Author Topic: TfL London Cycle Challenge 2011 (Read 5814 times)

Oaky · « **on:** 17 May, 2011, 08:02:14 pm »

It seems this is open for registration.

Looks like the same idea as last year. The logging period starts June 18th and finishes on the 15th July (... the Dun Run just falls outside this

).

I couldn't find a yACF team, so I set one up.

Greenbank · « **Reply #1 on:** 17 May, 2011, 11:59:04 pm »

I'll be signing up for work. I won't double log miles since I think that's taking the piss.

No big rides due in that time but I hope to put in a solid 600km through commuting and 'training'.

darkpoint · « **Reply #2 on:** 18 May, 2011, 09:30:48 am »

WARNING: The site sends you back your password in clear text, so don't use a good password for this website.
This resulted in them receiving the following grink email from me..

Quote

To: 'smartertravel@tfl.gov.uk'

Greetings,

I have just signed up for the cycle challenge. However I was furious to receive the conformation email bellow.

As your IT security department should tell you, you should never ever do the following things:

1) send the password in clear text over email.
2) send the user id and the password together
3) send a password over email, that is not a once use only let me re register password.
4) save clear text passwords on a database.
5) send the password in clear text over email. (yes I know that is the same as point 1 but it is very important and therefore worth saying again.)

Email is very insecure, it has no inbuilt encryption, you site rightly told me about password strength, and advised me to use a good password. Which was great, however then sending it to me in clear text just proves that you do not get security.

The password should be hashed the moment I give it to you, so that even you do not store the clear text version of my password, that hash is one way, so you can't easily decrypt my password.

In normal circumstances I would regard this as a security breach and instantly change the password on your site, however in this case, I believe that doing this would simply result in you revealing my password again.

Please review your security.

Regards

Me

Greenbank · « **Reply #3 on:** 18 May, 2011, 10:32:58 am »

Quote from: darkpoint on 18 May, 2011, 09:30:48 am

WARNING: The site sends you back your password in clear text, so don't use a good password for this website.

Thanks for the warning. Appropriate password chosen.

TimO · « **Reply #4 on:** 13 June, 2011, 05:41:20 pm »

The yACF team isn't gaining many members, it's only got five.

My work team is currently one of the largest, but I won't be signing up too either, since I'm not allowed to do any cycling within these dates.

LFGSS has 37 signed up to their team, which puts them at fifteenth place currently (I notice that Google, and various others, are just below them).

Redlight · « **Reply #5 on:** 14 June, 2011, 02:06:28 pm »

I'll sign in from home. Shame it's only July as there is a bike ride in France in August that would clock up a few miles.

Greenbank · « **Reply #6 on:** 14 June, 2011, 03:53:08 pm »

And it closes just before the Dun Run, otherwise I'd be adding another 250 miles.

Sergeant Pluck · « **Reply #7 on:** 22 June, 2011, 08:01:27 pm »

I see that we (the work team) have been moved to the NHS section, for starters (why? as in, why make this a separate section). Within that, we are in second place \o/ in a league of... 2

I'd rather be in the main rankings and that you could view more t han just the top 10 in the various sections.

Martin · « **Reply #8 on:** 22 June, 2011, 08:18:27 pm »

Quote from: Sergeant Pluck on 22 June, 2011, 08:01:27 pm

I see that we (the work team) have been moved to the NHS section, for starters (why? as in, why make this a separate section

+1

although we are easily leading that section

I'm in Imperial Star Fleet; graduated from newbie to Elite in one go after this weekend's fun in Sweden

clarion · « **Reply #9 on:** 22 June, 2011, 08:54:45 pm »

I should set up a work one and be in the NHS section.

By myself

TimO · « **Reply #10 on:** 23 June, 2011, 09:55:09 am »

Quote from: clarion on 22 June, 2011, 08:54:45 pm

I should set up a work one and be in the NHS section.

By myself

I'm not sure you can, it looks like you need at least two members for the smallest category.

The leading NHS 2-10 person team has currently only done 213 miles, which isn't all that much, you could give them a run for their money. Can you sign up the practice cat or something?

clarion · « **Reply #11 on:** 23 June, 2011, 10:13:33 am »

I considered that. Well, not the cat, exactly, but there is one other cyclist in the team who I can get to sign up, though she won't be awheel for awhile (also recovering from an operation). But I'm in the yacf team now, folks.

TimO · « **Reply #12 on:** 23 June, 2011, 03:37:50 pm »

I see that the top of 2-10 person teams list at the moment, is a courier company. I wonder if they've got all their working cycle couriers putting their mileage on there? Currently, if they've got the maximum number of people on their team (ie 10), then they're probably doing over 40 miles a day each, on average!

