Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => Freewheeling => The Dark Side => Topic started by: Torslanda on 10 May, 2018, 12:51:05 pm
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13-15th July 2018 Betteshanger, Kent (http://wc2018.bhpc.org.uk/)
Ever since the demise of Cyclefest in Lancaster, there's been some silliness missing from my life. I've always loved recumbents and HPVs and, like Redshift OTP, a particular admiration for Mr. Burrows Windcheetahs, Ratcatchers and the like.
As part of the meeting this year there is a move to get as many of Mike's creations in one place as possible, to celebrate his 75th birthday.
So I'm going.
Redshift & I will be taking a Speedy each (#s 176 & 216 respectively) and making a 600 mile round trip for a weekend on the Kent coast. I doubt it gets much sillier but might if Arellcat pitches up with her velomobile. I reckon if you have to ask why then you wouldn't understand the answer...
We're looking to arrive on Friday afternoon. I'll be taking all the rubbish that goes to Long Itch or any other of Polar Bear's camping weekends. If you're going then look out for the gazebo with a couple of Speedies and possibly a pirate flag (if I can find it). Knowing me there won't be much riding but there may be beer and other silliness.
Anyone else planning on being there?
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I would like to be there, but it all depends if I can borrow a car that the Windcheetah fits in (It's been in mine, but I'm restricted to using 5th gear... :facepalm:
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I was seriously considering turning up, even though I'm Burrows-less. It looks like fun...
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I was seriously considering turning up, even though I'm Burrows-less. It looks like fun...
It's not a condition of attendance!
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I was seriously considering turning up, even though I'm Burrows-less. It looks like fun...
It's not a condition of attendance!
It's worse than that, people were trying to persuade me to enter the racing the other week...
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I would like to watch but the overnight 300 brevet that weekend will stop me riding (luckily for me).
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The only 'racing' I would be able to take part in would be downhill. 8)
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The only 'racing' I would be able to take part in would be downhill. 8)
I'd pay to watch that. :demon:
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On a drift trike . . .
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Since it’s just 20 miles down the road from me, it would be rude not to. I’ll have to make sure my diary is clear that weekend. Will be good to put a few more faces to names.
The Betteshanger track is where my club holds its regular Wednesday night 10. I suspect the BHPC racers will be going somewhat faster than my time around the circuit.
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The only 'racing' I would be able to take part in would be downhill. 8)
I'd pay to watch that. :demon:
I keep thinking YACF really ought to have a freewheeling competition. We could take inspiration from the BHPC categories for things like fared and multitrack, but have extra ones for those riding fixed[1], electric-assisted[2] or carrying BEER/anvils[3]/pies/children/christmas trees/full touring kit...
[1] Obviously a YACF freewheeling competition would allow people on fixed. Feet off the pedals at all times!
[2] Assistance level must be set to zero or lower. Dark-emitting diodes are permitted.
[3] When wearing ACME kit.
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If we're going to do it then we need a gert big hill with a long run out at the bottom.
e.g. Set off from the radio mast above Jct 22 M62 and roll down towards Ripponden on teh A672 (https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Unnamed+Road,+Ripponden,+Sowerby+Bridge/The+Turnpike/@53.634673,-2.0287978,13z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x487bc731d74f9f29:0xcd6cd5d574dc6a4c!2m2!1d-2.0266186!2d53.6255921!1m5!1m1!1s0x487bc3fd5b59c061:0x9d3b7343f08280eb!2m2!1d-1.960998!2d53.643917!3e1).
Pedalling allowed for the first 200m, finish line at The Turnpike Inn by the dam.
3.1 miles. 472ft descent.
Prizes for:
Lowest ET
Highest maximum velocity,
Coolest hair,
Hair most likely to be caught in transmission/brakes/rear wheel,
Facial hair
Most outrageous attempt to gain unfair advantage
Most outrageous aero position
Loudest OMG! on fastest section of the course
Best mandolin player
Worst banjo player
Best cornering face
Most scared expression
Best cornering skills
Best/Worst road rash (depends on your POV) [Instant win if MEDEVAC required]
Biggest off (extra points awarded for falling into the valley, instant win if you end up in the lake)
...and anything else you can think of.
So who has access to timing & speed trap equipment...?
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Or, if you carry on to Rishworth (https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Unnamed+Road,+Ripponden,+Sowerby+Bridge/Rishworth/@53.6478519,-1.9893157,14z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x487bc731d74f9f29:0xcd6cd5d574dc6a4c!2m2!1d-2.0266186!2d53.6255921!1m5!1m1!1s0x487bc140d1dc9023:0xafbab7bee8b7bd68!2m2!1d-1.9491488!2d53.6609572!3e1).
4.7 miles, 810 feet descent. That's. Just. Mental.
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why not combine it with an aerial component as well? They have a big ski-jump at Garmisch. Points for distance, style and execution of tricks
We just need a big crash mat for the landings, anyone know a stuntman?
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I'll do the jokes...
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If we're going to do it then we need a gert big hill with a long run out at the bottom.
e.g. Set off from the radio mast above Jct 22 M62 and roll down towards Ripponden on teh A672 (https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Unnamed+Road,+Ripponden,+Sowerby+Bridge/The+Turnpike/@53.634673,-2.0287978,13z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x487bc731d74f9f29:0xcd6cd5d574dc6a4c!2m2!1d-2.0266186!2d53.6255921!1m5!1m1!1s0x487bc3fd5b59c061:0x9d3b7343f08280eb!2m2!1d-1.960998!2d53.643917!3e1).
Pedalling allowed for the first 200m, finish line at The Turnpike Inn by the dam.
3.1 miles. 472ft descent.
Prizes for:
Lowest ET
Highest maximum velocity,
Coolest hair,
Hair most likely to be caught in transmission/brakes/rear wheel,
Facial hair
Most outrageous attempt to gain unfair advantage
Most outrageous aero position
Loudest OMG! on fastest section of the course
Best mandolin player
Worst banjo player
Best cornering face
Most scared expression
Best cornering skills
Best/Worst road rash (depends on your POV) [Instant win if MEDEVAC required]
Biggest off (extra points awarded for falling into the valley, instant win if you end up in the lake)
...and anything else you can think of.
