Bryan Chapman 2012

[mattc]

1 more bed at Dolgellau 

[LittleWheelsandBig]

See, everybody wins. Just let me know before I enter an event if there are going to be bed Nazis!

[mattc]

See, everybody wins. Just let me know before I enter an event if there are going to be bed Nazis!

You were very keen on Saturday to encourage "anyone of reasonable fitness" to complete as many big rides as possible. How does making them sleep on the floor for their precious 2 hours help in this aim?

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I've slept on floors plenty of times, including last Friday night. Don't see that as a problem or hinderance. Plenty of PBPers seem to do just fine despite sleeping on the floor and the organisers don't turf folks out of their beds.

I don't turf faster riders out of their beds and I get annoyed when somebody tries to do it to me. Faster riders don't just magically float round a long brevet. In many cases they've spent less time off the bike to get to the sleep stop sooner.

[mattc]

In many cases they've spent less time off the bike to get to the sleep stop sooner.

Try saying that to someone arriving at Kings @5am. Make sure you offer them the first punch.

(It won't hurt - they'll be knackered )

Do you really think riders will have an extra cup of tea so that they can kick someone out of bed?!?

You can't have it both ways.
"If sleeping for 4 hours is civilised, sleeping for 5 or 6 hours is more so."
So of course having a proper bed is helpful on a 600 

I can't condone deliberately robbing your fellow rider of sleep - it's a safety issue as much as anything else. "Plenty of PBPers do just fine ..." is rarely a rational argument.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I think neither of us are going to change our opinions but I don't think I'm being inconsistent. I don't begrudge somebody faster having more sleep than me or getting a choice of sleeping locations but it seems you do.

[mattc]

Having more time in hand to sleep
... is not the same thing as
Stopping another rider using a bed.

The faster rider will very-nearly-always still get more sleep, whatever policy is enforced by the "bed Nazis". (And probably wake everyone up as they leave  )

[GrahamG]

I dunno what's optimal, but I know that faffing for an hour and leaving yourself only 1hr 15m for a kip will leave you utterly destroyed when you arrive in Chepstow on Sunday evening.

This year I don't have the luxury of phoning the wife for a lift so I'm hoping to get more sleep in order to make the 25km home over the bridge!

[simonp]

Whoops.

I have to say that I don't know for sure what the policy is, and I might have misrecollected. There were more beds provided last year in a PBP year and I think everyone got a bed.

Personally I don't begrudge faster riders getting a long sleep, but at the expense of somewhat slower riders getting none, that seems unreasonable. I've never failed to get a bed on this event.

[vorsprung]

I've never failed to get a bed on this event.

I've done the event six times and always got a bed.  I usually get back at 2:30am-ish, although I have been much later than this on a couple of occasions
Sleep until 6am, try to have a quick breakfast, fail to have a quick breakfast and leave 7am-ish

[L CC]

 I'm really looking forward to kicking fast riders out of bed.

I suspect I'll have to wake them gently at a time of their choosing, just like everyone else though.

[simonp]

Talking of civilsed sleeping facilities, where is the tandem couples' dorm?

[Karla]

Whoops.

I have to say that I don't know for sure what the policy is, and I might have misrecollected. There were more beds provided last year in a PBP year and I think everyone got a bed.

Personally I don't begrudge faster riders getting a long sleep, but at the expense of somewhat slower riders getting none, that seems unreasonable. I've never failed to get a bed on this event.

I got a sofa for half an hour last year, does that count?  The lounge where I slept was pretty full of bodies.  IIRC I went to sleep at half 2 or thereabouts.

[simonp]

Whoops.

I have to say that I don't know for sure what the policy is, and I might have misrecollected. There were more beds provided last year in a PBP year and I think everyone got a bed.

Personally I don't begrudge faster riders getting a long sleep, but at the expense of somewhat slower riders getting none, that seems unreasonable. I've never failed to get a bed on this event.

I got a sofa for half an hour last year, does that count?  The lounge where I slept was pretty full of bodies.  IIRC I went to sleep at half 2 or thereabouts.

