Bryan Chapman 2012

[LEE]

Bairdy - I'm approaching the BCM having never really ridden over 210km previously. I've also met a number of people who are doing the same, so there will be a quite a number of people in the same boat. Also, I have a shoddy neck which may rear its ugly head on anything over 300 and be the main limiting factor to the completion of the BCM

Dealing with neck and shoulder pain has almost always been the challenge of long-distance cycling for me (rather than the pedalling aspect).  The best thing I ever did was start wearing a YACF buff (other Buffs are available) as a neck-scarf.  I still ended up in pain/discomfort eventually but the extra warmth in that area delayed the onset by 200km.  A lot of my problem was due to cold air flowing around my neck and shoulders causing cramp.  Long fast descents, under braking, in the cold and wet were a nightmare.  A Buff helped a lot.

[Redlight]

The approach to the hostel, especially the second time, is the worst part of the ride. I could almost bear it if it was just a steady climb up but the fact that it goes up, then down, then up again knocks the stuffing out of me.

(The turning by the old forge is a sod too, if you meet a car coming the other way!)

[vorsprung]

I'd imagined it more like doing the Snow Roads twice in a row.

No, you're thinking of the Kernow & Southwest or Wessex Hellfire 600s. The Chapman is a ride to enjoy, not endure. 

Yes, the BCM is only an endurance event if the weather is diabolical.  If the weather is ok then the scenery is so great that the time passes very quickly

The BCM has run two versions in recent years, the "Scenic" and the "Classic".  Only the "Classic" is on this year.  They both start at the same time and have many common controls but the "Scenic" does lots of extra climbing and uses a steeper, lanier route.

[MattH]

Injuries wise, dodgy knee, which is still healing, bad lower back, which seems to be less of an issue on my latter 200k's
and a bad neck after so many K's.

Without having seen your bike setup, have you thought about raising your bars? Flipping or replacing your stem to put them a couple of inches can make a world of difference to lower back and neck pain as you get a much more upright position. It may look "unsporting" but it's worthwhile  doing, at least until your back is better and you've built up the core strength to support you properly.

[Feanor]

I've just grabbed a GPX off t'Internet from someone who did it previously, and am examining it using bikehike.

Is the basic deal that you do it as a 400 up the Western leg ( control @YH, continue to Menai Bridge, and loop back to YH again ) grab a bit of kip and then a 200 home down the Eastern leg?

Looks do-able.
Did spot the chevrons on the road up to the YH.

[LEE]

The approach to the hostel, especially the second time, is the worst part of the ride. I could almost bear it if it was just a steady climb up but the fact that it goes up, then down, then up again knocks the stuffing out of me.

(The turning by the old forge is a sod too, if you meet a car coming the other way!)

Basically you need to be in 1st gear before the red post box or you will spend the next 30 seconds desperately mangling your gears, ripping your thighs apart or just toppling off.

It's an absolutely beautiful lane to ride along though, every time I hear running water over rocks I get a flashback to this wonderful lane (it is a bloody slog in places though).

1st Gear NOW!!!


Some highlights

Looking back at the poor buggers behind you as you approach Pen-Y-Pass (It's usually dark, and sometime horizontally sleeting when I am at this point)

The scariest descent in my life at Cross-Foxes.  Again in horizontal sleet, brake levers back to the bars, still accelerating and the bike trying its best to shake me off.  It's been a lot better in recent years but I still get nervous.  Last year I even managed to check out the amazing scenery....it was...Sunny!!!

[Feline]

The approach to the hostel, especially the second time, is the worst part of the ride. I could almost bear it if it was just a steady climb up but the fact that it goes up, then down, then up again knocks the stuffing out of me.

(The turning by the old forge is a sod too, if you meet a car coming the other way!)

Basically you need to be in 1st gear before the red post box or you will spend the next 30 seconds desperately mangling your gears, ripping your thighs apart or just toppling off.

It's an absolutely beautiful lane to ride along though, every time I hear running water over rocks I get a flashback to this wonderful lane (it is a bloody slog in places though).

1st Gear NOW!!!

Ridable on a tandem, do you think?

[simonp]

Defeated me on 71" fixed that did. Only hill I walked between may and October.

[LEE]

The approach to the hostel, especially the second time, is the worst part of the ride. I could almost bear it if it was just a steady climb up but the fact that it goes up, then down, then up again knocks the stuffing out of me.

(The turning by the old forge is a sod too, if you meet a car coming the other way!)

Basically you need to be in 1st gear before the red post box or you will spend the next 30 seconds desperately mangling your gears, ripping your thighs apart or just toppling off.

It's an absolutely beautiful lane to ride along though, every time I hear running water over rocks I get a flashback to this wonderful lane (it is a bloody slog in places though).

1st Gear NOW!!!

Ridable on a tandem, do you think?

It's a VERY tight left-hander.  You'll need to be in first gear and approach it from the wrong side of the road I suspect.

It's only really bad if it takes you by surprise (and it takes most people by surprise)

[Feline]

The approach to the hostel, especially the second time, is the worst part of the ride. I could almost bear it if it was just a steady climb up but the fact that it goes up, then down, then up again knocks the stuffing out of me.

(The turning by the old forge is a sod too, if you meet a car coming the other way!)

Basically you need to be in 1st gear before the red post box or you will spend the next 30 seconds desperately mangling your gears, ripping your thighs apart or just toppling off.

It's an absolutely beautiful lane to ride along though, every time I hear running water over rocks I get a flashback to this wonderful lane (it is a bloody slog in places though).

1st Gear NOW!!!

Ridable on a tandem, do you think?