So who has access to timing & speed trap equipment...?
Fastest strava speed for an upwrong is 52mph, we're gonna need a bigger 'ill
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I'll be racing, not as fast as a lot though, No 567 is me.
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I miss Cyclefest. BikeRite never quite had the same sort of magic.
Redshift & I will be taking a Speedy each (#s 176 & 216 respectively) and making a 600 mile round trip for a weekend on the Kent coast. I doubt it gets much sillier but might if Arellcat pitches up with her velomobile. I reckon if you have to ask why then you wouldn't understand the answer.
I would dearly love to be there, as a distant BHPC member too, but the prospect of driving there and back again worries my bank balance. I'm also supposed to be coordinating Important1 Stuff at work around then, and also looking after2 cats3 while my parents are away.
1 -ish
2 This would perhaps be easier if my own house had anywhere to put a catflap.
3 Of course, they daren't board them, for fear the big one, who was rescued, might get the fear that he was being taken away again.
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Fastest strava speed for an upwrong is 52mph, we're gonna need a bigger 'ill
Nah. Just need to go faster! MOAR VOLTZ IGOR! :demon:
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In the interests of you-only-get-to-do-this-sort-of-thing-once silliness, I've confirmed that my silly bike will fit in Co-Wheels's silly car and I have now signed up.
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MOAR silliness! Go Kim!
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Excellent. In that case I’ll definitely be there to laugh at you/cheer you on.
Which race have you entered?
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We should also have a yacf e cycle race sometime . As for the kent bhpc event , if there is a a campsite nearby and if I have fund's I would like to come and watch the fun :)
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Camping available on-site, £10.50 per night. Book via the BHPC shop (https://shop.bhpc.org.uk/wc2018-registration-2).
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Good to know thanks mr larrington . I hope that funds permit me to come :)
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If we're going to do it then we need a gert big hill with a long run out at the bottom.
e.g. Set off from the radio mast above Jct 22 M62 and roll down towards Ripponden on teh A672 (https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Unnamed+Road,+Ripponden,+Sowerby+Bridge/The+Turnpike/@53.634673,-2.0287978,13z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x487bc731d74f9f29:0xcd6cd5d574dc6a4c!2m2!1d-2.0266186!2d53.6255921!1m5!1m1!1s0x487bc3fd5b59c061:0x9d3b7343f08280eb!2m2!1d-1.960998!2d53.643917!3e1).
Pedalling allowed for the first 200m, finish line at The Turnpike Inn by the dam.
3.1 miles. 472ft descent.
Prizes for:
Lowest ET
Highest maximum velocity,
Coolest hair,
Hair most likely to be caught in transmission/brakes/rear wheel,
Facial hair
Most outrageous attempt to gain unfair advantage
Most outrageous aero position
Loudest OMG! on fastest section of the course
Best mandolin player
Worst banjo player
Best cornering face
Most scared expression
Best cornering skills
Best/Worst road rash (depends on your POV) [Instant win if MEDEVAC required]
Biggest off (extra points awarded for falling into the valley, instant win if you end up in the lake)
...and anything else you can think of.
So who has access to timing & speed trap equipment...?
Fastest strava speed for an upwrong is 52mph, we're gonna need a bigger 'ill
Wot you need is the hill between Concocha and Paramonga
For the Optimists it descends from 4095m to 16m over 72 miles of continuous downhill
For the Pessimists it is climbs from 16m to 4095m over 72 miles of continuous climbing
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(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4105/4975537098_44c8dab20e_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/8zEVQo)
Yee-hah! (https://flic.kr/p/8zEVQo) by Mr Larrington (https://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_larrington/), on Flickr
About 80 of those 99 are uphill from where the photo was taken. About ten minutes after taking it I passed a bloke on a well-laden tourer, going up. It was raining. Rispek.
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If we're going to do it then we need a gert big hill with a long run out at the bottom.
e.g. Set off from the radio mast above Jct 22 M62 and roll down towards Ripponden on teh A672 (https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Unnamed+Road,+Ripponden,+Sowerby+Bridge/The+Turnpike/@53.634673,-2.0287978,13z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x487bc731d74f9f29:0xcd6cd5d574dc6a4c!2m2!1d-2.0266186!2d53.6255921!1m5!1m1!1s0x487bc3fd5b59c061:0x9d3b7343f08280eb!2m2!1d-1.960998!2d53.643917!3e1).
Pedalling allowed for the first 200m, finish line at The Turnpike Inn by the dam.
3.1 miles. 472ft descent.
Prizes for:
Lowest ET
Highest maximum velocity,
Coolest hair,
Hair most likely to be caught in transmission/brakes/rear wheel,
Facial hair
Most outrageous attempt to gain unfair advantage
Most outrageous aero position
Loudest OMG! on fastest section of the course
Best mandolin player
Worst banjo player
Best cornering face
Most scared expression
Best cornering skills
Best/Worst road rash (depends on your POV) [Instant win if MEDEVAC required]
Biggest off (extra points awarded for falling into the valley, instant win if you end up in the lake)
...and anything else you can think of.
So who has access to timing & speed trap equipment...?
I would have thought an essential requirement for the hill is pubs top and bottom (preferably with good, cheap food for ballasting competitors participants and spectators.
Are lead-weighted bidons considered bad form for this sort of event?
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Hartside Cafe -> Alston, 5.75 mile, -1000 feet, 10-15 minutes.
