garz]

Im supporting JD view on this, the point being that as we have so many people (compared to one cycling club) and situated accross the country we dont have the expense of the mini-bus' etc.

There maybe a need for one large car with a spare man and spare bike or two for supporting the places where something happens or a cyclist no-show. So if say one rider misses his spot the person in the car takes over for the 18-mile leg, and can do this a few times if we are unlucky. Thats my 2p on the idea..

 

[screenman]

We had a cheque from Powergen for about £2,000 plus most of us paid our own way etc. so the money soon mounts up. I would have though the total cost of us getting the record was about £4,000. It is very precise and difficult to go for a speed record, I would have thought the most people in relay record would go down easier.

As well as the riders doing the 1hour stint each we also planned to each riders strenghts, some climbed faster etc. so we used them in the hilly bits.

 

[peanut]

Im supporting JD view on this, the point being that as we have so many people (compared to one cycling club) and situated accross the country we dont have the expense of the mini-bus' etc.

There maybe a need for one large car with a spare man and spare bike or two for supporting the places where something happens or a cyclist no-show. So if say one rider misses his spot the person in the car takes over for the 18-mile leg, and can do this a few times if we are unlucky. Thats my 2p on the idea..

I'm sure that we could probably manage fine with a couple of cars rather than a van .Nothing has been decided yet.

Lets wait and see what the people that are actually going to have all the work to do organising all this decide is necessary . Bit early to start critisising at this stage. its a bit wearing for those who are actually doing something constructive

 

[Muddyfox]

Bit early to start critisising at this stage. its a bit wearing for those who are actually doing something constructive

I'd lay money that Garz is'nt critisizing here Peanut ... just discussing and debating the ideas that are getting thrown up

Here is a simple scenario that could work right up through the country , i'l take the 2 stints that Paddy and i have volounteered for as a for instance

The stints are

Crediton to Uffculme (Paddy)
Uffculme to Taunton (Me)

Me and Paddy (good job im not called Murphy) both drive to Uffculme and meet up, i then drive Paddy (and bike) to crediton and head back to Uffculme (in car) i now know that Paddy is where he should be and on route and Paddy knows that i am where i should be and Waiting for the Baton

Paddy could then act as my back up vehicle/emergency rider (should something go tits up) from Uffculme to Taunton and once i hand over at Taunton we can both head back to Uffculme to collect my vehicle ?

Simon

 

[screenman]

Who is actually the chairman behind the organising commitee?

 

[Muddyfox]

Who is actually the chairman behind the organising commitee?

Names have been put forward but i dont think anything has been finalised yet ?

Will & Wigsie are the main men i think ... no commitee yet though

Simon

 

[Muddyfox]

I've just seen the flaw in my above plan

Paddy wont have a back up vehicle/emergency rider ... Doh

Simon

 

[Garz]

Yes, im not criticising peanut.. if you thought i was then we need to demobilise forums and stop communicating. I know text is hard to get emotion or tone from but lets focus and not get distracted with comments like that.

As JD has tried reconstructing an example it is completely possible to do with less expense it just needs tweaking!

* Just to clarify this is not criticism *

 

[Garz]

The first leg(s) can always have more than one rider, just for the purpose of number of legs done by different individuals you take turns where possible. The backup is you have more people cycling the legs until the support car can get involved.

 

[paddy01]

I've just seen the flaw in my above plan

Paddy wont have a back up vehicle/emergency rider ... Doh

Simon

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

 

[peanut]

I've just seen the flaw in my above plan

Paddy wont have a back up vehicle/emergency rider ... Doh

Simon

what about the other four riders for your section ? will they also have 4x cars ?

That would make 6x cars for 6x riders per 100 mile section.
How is the regional organiser going to keep track of that lot by mobile as the event progresses ?
We have then got to find somewhere convenient to park all these cars off the road where they are safe legal and not blocking access etc .

I think we are going to need to look at the whole organisation thing very carefully. it is not enough to just think of a solution we need to also think of all the ways our plan can fail and have contingency arrangements in place for that too.

I suspect once we have thrashed out a suitable plan for a given region it will form the basis for all other regions

 

[Muddyfox]

As JD has tried reconstructing an example it is completely possible to do with less expense it just needs tweaking!

* Just to clarify this is not criticism *

That's it .. Im off to bed

 

[peanut]

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.

Assuming that each section has mobile phone coverage (which many do not in Devon and Somerset)and a stranded or injured cyclist phones the support vehicle how long would it take to drive maybe 30+ miles from the half way point to the stranded cyclist ?30x minutes 45 ?

I think there are many very good reasons why support vehicles always follow the rider closely.

The support vehicle needs to be in constant visual contact with each rider.They can form a safe protective zone behind the rider and can carry a warning sign for other vehicles. They can offer immediate support or an immediate replacement rider and bike.