I think last year I did a couple of hundred miles a week on average, which is still only about 30 miles a day (that was with at least one long ride each weekend, I think the DunRun was one weekend, and there was probably the odd WARTY and FNRttC).

hatler · « **Reply #13 on:** 23 June, 2011, 04:05:24 pm »

I'm in.

jane · « **Reply #14 on:** 23 June, 2011, 05:44:54 pm »

40-50 miles sounds about right for a courier's working day. That was about my average back in the day. The miles soon mount up doing lots of little journeys. On Saturday I was surprised to find I had covered 30 miles just trundling round to a couple of friends in the evening and then dropping off a few bits and pieces to someone in North London.
I have formed a team at my school. We are currently top of our leader board. (under 250 pupils). The bulk of the miles are being done by me, my head and one of the governors. But plenty of the kids ride the short distance to school each day and ride round the estate a lot. Our youngest is in Year 1 and rides the half mile to and from every day. There were about 20 bikes jostling for space in our cramped wheel bender style rack for 6 today. We could do with the school prize which is cyclepod parking.
I have increased my commute to include my circuits of Greenwich Park and Blackheath, 12 miles each way, so am hoping to get close to 200 miles this week (with my weekend ride). The kids keep trying to come with me on the way home. Shame the A2 is at the beginning of it. They would love the rest of it.

clarion · « **Reply #15 on:** 23 June, 2011, 08:01:54 pm »

There's some major bullshitting going on on that board. Top of our section is one chap who's done 3319 miles.

Redlight · « **Reply #16 on:** 23 June, 2011, 09:30:09 pm »

I've been at Centerparcs in Suffolk all week so have been averaging about a mile a day very slowly. But plan to ride home tomorrow which should give me 100 or so for starters and have a 125 mile Audax to do on Sunday

Sergeant Pluck · « **Reply #17 on:** 23 June, 2011, 09:35:39 pm »

Why are certain teams greyed out and ineligible for prizes?

clarion · « **Reply #18 on:** 23 June, 2011, 09:47:36 pm »

Because they are TfL or otherwise associated (Police etc)

jane · « **Reply #19 on:** 24 June, 2011, 06:24:31 am »

The team

Quote from: clarion on 23 June, 2011, 09:47:36 pm

Because they are TfL or otherwise associated (Police etc)

The team below our school is greyed out. They are a private school on Wandsworth Common. So I'm guessing that's made them ineligible for prizes. Which gives us a bit more of a chance.
The top small team made me chuckle. I don't think the organisers will accept that surely. In a school team, the children are not supposed to join themselves. The team leader logs their miles. I will do that on Fridays. Already I have had to tell a couple of kids, well no I will not be logging 200 miles for you this week, despite what you say. I know the children and I know the kind of cycling they do and I will largely log their school journey, and I won't accept anything else unless they have some kind of proof of a weekend ride of substance. Surely the Challenge organisers will likewise exercise their powers of credulity assessment and scrub out people like Sandwich Man.

Sergeant Pluck · « **Reply #20 on:** 24 June, 2011, 10:15:19 pm »

Quote from: Martin on 22 June, 2011, 08:18:27 pm

Quote from: Sergeant Pluck on 22 June, 2011, 08:01:27 pm
I see that we (the work team) have been moved to the NHS section, for starters (why? as in, why make this a separate section

+1 although we are easily leading that section

I'm in Imperial Star Fleet; graduated from newbie to Elite in one go after this weekend's fun in Sweden

You must have gone over the 100 members - thus leaving us as the only team in its category

clarion · « **Reply #21 on:** 04 July, 2011, 08:35:13 pm »

There are a couple of people who haven't logged any miles yet for our team. And room for one new member before we have to go up a group.

Hope everyone else is remembering to enter their miles. You can do it retrospectively if you want.

Sergeant Pluck · « **Reply #22 on:** 04 July, 2011, 09:27:25 pm »

Our team, the only team in the 51 - 100 group: 20139 points / 4893 miles
The top team in the 11 - 50 member group: 18153 /4094

The odd thing is that I can only count 46 members in our team

There's a huge range of mileages, from 2 miles per day to what looks like serious roadie mileage, and I see someone has a 40 mile per day commute.

Wowbagger · « **Reply #23 on:** 04 July, 2011, 09:32:33 pm »

I thought I was a member. It didn't seem to recognise me, or maybe I had my password wrong.

I've requested a new password, which has yet to arrive.

Can someone please inform me: can you see if I have signed up to YACF; and what are the start / end dates for logging miles?

Martin · « **Reply #24 on:** 04 July, 2011, 09:37:54 pm »

why don't Imperial Star Fleet feature in the ALL 100+ Leaderboard? we'd be 2nd if we did