That's one of the better descents I know about with food at the top and beer at the bottom ....... ;D
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Might there be a category for proto hobby-horses? I could take the transmission and seat off the Dino and put a set of drops on the forks for a sort of Beasty2 (to be ridden prone, à l'Obree). Almost worth the trip from France to do that! 8)
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Tim Elsdale raced a machine called "Cool Breeze" (https://issuu.com/encycleopedia/docs/enc2001_complete_lr_opt/56)for a couple of seasons
(https://www.cyclechat.net/attachments/38592-jpg.296711/)
(https://www.cyclechat.net/attachments/1_030802_interlaken_019-2d8d0e2-jpg.296710/)
At one point there was a rear fairing, which covered the body as far forward as the mid torso.... looked like a cross between a slug and a cycle-based centaur
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Won the unfaired class in, IIRC, 1999 with his tame gorilla Matt Norman finishing second coz he didn't do all the races.
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Tim Elsdale raced a machine called "Cool Breeze" (https://issuu.com/encycleopedia/docs/enc2001_complete_lr_opt/56)for a couple of seasons
(https://www.cyclechat.net/attachments/38592-jpg.296711/)
(https://www.cyclechat.net/attachments/1_030802_interlaken_019-2d8d0e2-jpg.296710/)
At one point there was a rear fairing, which covered the body as far forward as the mid torso.... looked like a cross between a slug and a cycle-based centaur
What a mchine, I am impressed. Did he ever have a problem with his knees decking out? What do all the cables to the front wheel do, 3 brakes?
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Not really clear but it looks like he used STi levers on the controls down at the front axle. What look like the bars are actually shoulder supports (?) and there doesn't seem to be derailleur at the crank. I think it's front brake rear brake and rear derailleur.
I think it's been said before but imagine ploughing into a big pile of dog emptyings . . .
Ew!
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I actually go to ride this, albeit on rollers at a Cycle Show in London, and saw it racing at Goodwood in the World Championships when it had the rear fairing
It was surprisingly comfortable
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Is that an absolute or relative assessment?
Looked like it'd kill me, turned out I got half an hour before something fell off. Surprisingly comfortable. O:-)
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(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4105/4975537098_44c8dab20e_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/8zEVQo)
Yee-hah! (https://flic.kr/p/8zEVQo) by Mr Larrington (https://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_larrington/), on Flickr
About 80 of those 99 are uphill from where the photo was taken. About ten minutes after taking it I passed a bloke on a well-laden tourer, going up. It was raining. Rispek.
Dave. What was that hill we used to do in the Darlington time trial? In the Kingcycle Wasp I hit 70 mph overtaking Slash and went through the village at the bottom at 50 mph.
I won't be overtaking him in the Worlds, I'm still creeping along despite my best efforts.
All the best.
Roy
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I think it was the A68 into West Auckland. I had 90 km/h on the clock on the Kingcycle one year when Wilko passed me like I was tied to a tree.
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I might find myself there on the Sunday. Will any of the YACF massive still be around then?
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I'll be there for the duration.
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Hopefully arriving late Thursday departing Sunday.
From a purely selfish POV, I'm hoping that INGERLUND make it to the final of the foopball cos it will mean the road North will be quieter than you'd expect.
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I'm planning to arrive at some point on Friday morning, leaving Sunday evening.
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Apologies to everyone. A death in the family now prevents me attending.
Have a good one.
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:(
Condolences.
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Sorry to hear that, Torslanda. :(
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Condolences from me as well.
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Bah! I was keeping an eye out but last read the forum on Thursday am so didn't see the bad news. Kudos to Kim for her second place in the Women's Unfaired class, narrowly beaten by some beastly FOREIGN and her sneaky tactics viz. shamelessly let Kim do most of the work in the 1-hour race before outsprinting her and latching onto a group of faster chaps in the 3-hour >:(
Anyone who completed even half the 3-hour race this afternoon deserved Max RISPEK. Thoroughly deserving World Champion is Charles Henry of Switzerland riding a very very gorgeous fully-faired Birk. I haz pictures but they're staying on the camera until tomorrow because I am tired and hungry and covered in coal dust.
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I too has pictures and I too am tired and hungry. The Boy and I had to escape sharpish afterwards, pausing briefly to chat to Kim ("I'm off to the loos to throw up" were more or less her words), snap a couple of pics of the Charles Henry ridiculously fast bike and of Mr Larrington in his Marshall's hi viz.
Noob question: is there any rhyme or reason to the number system? We tried asking a passing Mike Burroughs but he tried to blame someone else.
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Bah! I was keeping an eye out but last read the forum on Thursday am so didn't see the bad news. Kudos to Kim for her second place in the Women's Unfaired class, narrowly beaten by some beastly FOREIGN and her sneaky tactics viz. shamelessly let Kim do most of the work in the 1-hour race before outsprinting her and latching onto a group of faster chaps in the 3-hour >:(
And impressively staying ~2 minutes out of phase with me for the entire duration. Given that I spent the first half of the 3 hour race taking turns in slightly slower groups in order to pace myself, with hindsight I could probably have given it a modicum more beans for Old Blighty and made the failure a bit more heroic, at least.
In conclusion, I appear to be best at races that don't require oxygen. I think I may have worked that out on a school sports day back in the mid-1980s, but it's good to have it confirmed.
The number system for the world championships appears to be the order people signed up in, starting at 500. The usual BHPC number system seems semi-arbitrary, with the allocation process being manipulated for comedy value where necessary.
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Well done Kim! We knew you could do it! Medal trophy cup Recumbent's coming home etc etc!
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(Tiny niggle) The results page is slightly awry. The button pointing to the 3hr race results brings up results claimiing to be the 1 h criterium. Mind you, they show Stephen Slade doing 2079.6 mph. I know he's fast, but...
The url is right, IYSWIM.
http://www.bhpc.org.uk/Data/Sites/1/media/events/events18/wc2018/05-3hr/3hr-wc2018.html
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(Tiny niggle) The results page is slightly awry. The button pointing to the 3hr race results brings up results claimiing to be the 1 h criterium. Mind you, they show Stephen Slade doing 2079.6 mph. I know he's fast, but...
