[HAMR] Tommy Godwin record

[Karla]

Here's a sponsorship offer for you: if you crash, get pneumonia or otherwise damage yourself, my employer will patch you up for free!

That is good news!
I have heard that I need psychological help. Can we arrange for me to meet your employer?

Sure, just walk in here and tell them that you're mad and you'll ride 75,000 miles to prove your point.

[Jaded]

There's a bed here too, some 110km as the crow flies. Plus I'd be happy to forgo some beer to fund you. 

[Rainmaker]

Re possible sponsorship by AUK.

Is it too late to submit a proposal to the AGM requesting the board to back this effort.   I cannot think of a better way of gaining publicity for long distance cycling.    When you see programmes on TV where "celebrities" do "epic" cycles rides with teams of supporters, following cars, police escorts etc. then a 12 month, unsupported (on the road) ride must surely be worthy of a lot of air time.    If the ride is officially endorsed by AUK the resulting publicity could be enormous.
All Steve has to do is break the record, simples!

     

[Ivan]

Live tracking of your progress to allow supporters/sponsors to follow you would really help. Something you can just fit and forget like the Spot tracker looks ideal (as used in the Transcontinental Race), so I would factor in the cost of this as well - looks like around £300 for the device + 1 year's tracking plan.

[haroldheyworth]

Just a few hopefully helpful bits:
Routes: have you got them all in your head? Get them laid out in paper on the walls floor etc. Avoiding where?
Food: any possible sponsorship to help save time cooking at home etc which leads on to all the domestic stuff - shopping home deliveries weekly. How about decent cafes/turning points
Bikebits/repairs etc hate to say it but ....Halfords even if just for spares repairs. Wiggle would be really handy, - worth a letter even if it fails
Sponsorship: general letter ( email if you have to) get written + sent now.
Management - looks like no.1 item. I am no help.
Authentication. The RRA has the stiffest rules but this is not an RRA ride - correct? Talk to John Taylor and Brian Edrupt for the total gen on getting the best verification
I'm in for some time help and money assistance but as said above coordination and management are key ( I'm sure you can do the ride no problem)

[JamesBradbury]

Good luck, I'll certainly chip in.

Actually, if you want a website, I'll do it! Can't commit to daily updates next year, but I can build the thing so anyone can update it. For what I've done before see this: http://4000.org.uk/.

(Background: I used to sail one of those until my daughter was born so I sold it... and bought a bike).

[bikey-mikey]

I'm looking at this from my perspective, asking myself how I would organise it (for Steve, not me -  I don't have the legs to do it!)

My idea would be to have a group of helpers, each offering a 'base' where he could stay, who could feed him, wash clothes, charge things that need charging, download GPX files, and do basic mechanical bike maintenance.

They'd need to be spaced out far enough apart for Steve to get his wanted distance each day, and if the rules allowed it, how about seven bases, with seven routes, each leading to the next base?

Each base could have a spare bike, even if some had to be ferried about by volunteers.

This approach would mean that everyone got into a routine, and that would have to help....

[JamesBradbury]

If you have more than one base you might also be able to decide which way to go based on the wind forecast. Of course you can't keep going the same direction for days at a time, but you might be able to plan to take the headwind on a lighter wind day... A few hours more tailwind when possible would be sure to help.

[bikey-mikey]

If you have more than one base you might also be able to decide which way to go based on the wind forecast. Of course you can't keep going the same direction for days at a time, but you might be able to plan to take the headwind on a lighter wind day... A few hours more tailwind when possible would be sure to help.

I thought that but decided to keep it simple.

Generally the wind is either SW or NE so bases along the A38, backed up with super quick M5 'delivery to start' or 'recovery from finish' would be the way to go...

[Euan Uzami]

Sounds awesome audacity, and I hope you break the record and become (in)famous.

Thoughts are, the more publicity you get the more pressure there will be on guiness to recognise it - their insistence that the 1939 ride is still the record will start to look incredulous as knowledge spreads that, in fact, it's not.

Have you considered what you will do after? Will you still be able to walk? Have you considered the fact that you may not want to (or be able to) stop? You may have got used to the lifestyle of cycling continually and have enough provisions donated, you might think, why not just carry on going? You might just carry on banging out 70,000 miles a year for life.

On a more serious note, have you considered that there might be a better country than britain to attempt it in, especially during the winter (and summer even)? The time lost on the flight would probably be more than made up for in terms of the greater amount of mileage done due to the absence of snow.
I was thinking spain but it's quite mountainous. Maybe even the USA (and canada)? Stay in the south in the winter, and move up to canada during summer, and back down when it gets colder again. Plenty of suitable space between the mountainous west and the urban east i would have thought?