It's a VERY tight left-hander.  You'll need to be in first gear and approach it from the wrong side of the road I suspect.

Maybe the method of going past it, turning round and then heading straight for it will be a better option then, our tandem has a 6 foot wheelbase and a turn that tight could result in a front wheel rolling backwards while back wheel moving forwards disaster!

[simonp]

I have been thinking about it. It is a very sharp left indeed and then you are climbing steeply. It's almost like doing a left handed u turn and the climbing starts immediately. There is also the risk of meeting someone coming down the hill so it's not wise to swing very wide on the exit of the corner. I did that bit by doing a u turn in the road and taking a run at it but the second steep bit got me.

With our gearing we ought to be able to get up it but I'd like other tandem riders say they did it before we attempt such a tight turn.

[simonp]

We'd have more room to turn from the wrong side of the road but iirc you don't have a huge amount of visibility of oncoming traffic there.

[Feline]

I have been thinking about it. It is a very sharp left indeed and then you are climbing steeply. It's almost like doing a left handed u turn and the climbing starts immediately. There is also the risk of meeting someone coming down the hill so it's not wise to swing very wide on the exit of the corner. I did that bit by doing a u turn in the road and taking a run at it but the second steep bit got me.

With our gearing we ought to be able to get up it but I'd like other tandem riders say they did it before we attempt such a tight turn.

If you attempt that tight turn you might be surprised to find no one the back as you attempt the climb 

[Bairdy]

In strain-on-knees terms, don't get hung up on the Chapman's headline climbing figure. A lot of it is done on long A road climbs rather than short sharp lanes (the YH approach not withstanding).

Climbing at 5-6% for 45 minutes is possibly better for the knees than 2 minutes grinding up a 12%+?

I periodically experience a recurrence of a knee problem, and I'd agree with that (except that 'standing' on the YH approach for a breather is permitted so I don't know why Paul says it's not). There's also that final Llancloudy climb and the little sharp one shortly after the 'Left at Forge - easily missed', but over 619 km that's, what, 250m in total?

[Is Bairdy beginning to crumble yet, do we think?]

[simonp]

Just had a look on street view. It looks fine. Plenty room to get round if we make the turn from the middle of the road.

[Feline]

Just had a look on street view. It looks fine. Plenty room to get round if we make the turn from the middle of the road.

What street view are you looking at? The one I looked at looked less than fine 

[MattH]

I've just grabbed a GPX off t'Internet from someone who did it previously, and am examining it using bikehike.

Is the basic deal that you do it as a 400 up the Western leg ( control @YH, continue to Menai Bridge, and loop back to YH again ) grab a bit of kip and then a 200 home down the Eastern leg?

That's it. The YH normally has a bag drop available too (small bags only), which means that you can leave warm clothes there for the evening/night ride up to Menai and back, and clean clothes for the next day. It also has plenty of volunteers (usually well known audaxers) to feed and pamper you. Then up in the morning, a wake-up climb early on, second breakfast of sausage or bacon butties at the next control, a mid-afternoon picnic on the grass opposite the village shop at Weobley and cruise back to the Arrivee in time for a little light supper.

Oh yes, there's the rollers at Llancloudy. I love them - bit of a climb, fast swooping descent, try to keep up the momentum over the top of the next one, rinse, repeat until the final bigger ascent. Lovely  I'm not a fantastic climber, but I don't think there's anything on the BCM that I worry about. The one before the YH you just need to know about or you won't make it up (and if you do decide to walk it's very short and you won't be alone), the one after the forge I had to walk once - I got stopped at the bottom and it was too wet and muddy to get traction to get going again.

[simonp]

I met a car at the rh bend at the top of the forge climb last year. Has the tyre slashing dog been put down?

[LEE]

Just had a look on street view. It looks fine. Plenty room to get round if we make the turn from the middle of the road.

What street view are you looking at? The one I looked at looked less than fine 

The Street View of a different corner (Did George Michael write a song about it?) I think

[simonp]

This:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=barmouth&hl=en&ll=52.736092,-3.958239&spn=0.0023,0.005724&sll=51.28442,-2.819352&sspn=0.038008,0.091581&hnear=Barmouth,+Gwynedd,+United+Kingdom&t=m&z=18&layer=c&cbll=52.736092,-3.958239&panoid=1feuiX-wNCn28kXRc4NhzQ&cbp=12,40.54,,0,10.88

The curve radius on the inside of the bend is fine, I think. We've done tighter turns than that.

[MattH]

That streetview image just about totally fails to show how nasty it is in real life!

[Chris N]

Defeated me on 71" fixed that did.

I just about managed it both times in 2009.  I'm going to try again this year.

[Bairdy]

Injuries wise, dodgy knee, which is still healing, bad lower back, which seems to be less of an issue on my latter 200k's
and a bad neck after so many K's.

Without having seen your bike setup, have you thought about raising your bars? Flipping or replacing your stem to put them a couple of inches can make a world of difference to lower back and neck pain as you get a much more upright position. It may look "unsporting" but it's worthwhile  doing, at least until your back is better and you've built up the core strength to support you properly.

I have tilted the bars back a couple of cm to bring the hoods closer to me which has helped but think a shorter / taller stem would be a good idea.
I also need to think about lighting as the current lights are O.K for an hour or so at the end of a 200k. Not sure they'd be good enough for riding through the night.
Don't mind the bike looking "unsporting" as I look very unsporting myself.

[simonp]

That streetview image just about totally fails to show how nasty it is in real life!

 

Work with me here, dammit!

 

[tonyh]

ok...

It looks quite gentle, beautifully surfaced too. Next time I'm arriving back at Kings at 6am I'll be able to ride it easily.

(uncrosses fingers)