The url is right, IYSWIM.
http://www.bhpc.org.uk/Data/Sites/1/media/events/events18/wc2018/05-3hr/3hr-wc2018.html
I expect the Organisators will be on the case when they get home and have been jet-washed to remove the coal dust ;D
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(Tiny niggle) The results page is slightly awry. The button pointing to the 3hr race results brings up results claimiing to be the 1 h criterium. Mind you, they show Stephen Slade doing 2079.6 mph. I know he's fast, but...
The url is right, IYSWIM.
http://www.bhpc.org.uk/Data/Sites/1/media/events/events18/wc2018/05-3hr/3hr-wc2018.html
Yeah, that looks like test data, it's been there since before the event, and is being replaced with the real data as and when it becomes available.
The 3hr results (and the final overall results table) are on my laptop buried somewhere in the back of my chaotically packed car. Once I've finished breakfast, I'll be driving home from Betteshanger. As long as I don't crash (or get my car nicked), the results will go online this evening or tomorrow...
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So now I've met a former unfaired recumbent world champ woman (French, now just returned from cycletouring) and the current silver medalist unfaired etc. Good work Kim.
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Yeah, congratulations Kim. Unfortunately, I didn't make it down there this weekend - too busy with other stuff (eg repairing windows, goddamit) - and it sounds like I missed a treat.
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Me photies are now on Flickr:
1 Lap TT (https://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_larrington/albums/72157695950686772)
1 Hour races (https://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_larrington/albums/72157698682285484)
15 Minute Criterium (https://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_larrington/albums/72157697472230351)
3 Hour Race (https://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_larrington/albums/72157698684708864)
O hai! I am made ov Win! (https://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_larrington/albums/72157693324246450)
The Whole Sort Ov General Mish-Mash (https://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_larrington/albums/72157671248746328)
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/833/42732594304_751063f849_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2878Hvj)
Women unfaired podium (https://flic.kr/p/2878Hvj) by Mr Larrington (https://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_larrington/), on Flickr
3rd: Rosmarie Bühler, 2nd: Kim, 1st: Anna May Brönnimann
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Slightly disappointed not to see any pics ov Teh Crimson Hay-Bailer or Pat Pending's Convertacar. You've captured just about everything else . . .
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A podium even Flatus can be envious of. :D
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I take it that Kim is the one in the geek black T’ ?
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I take it that Kim is the one in the geek black T’ ?
Indeed. That T-shirt was standard-issue.
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Some nice photos of the 15 minute criterium races by my friend Ben, who I'd given a headsup to on account of being local and having previous for photographing fast-moving vehicles: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bcc/sets/72157693279982710
I think this one sums up my weekend:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1767/43425428551_9a09d7b5a5_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/29amEZn)
Human Powered Vehicle World Championship 2018 (https://flic.kr/p/29amEZn) by Ben Charlton (https://www.flickr.com/photos/bcc/), on Flickr
But this one wins on sheer Wacky Races factor...
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/838/28555402677_331155fb4c_h.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/KvkUmV)
Human Powered Vehicle World Championship 2018 (https://flic.kr/p/KvkUmV) by Ben Charlton (https://www.flickr.com/photos/bcc/), on Flickr
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Well done Kim :thumbsup: Nice pottery. Battle Mountain next year ?
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Well done Kim :thumbsup: Nice pottery. Battle Mountain next year ?
Fuck no. :hand:
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Well done Kim :thumbsup: Nice pottery. Battle Mountain next year ?
Fuck no. :hand:
Though I an informed that the luckless Matthias König* is going this year to ride a bike built by Hans van Vugt. And if he does well, to get properly serious about it for 2019.
* self-digesting front spokes in the 1-Hour, attempting to follow Steve Slade through a bike-only sized gap in the 15 minute one and ending up on the grass.
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Thing 2
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1763/41617284280_6205321139_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/26pzsG9)Human Powered Vehicle World Championship 2018 (https://flic.kr/p/26pzsG9) by Ben Charlton (https://www.flickr.com/photos/bcc/), on Flickr
looks like a Jelcz 43 bus.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/76/Stocznia_Gda%C5%84ska_Jelcz_043.JPG/1024px-Stocznia_Gda%C5%84ska_Jelcz_043.JPG)
I expect the Thing is faster but I'm far from certain which makes a better cucumber sandwich.
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Thing 1 had a teeny camera mounted above the cockpit, Improvement of Forward Vision for the use of. Thing 2 did not. Stationed, as i was, on the outside of a bend, this meant on a couple of occasions that Thing 2 got closer than is perhaps comfortable, steering in what looked like "ooh, there's the edge of the track, left hand down a bit" stylee.
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I was about to enquire if the winner had been handed a model of an upwrong bicycle but closer investigation of the photo reveals that it is in fact a recumbent.
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(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1767/43425428551_9a09d7b5a5_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/29amEZn)
Human Powered Vehicle World Championship 2018 (https://flic.kr/p/29amEZn) by Ben Charlton (https://www.flickr.com/photos/bcc/), on Flickr
Ms Brönnimann doesn't seem to have an awful lot of shin clearance under her bars. Or is that a trick of the camera angle?
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These things can get a bit marginal. I remember Simon "Trigger" Thompson planing the skin off his shins with his forward-facing race number in the Hour at the 1990 Europeans. He very sensibly took up long-distance mountain bike racing not long after.