Also, PBP? you won't want to be queueing at the bike check desk. You may want to (get someone to) have a word to see if you can get special dispensation, or just not bother having it validated but seeing if you can still get food/sleep at the controls.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I doubt that PBP will be a problem as PBP has accommodated deserving special cases previously. Preparations will be made to minimise Steve wasting time in queues.

[Euan Uzami]

I doubt that PBP will be a problem as PBP has accommodated deserving special cases previously. Preparations will be made to minimise Steve wasting time in queues.

in fact you could do worse than doing PBP several times, if you can get accomodation.

[caerau]

Blimey when I started this thread I was joking

[zigzag]

best of luck teethgrinder, you'll smash it!

as for the organisation of your next year i think you need at least two managers with their teams - pr and logistics. you also need to very clearly write down your prefererences and requirements that you expect from the support/volunteers. your daily routine should be systemised like a business model (e.g. mcdonalds) so that virtually anyone willing to help you could read an a4 sheet of instructions and be ready to assist you. this should include things you like/don't like to eat and how do you like them prepared, things to do on your bikes daily/weekly/monthly and so on and so forth. i'm willing to help you in one way or another. is this the bike(s) you are planning to ride?

[teethgrinder]

Blimey when I started this thread I was joking

Bugger...

[caerau]

Blimey when I started this thread I was joking

Bugger...

 

[danridesbikes]

any links to "the" book, as there seem to be a couple

[teethgrinder]

any links to "the" book, as there seem to be a couple

This is the book I have, what Dave Barter calls, "The Pamphlet," on account of it being waffer theen 102 pages all in.

[Kim]

Blimey when I started this thread I was joking

Bugger...

This is going to be POTY sometime in 2015, I think...

[rabbit]

You are welcome to use my house as a base in Malvern whenever you need it. 

I will definitely donate a little cash.

I think this is utterly awesome and would love to help out, even if it is only in the smallest of ways.   

[MikeFromLFE]

Just another consideration 
Health.
You are a very experienced rider, so you know which bits of your body break. But this is taking your body and mind to the next level.
You don't want to be wasting riding time trying to get to an unsympathetic GP miles from home, or using untried medication with unpredictable results.
Do you need to consider having an arrangement with a registered doctor who can issue you with 'private' prescriptions following phone or Skype consultations?
Equally it is well known that when Tommy Godwin finished his year he had to relearn how to walk - do you need a similar arrangement with a physiotherapist to try to avoid some of Tommy's issues?
Finally - don't ignore the psychological issues that might possibly arise during this challenge. Both during the year and afterwards (success might be as bad as failure). I would suggest you seriously consider some sort of psychological support before, during and after the event, just for your own peace of mind, and that of your loved ones.
I wish you every success (and if you need a bed and shower in Leicester.........)

[Aunt Maud]

Live tracking of your progress to allow supporters/sponsors to follow you would really help. Something you can just fit and forget like the Spot tracker looks ideal (as used in the Transcontinental Race), so I would factor in the cost of this as well - looks like around £300 for the device + 1 year's tracking plan.

Raspberry Pi has a gps tracker + live web feed to watch him suffer, with a 3 mobile dongle should give you all you need for £100.00 plus dongle data subscription. It can be battery operated and sit on the handlebars.

[andyoxon]

I was wondering... if re. 'validation'/web progress updates, if a bar-extender mounted, rear & front facing, wide-angle action camera (from a sponsor e.g. garmin), set to produce appropriate time lapse would be good.  As a bonus, at the end of the year, a single timelapse video of the all 365 days could be created, placed on youtube, for which adverts could be placed, to generate some income for expenses/charities!  edit. powering it would be an issue, hub dynamos I guess.

[Aunt Maud]

I make time lapse movies for a living, you could power it with one of these.

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/power-banks/7757517/

www.adamwilson.co

[Dibdib]

Live tracking of your progress to allow supporters/sponsors to follow you would really help. Something you can just fit and forget like the Spot tracker looks ideal (as used in the Transcontinental Race), so I would factor in the cost of this as well - looks like around £300 for the device + 1 year's tracking plan.

Raspberry Pi has a gps tracker + live web feed to watch him suffer, with a 3 mobile dongle should give you all you need for £100.00 plus dongle data subscription. It can be battery operated and sit on the handlebars.

By the time you've bought a RasPi, a battery pack, a GPS breakout and a 3G dongle you might as well just do it on a cheap Android handset. Comes with its own touchscreen too. Or, more easily, just use the dedicated tracker which will probably pay for itself in reduced faffing time.

TG, best of luck with it.