The main YHA was full at around 2am. It wasn't when I arrived, but by the time I'd enquired if there were beds available, then eaten, then went to get a bed, others who had not eaten had taken the few remaining free beds. I went down to the bunk-house for a bed.

[mattc]

£17.50 would be a lot to pay for a 600 with nothing to sleep on. It's different (e.g. on PBP) where there's a seperate charge for beds.

If NO accomodation is included on an event, you can always book something elsewhere, it's your choice.

(I've only ridden this thing once, so my earlier comments are more about the general principle of riders getting sleep on overnight rides using the public highway. I got a bed in 2008, but was very miffed on finding the promised sleeping area at Menai had been built over! Luckily hardly anyone is ready to sleep by that stage - I was just having a bad day. My general reading of the history books is that are enough beds outside of non-PBP years.)

[simonp]

The sleeping facilities on the BCM are better than on PBP, and far better run than the St Nic du Pelem sleep stop on PBP last year, which was chaos. Plus, someone had nicked the blanket on my bed.

[L CC]

I can arrange for stolen blankets if you'd like to re-live that?

 

[Jasmine]

Talking of civilsed sleeping facilities, where is the tandem couples' dorm?

Erm, bring a tent?

I personally don't mind sharing with non-women, but some of the men might be shy!  Last year Andy & I only had 1 drop bag between us.  While I went off to the toilet he decided to take it and go off to the boy's dorm - leaving me with only my soaking wet cycling clothes!  I will also point out that the reason my clothes were quite so wet was because he had removed the rear mudguard (because it doesn't really do anything for the pilot on a tandem).

[simonp]

Talking of civilsed sleeping facilities, where is the tandem couples' dorm?

Erm, bring a tent?

I personally don't mind sharing with non-women, but some of the men might be shy!  Last year Andy & I only had 1 drop bag between us.  While I went off to the toilet he decided to take it and go off to the boy's dorm - leaving me with only my soaking wet cycling clothes!  I will also point out that the reason my clothes were quite so wet was because he had removed the rear mudguard (because it doesn't really do anything for the pilot on a tandem).

I was being slightly facetious. At PBP the sleeping seemed to just be massive sports halls filled with camp beds. If there's separate accommodation for ladies there's a risk we could end up one getting a bed and the other not, though, which would be a pain.

If I removed the rear mudguard, I'm sure I'd end up being told to swap the saddles and end up stoking - though I think Feline might be a bit over-reached on the front.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

So Jasmine, riding the solo more these days?

[Nuncio]

I got a sofa for half an hour last year, does that count?  The lounge where I slept was pretty full of bodies.  IIRC I went to sleep at half 2 or thereabouts.

The bunks are very comfortable but those (2?) sofas in the common room are very, very comfortable.  I wouldn’t take one by choice, though, unless the hinges on the common room door have been oiled recently.  And, as you say, you can go to sleep in glorious isolation and wake up to a body-and-drop-bag-strewn obstacle course between you and the squeaky door.

[Redlight]

I got half an hour in a chair last year. That was enough. Us slow riders don't expend enough energy to need much sleep 

[Jasmine]

So Jasmine, riding the solo more these days?

I am actually.  It's amazing the number of issues that just don't happen on solo!  I rode the arrow last week on the back of the tandem and my bum hurt.  I also had to ride at a sub-optimal (for me) cadence & gear.  On the plus side, the mud-guards had returned 

[MattH]

I've ridden three times, and I've only ended up in the common room once. As I recall, a certain person who shall remain nameless (but was riding with Nuncio and myself) snuck into the last bed whilst we were eating. Not that I hold grudges. Oh no. I barely even have the event etched indelibly in my mind.

 

The sofas are comfortable if you can grab one. Teamed up with a YACF buff blindfold and LEL issue earplugs I slept soundly. Getting out is a bit of an obstacle course.


See my entry in the Audax song titles thread.

[miniog]

I've ridden three times, and I've only ended up in the common room once. As I recall, a certain person who shall remain nameless (but was riding with Nuncio and myself) snuck into the last bed whilst we were eating. Not that I hold grudges. Oh no. I barely even have the event etched indelibly in my mind.

That bed was particularly warm, dry and comfortable. I slept like a log.