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(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/tPLv7yt_7zxhFD_tdJ26yrJ1K493PD-AvylZdcdjxX15ilqB0xR6pIsAcP7SwO299YqM75KVjjvQWIdk-GPoaCYI5ONeR88YE7nxyB0GEqyHCJEg43fFM4wBwABq9Hde-2Qkp0iHCzYM9rcxmtIjS-qMy4KQTYej6nnj6oGEjIe04QWmhJSv3ycS3ygp6m604wSlNux4FMC0MpAi6aq6kGiCSOCDr6BKFbcA83-rDnboFloRCAxZLCaPD4dZqmworUrCCUdlDDdihFH41QdMd0sbSPXxoUXQpCglEx9BzjW0WRnshwHRdtrO6oRo00S2xVhXwvOFLEPY894vPCQA1jkjxpR0HUVjarB7SOk7QOQKiYucj-nAELvljp7058sxdViRvnxCsKeiLl0hYYFl0UkopQ7RqOuWpTL4VZTbCb49397smXK7_N4ehBHv6PbiBpe-oqIZCFKaXTAEfvqob2jaAVGUMIwNc31rZDYb-DgdIUM6_u1Xl1e4Mn4ElPf83hwUZou6nWGV8bJztaY_lVLqdRqzLGixPVoDKqWUYnalI8VyOyL8hECxXoEBDDbqMfPVGPwfq5Sm03CXO1DJMx1qynxEZ2qMYPYIfoA=w1161-h778-no)
This is what champions do. Blow their nose while riding very fast. Note aerodynamic hair acting as vortex shedder.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/wMWaK694bp_nvf3n9quGj1Xw_hdqbGglngXs7tF7E-OTR2oWUwu8lrteZYoneSTJvKL_QEEz5Nqbyy3ax3ITqKEi5JLT4klNaSkWHE3DUEbkSy1V0j8zioUC-YMUAUhiNEI0ifI1gigyYLj8vVS5kQMnsomsGDxM1X_RnSgesqfFrk1TXR2RlKnwBpdAhYD5yyVG3w5ihv_V_khG1YOcphfaPMspl07KAcE32k7g7Eo08LvHr2mCL3tjHzb8hlrwrGMo_Nsr84r-0SY1FjeDxwiUPdLY8vjZp0M4J-CCOG9F7iiuRy_sudZdeKRtPzlizDvQcHaJHQ0zNExhoWD8AszQVMBG_7XGupLFKKCW0HUCki-7uD6EDHkwNEOoIBHQYo4xFfLHTKXLONjU1v8r8z9Do5Ajsb0j3aOGQRtMJrZKwo-I8KDMAzRDTMnL0r9f9ZheYRFyqFhlLdBjKgg_YhisF5j0owMNc-g6HjSPXZdJeG5sKUY5lwcqDP8e9CiltmjEJ_MjL8P_fxuYnJDisI9CKD7D8ECPV9_BjEOpg2WK5V0z4YHqE40Uod9_HoWemXKDPs32CwnP1-Gr1omxduiB8CtW5oSGjT-Gf7E=w521-h777-no)
A Mr Larrington, Sunday.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/i8jm4uvzo6FJ836Rc8hkVp2zUdLgznodqXBBxCIYM1dZyCY7SaOTeGuV4j9y_d57TkwPKouHpd7m6FFHuauFnD4t9ZC41ORQvAq2lNDw6jPyRvERlkYWNKHQ3R-Ls9an09LzfkiKI5ICzJTCKYTZpSxVl9oLgSZUDD8nhnnBXaJVyAgigFZBncJRtWlVDQd4RQdAShOtSZry96Zfc3vDirEFJFEH73pVu-z1dKupk26L_UwgRrWyqweTK1mF8zgauqFXrEVWMmcMXHaiNYQ8HVaRQinH_ccPKE8lntSJgSsl3EctiZf7Ajz4f4XYQerH-pSa5UaEfNTgZwxtn7D4M_GhyyreZxw0Ccte-rfdz_bIpWCvwBE48GXVMCWL9yAbwP1dNk5cHCWUI0Eea4ZBvKZO0Cpcb52x8GKIFBfmH7Jr2lMT-2_fD-0AC7dVqCUBjRm_LS0YqTYKOq0r3xsqMUD89qqXLyVWVgjalHvJEjkBu6DRYYvLwtoXFg6_8MDuaR964rpwYpwddCVlQBwnYBm4awapcexBqGzrGju4sFgRT3QLS7sZza3zSHNhPfxLJ-hOk8lf5QMEc3jG66HpG92VXQiDuqY4BbTUZec=w521-h777-no)
A very fast Charles Henry, knackered.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/w_oSqVdz_3E62v5rjbJxf7aqFsWozqsHFBWQCNy7WoiiYC4l5QBMCc6uMzWLRJGg6aupUen6Ag2fpCzgtmgcEM5MbLMOVfQFZvmmFjqKPI3eArCNOKmIbICf-MFHdeJu7J-qs8jMOUBwekkGA9PBOQ3rqDJOjO_U7u9OXkXNRUxANheJSAOUZ7T6aGGjBJOB-41Hqb5SxrVoAQxfen8TbsuRify0imfUKwbcA6aX3zR-scKeHfof3mpxVfwsPLobAhU0uD8BNrch0WLXYtlA4acAEGu_CCEdeq32gc9bgS_Rk7gM91_ZQaFghb4hWgZz-2azujMKjSEffU3S0f9MwsBCoExjq6rsGmL74JPSTI-aRWQ-ebx7nxung1bq3fZnHxUmBM_Rfnu1l920adyEFn3Qkzbt5TG50w0nbBgoOnKxzIwwb4l2-ebwD6SRoPzzqCQLxEx7WPnCZp6ypBzxWCMcjKRFwg_8Htc6TB1UEJl6MwtrgOoHl-pSjzA29XEhhUDExIjyYGkhRZZzp8iwkFh5tBhJUEZsUilGmHuReY-_owJ2ocLnwXZxNY6elYVXO3gN4AI0S50ES6W2uZ3TvFiguP5_Oa8tlwacXHM=w583-h777-no)
A The Boy, sitting.
Rest of the pics here: Linky (https://photos.app.goo.gl/mtaC5DYLcdWWRhZn9)
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These things can get a bit marginal. I remember Simon "Trigger" Thompson planing the skin off his shins with his forward-facing race number in the Hour at the 1990 Europeans. He very sensibly took up long-distance mountain bike racing not long after.
Indeed. I don't have an awful lot of thigh clearance in front of my brake levers, either, but thighs are squishier than shins and it's only an issue during low-speed wobble manoeuvres. (It's a tradeoff between brake lever ergonomics, a more aerodynamic elbow position, and how much the handlebars obstruct my view of the approaching potholes. If I were only using it on the track, I'd throw the latter out the window and fully recline the seat, but I reckoned that, in the interests of keeping all my skin, familiar handling beat aero gains in this instance. This was probably the right decision - I had a brief chainring guard vs windcheetah rear wheel moment in the 3 hour, but Nothing didn't happen.)
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I like that there gnuprite trikes and even bikes mixed in there. And a bloke racing in a civilian button-up shirt-style shirt.
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(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/tPLv7yt_7zxhFD_tdJ26yrJ1K493PD-AvylZdcdjxX15ilqB0xR6pIsAcP7SwO299YqM75KVjjvQWIdk-GPoaCYI5ONeR88YE7nxyB0GEqyHCJEg43fFM4wBwABq9Hde-2Qkp0iHCzYM9rcxmtIjS-qMy4KQTYej6nnj6oGEjIe04QWmhJSv3ycS3ygp6m604wSlNux4FMC0MpAi6aq6kGiCSOCDr6BKFbcA83-rDnboFloRCAxZLCaPD4dZqmworUrCCUdlDDdihFH41QdMd0sbSPXxoUXQpCglEx9BzjW0WRnshwHRdtrO6oRo00S2xVhXwvOFLEPY894vPCQA1jkjxpR0HUVjarB7SOk7QOQKiYucj-nAELvljp7058sxdViRvnxCsKeiLl0hYYFl0UkopQ7RqOuWpTL4VZTbCb49397smXK7_N4ehBHv6PbiBpe-oqIZCFKaXTAEfvqob2jaAVGUMIwNc31rZDYb-DgdIUM6_u1Xl1e4Mn4ElPf83hwUZou6nWGV8bJztaY_lVLqdRqzLGixPVoDKqWUYnalI8VyOyL8hECxXoEBDDbqMfPVGPwfq5Sm03CXO1DJMx1qynxEZ2qMYPYIfoA=w1161-h778-no)
This is what champions do. Blow their nose while riding very fast. Note aerodynamic hair acting as vortex shedder.
In the interests of accuracy, I was scraping bits of sweat-drowned beastie[1] from somewhere under my glasses, rather than actually blowing my nose.
On a related note, if you're going to draft a high-racer, you've got to watch out for snot-rockets. DAHIKT.
[1] Logically you'd expect some sort of small fly, but it's entirely possible that one of the millions ants from the camping field wasteland sneaked in under my helmet.
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I like that there gnuprite trikes and even bikes mixed in there. And a bloke racing in a civilian button-up shirt-style shirt.
If that's the guy on the Scorpion, it's because his faster machine was out of action for mechanical reasons, so he decided to bring the Vorsprung Durch HPVelotechnik Panzerliegedreirad and a Hawaiian shirt and generally not take things too seriously. :thumbsup:
The great thing about these events is that anything that's human powered and meets the safety rules (which are mostly about brakes, magic hats and stabby bits) can come and play.
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BHPC mandate majic plastic bonnets? Shame.
They're usually a condition of the use of the tracks, so I assume they require them for consistency as much as arse-covering. For the world championships they additionally enforced a standards-compliant helmet requirement for those in fully-enclosed machines - normally anything that prevents you bumping your head in a crash is permitted.
http://www.bhpc.org.uk/how-to-race-with-bhpc.aspx refers.
In practical terms, helmets make a useful place to attach the RFID tags[1] to something that's neither metal nor carbon fibre at a mostly-consistent height, and can function as an aerodynamic fairing for the head. They make more noise about the more significant safety benefits of chainring guards, mirrors, and elbow pads.
To be fair, this is the sort of situation where helmets are potentially worthwhile, so I don't mind wearing one (as long as there aren't ants in it). I'm already wearing mitts, elbow pads, non-sandal shoes and older shorts that I don't mind too much if they get torn.
[1] That usefully stays with the rider if they swap machines mid-race due to a mechanical.
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I've nothing really against helmets per se and have been known to wear one off road myself. I am however anti the usual guff that comes out of peoples mouths when they start tut tuting at me for not wearing one, usually while they are badly wearing a poorly fitting one themselves!
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Don't know what a Scorpion looks like, except the stingy arachnid of course, but it's number 612 on a gnunfaired tadpole trike.
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I've nothing really against helmets per se and have been known to wear one off road myself. I am however anti the usual guff that comes out of peoples mouths when they start tut tuting at me for not wearing one, usually while they are badly wearing a poorly fitting one themselves!
That's pretty much my position. I don't have a problem with a primarily racing-focussed[1] organisation requiring them for the races they're organising. It's not like it's an audax or anything (and indeed, I've specifically not entered open-road events because they require helmets in the past).
[1] AIUI the BHPC's mandate is much wider, but the track racing is the stuff they officially organise, on the basis that you don't need the same organisational resources to make a social ride or tour happen.
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Don't know what a Scorpion looks like, except the stingy arachnid of course, but it's number 612 on a gnunfaired tadpole trike.
Ah, not the one I was thinking of, which was Jemil Kewfi, no 522. The Scorpion is also a tadpole trike, built robustly for touring.
612 is apparently Nathaniel Olson on an ICE Sprint X. ie. a Sprint (ICE's mid-range model) built up with lightweight racing components, hardshell seat, etc.
To the untrained eye, they'll appear superficially similar. Unless you try to lift them.
(The website's (http://wc2018.bhpc.org.uk/results/) started working again, so I can look up race numbers.)
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BHPC mandate majic plastic bonnets? Shame.
They're usually a condition of the use of the tracks
That is certainly the case at Betteshanger. They introduced the rule a few years ago following An Incident, but I won't go into any more detail as I don't want to derail the thread...
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I'm busy geeking out on all the spiffy data on the results page. The whizzy coloured dots going round and round and round the track are wonderful.
Dumb question:
DF comes up as a vehicle type. Normally in recumbent circles this would mean Diamond Framed, ie upright, but it can't be I this case. What is it?
Bike spotting question:
No. 621, looks like a home made machine. Is the frame wood, or just painted to look like that? Picture here https://photos.app.goo.gl/SjcEYw3oVrsLuYou6 (https://photos.app.goo.gl/SjcEYw3oVrsLuYou6)
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DF comes up as a vehicle type. Normally in recumbent circles this would mean Diamond Framed, ie upright, but it can't be I this case. What is it?
A flavour of velomobile, m'lud.
No. 621, looks like a home made machine. Is the frame wood, or just painted to look like that? Picture here https://photos.app.goo.gl/SjcEYw3oVrsLuYou6 (https://photos.app.goo.gl/SjcEYw3oVrsLuYou6)
Looked like wood to me, up close and personal, like.
There are some more good bike-spotting photos (particularly from the queueueue for the time trials) at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/recumbents/, including a better look at 621:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1801/43464847611_a7774f3052_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/29dQGUk)
the worlds 2018 043 (https://flic.kr/p/29dQGUk) by speedmachine1 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/recumbents/), on Flickr
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I'm busy geeking out on all the spiffy data on the results page. The whizzy coloured dots going round and round and round the track are wonderful.
Dumb question:
DF comes up as a vehicle type. Normally in recumbent circles this would mean Diamond Framed, ie upright, but it can't be I this case. What is it?
As Kim notes, a velomobile. DF being the initials of designer/builder Daniel Fenn.
Bike spotting question:
No. 621, looks like a home made machine. Is the frame wood, or just painted to look like that? Picture here https://photos.app.goo.gl/SjcEYw3oVrsLuYou6 (https://photos.app.goo.gl/SjcEYw3oVrsLuYou6)
Looks a bit woody but may be that honeycomb material. My grate frend Mr Woolrich has built a Several of bikes from the stuff used for aircraft floors, skipweaselled during the time he worked for BA.
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Bike spotting question:
No. 621, looks like a home made machine. Is the frame wood, or just painted to look like that? Picture here https://photos.app.goo.gl/SjcEYw3oVrsLuYou6 (https://photos.app.goo.gl/SjcEYw3oVrsLuYou6)
Looks a bit woody but may be that honeycomb material. My grate frend Mr Woolrich has built a Several of bikes from the stuff used for aircraft floors, skipweaselled during the time he worked for BA.
Things 1 and 2 were molished from that wood-around-an-aluminium-honeycomb stuff, which isn't entirely obvious from the photos, and is much more impressive if you saw them as a box of CNCed bits in the process of being whittled with a stanley knife at the York Rally last month.
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I see from a photo up there ^, that Thing 2 was fitted with a camera. However I'm fairly sure it didn't have one in the 3 hour race, which explained the erratic steering. Did Something Happen?
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See if you can spot yourself...
https://youtu.be/6oCkaXxdp9M
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See if you can spot yourself...
https://youtu.be/6oCkaXxdp9M
Spotted myself at the start of the 3 hour, but I think that's it.
Love the audio on that. They've really captured the rumble of the velomobiles (at one point followed by a solitary bicycle twiddling along at about half the speed).
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Spotted me in the background when Charles Henry was being interviewed.
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I spotted a Kim in the background at 7:22 when a Velomobilist is being interviewed.
Velomobiles occupied by German geeks on a race track look far more in their element than on the road. Rather space age.
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Seeing the velomobiles cornering when shot from the rear puts me in mind of the alien fighters from Independence Day. Does Will Smith have a velomobile?
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I do like two wheel velomobiles, but they don't have look unstable.
The link to the Submarine racing championships was interesting as well :)
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Velomobiles occupied by German geeks on a race track look far more in their element than on the road.
They're especially in their element at Betteshanger. What the video doesn't capture is just how windy it is down there - especially on the lower section of the course, which isn't shown. It's close to the sea and very exposed.
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Charles Henry certainly looked a bit wobbly - though the sea breezes may have had something to do with it - but he said he learned more about cornering from following Steve Slade for an hour than from a couple of years riding the bike :D Steve is nearly always rock-solid, apart from the time the Little Black Number got away from him in Hove Park and lost an argument with a tree.
Nearly all the two-wheelers are pure racers, though. There's a modicum of luggage space in the Birk (and John Williams said he's seen its sister being used as a commuter in Australia :o) but only that one and Jemma Forey's Kingcycle could be really classed as road-going.
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How are places on the 'grid' allocated? Is it by lots or do the burghers of the BHPC know the capabilities of the competitors and allocate by arbitrary expected performance?
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Usually it's entirely down to the riders to find their own space though in the 3 hour some effort was made to put the fast boys and girls at the front.
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The Boy was a keen observer of Charles Henry's technique coming out of the corner by the teepees and giving it welly up the home straight. Things to do while marshsalling include counting the number of times he hit the bump in the otherwise smooooooooooth tarmac (ker-dunk, ker-dunk) and watching the wobble as he whizzed past the field at full chat.
I saw me from a distance in yellow at 2:08 and again around 4 minutes. Mr Larrington is seen lurking by the finish at 5:30 and a bit after.
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@Kim and anyone else who can answer: What does it feel like to be racing laps of a circuit? I was talking to someone last night who's done circuit racing (knupwrite) and says it's really rather boring going round and round the same track again and again. But maybe he wasn't concentrating sufficiently on winning; he certainly never got a 2nd place in a World Championship!
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Entirely depends on whether you're concentrating on beating the clock, or your position relative to other racers (eg. when riding in a group). Once you've got a feel for the track - where best to take the bend, which bit of that single bump is least likely to induce a scary wobble at 30mph, when to change gear, or how much extra beans you can give it on the climb, etc. time trials are indeed boring, and best kept to a lap or two[1]. Half the problem is that you don't have enough brain capacity left for arithmetic at race speed, so it's hard to work out whether you're actually doing well or not.
Staying in a group or overtaking requires concentration. More so than with upwrongs because even unfaired recumbents have a lot of feet and chainset blocking the view immediately to the front, and because the cornering dynamics of the different types of machine (especially bikes vs multitrack) can be quite different. Particularly important is not getting your pedals tangled in the wheels of upright trikes. Plus, unless you're at the top end of your group, you've got to be on the lookout for faster machines appearing from behind and aiming for that gap you wanted to use.
But, TBH, for me the sheer novelty value of being able to spool the Baron up to full speed in the corners without fear of pothole-related DETH is a strong motivating factor.
[1] I went back on Saturday evening and had another crack at the single lap of the lower loop on my Brompton. Annoyingly, according to Strava, I was 8 seconds faster, though I suspect this is as much to do with favourable wind and not having stood around in the sun for half an hour as it is about acceleration.
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I don't know about racing on tarmac, but cyclocross racing is too intense to ever get boring.
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He was talking about tarmac short circuits, like old airfields. I'm sure cyclocross is something else again.
Particularly important is not getting your pedals tangled in the wheels of upright trikes.
:o :o :o
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I don't know about racing on tarmac, but cyclocross racing is too intense to ever get boring.
Depends on the tarmac. Betteshanger is fast and relatively benign. That track at Lincoln a couple of months ago was relatively short and all scary corners (with a sudden-death pothole and bonus lemming dog-emptiers). Frustrating for the fully-faired contingent, who never got properly up to speed, but it taught me to stop worrying and learn to love my tyres.
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Depends on the length of the circuit, the tightness of the corners and whether you have company. Castle Combe's 1.84 miles on your own was deadly tedious; Thruxton's similar length in a bunch was lots of fun and most of the short tracks are rarely dull.
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I've just been watching this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgiLLmovFcE&feature=youtu.be (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgiLLmovFcE&feature=youtu.be)
:thumbsup:
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I've just been watching this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgiLLmovFcE&feature=youtu.be (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgiLLmovFcE&feature=youtu.be)
:thumbsup:
Nice. I'd be interested in the "Construction and use" Laws for this sort of thing. Brakes, Lights, Mudguards and so on.
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Nice. I'd be interested in the "Construction and use" Laws for this sort of thing. Brakes, Lights, Mudguards and so on.
For BHPC races it amounts to event-appropriate brakes, no stabby or fally-off bits, magic hats required, but within that pretty much anything goes: http://www.bhpc.org.uk/how-to-race-with-bhpc.aspx
For public roads, it's a pedal cycle. The usual laws apply. Many of these racing machines aren't road-legal as they only have one brake, for example[1]. In normal BHPC events[2], there are specific classes for road-legal part-faired/unfaired cycles.
[1] Let's not get into the it's-illegal-to-ride-a-velomobile-at-night-in-the-UK-because-you-can't-see-the-pedal-reflectors debate.
[2] The WHPVA has different categories.
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Picked up a story doing the rounds from the World Champs . ;D
That Kim might be on the list to pilot the Burrows best recipe yet :smug:"soup dragon " to a new UK record .
Truth or Rumour ?
Would YACF members confirm if Kims is in training on the M6 at night 8)
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Heard that rumour somewhere ;D
Not sure of Soup Dragons but we have clangers in Bedfordshire.
Could be on the M6, bloody road is closed often enough overnight!!
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Bomber Burrows didn't mention any other names when he phoned me the other day but...
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The word is …during training Kim triggered the average speed cameras showing 53.5 over 4 miles
That meant :) :) :) :) faces at each mile marker .
The M6 has extra overhead and portable lighting for the road workers.
It can be quiet just before midnight ...allowing a clear run .
Highways will probably have the racing number on the video and still shots !
I think you have a 6% allowance before a ticket arrives in the post
Rich Forest has done a lot of night driving on the motorways ...perhaps he can give his opinion ::-)
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This is *KER-KLUNK!* all clearly *KER-KLUNK!* untrue. As *KER-KLUNK!* anyone who's *KER-KLUNK!* ever been on *KER-KLUNK!* the M6 knows *KER-KLUNK!* it's completely un*KER-KLUNK!*suitable for speed.
(The M6 Toll, on the other hand, has a silky smooth surface of reconstituted Mills & Boon novels, and as far as I can tell nobody's ever driven on it...)
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The M6 toll …..now that makes sense ….so much smoother …..how much were you charged ??
Did you pedal on for free or did you ferry the bike in a car and then off loaded it onto the hard shoulder when you thought it was all clear ?
Perhaps a night time Birmingham based Euro HPV Champs could be arranged in 2020?
The F1Singapore Grand Prix is held under floodlights .
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BTW, In case anybody is unclear about what SoupDragon is: https://youtu.be/ByhJLdh_j04 (https://youtu.be/ByhJLdh_j04) :o
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BTW, In case anybody is unclear about what SoupDragon is: https://youtu.be/ByhJLdh_j04 (https://youtu.be/ByhJLdh_j04) :o
I thought Brunswick green was darker than that. That looks more like pea soup to me, which I suppose it should.
Interesting about the chain pitch. I know someone who until this year worked in a university research team sponsored by British Cycling and Renold Chain to look into transmission losses in track bikes. He says something as seemingly minor as a change in lubrication regime can make the difference between winning and losing, assuming constant riders, but he never mentioned 8mm pitch!
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Mr Burrows has been a long-time user of 8mm pitch chain, but notes that it doesn't like being misaligned even a little bit. Hence the graunching noises coming out of the front end of his Ratracer at Betteshanger after the front wheel bearings et themselves.
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I've just been watching this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgiLLmovFcE&feature=youtu.be (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgiLLmovFcE&feature=youtu.be)
Part 2 is now up: https://youtu.be/zOgf_QBasuI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOgf_QBasuI
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Laidback Bike Report has uploaded this interview with Mike Burrows, which appears to have everything, including BRITISH self-deprecation, snark about kickball, Strong Opinons about the cycle industry, and a guy in the background preparing to refuel a Milan with a can of unleaded...
https://youtu.be/OgQ-e2lBIug
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgQ-e2lBIug
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And from the department of extremely high production values, here's the full Laid Back Bike Report video of the event:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxEGy0Wq13I
https://youtu.be/oxEGy0Wq13I1
The outtakes (which are bizarrely in the middle) are the best bit.