Author Topic: CrAcKpOt  (Read 87765 times)

Jonah

  • Audax Club Hackney
CrAcKpOt
« on: 10 May, 2015, 09:51:33 am »
OK folks, I'm attempting Crackpot tomorrow.  I have finally decided to take up the challenge now that I've got a bit of time off.  As you may be aware, Shawn Shaw is 'considering' re releasing this ride as a calendar event now that it is nearly 20-years old!  I am certainly aware that many riders have asked/begged Shawn to put the ride on again.

I aim to start at around lunch time tomorrow.  I have found the later start aids riding through the first night no-end.

AndyP has kindly offered to update this post with my progress on the ride which may be of interest to future riders if/when Shawn puts the ride on again.

See you in Hell :demon:
Jonah

Re: CrAcKpOt
« Reply #1 on: 10 May, 2015, 09:55:28 am »
Good luck Jonah, and thanks in advance to Andy!

LittleWheelsandBig

  • Whimsy Rider
Re: CrAcKpOt
« Reply #2 on: 10 May, 2015, 10:08:51 am »
Wheel meet again, don't know where, don't know when...

Re: CrAcKpOt
« Reply #3 on: 10 May, 2015, 10:21:19 am »
Steady does it. It's a lovely ride.

Hummers

  • It is all about the taste.
Re: CrAcKpOt
« Reply #4 on: 10 May, 2015, 10:52:18 am »
Great stuff Jonah!

H

Re: CrAcKpOt
« Reply #5 on: 10 May, 2015, 11:05:50 am »
Bon route.
Tempted to come along with you.
But not really enough time to get ready and legs are feeling a little tired just now after a fixed Severn Across.

marcusjb

  • Full of bon courage.
Re: CrAcKpOt
« Reply #6 on: 10 May, 2015, 11:33:51 am »
Bonne courage!

I look forward to updates and I hope the weather is kind to you as those hills sure won't be.
Right! What's next?

Ooooh. That sounds like a daft idea.  I am in!

Lars

  • n.b. have shaved off beard since photo taken
Re: CrAcKpOt
« Reply #7 on: 10 May, 2015, 03:29:30 pm »
Have fun Jonah!  :thumbsup:

hillbilly

Re: CrAcKpOt
« Reply #8 on: 10 May, 2015, 04:20:07 pm »
You been on the sauce?

(click to show/hide)

I am almost envious.  Have a good slog.

Re: CrAcKpOt
« Reply #9 on: 10 May, 2015, 04:49:14 pm »
Have a good one J.
Looks like some decent warmth as well for a change.

Pete Mas

  • Don't Worry 'bout a thing...
Re: CrAcKpOt
« Reply #10 on: 10 May, 2015, 07:27:17 pm »
Good luck - to man and machine.
Take a few pics for us all.
Look forward to the updates.
''It is better to travel hopefully than to arrive."

R.L.Stevenson

andyp

  • Andrew Preston
Re: CrAcKpOt
« Reply #11 on: 10 May, 2015, 09:37:35 pm »
Good luck Justin!

...I found a pdf of the routesheet from the calendar event -- the introduction was:

Thank you for your interest in the 3rd running of the
Crackpot 1000km

Since planning events of any distance I have always felt that
one should ignore contours. The response has always been
most encouraging; continualy closing the frontier between
Classic and impossible. And so it is with the Crackpot.
So what were the criteria in plotting the route? No straight out
and back; keep it cheap; keep it all on one map (The West
Country Tourist Board Official Tourist Map, Wessex. Estate
Publications). Involve experienced organisers using their
homes if possible allowing for maximum recuperation; keep
the cafes, restaurants and cash gobbling motorway services to
a minimum. Keep it interesting.
Having arranged the bare bones next consider how to ride it;
devise a schedule. Break it into stages; Ride the first night and
all day and expect to cover 500km in the first 24hrs. Sleep and
eat and look at 300km for the next 24 hrs before more sleep
leaving a nice steady 200km to finish. That sounds quite good.
Average speed for 1st spell: 21kph. 8hrs sleep leaves average
speed of 18.75 kph for 2nd spell. 6hrs sleep will leave me
12hrs 40min with 200km to go (16kph).

Time to glance at the contours. Good Grief! One counts. One
calculates. One shudders. Classic? Impossible? - A Razors
edge between.

The event is off the AAA scale. The 7 AAA points are
calculated by adding the pts first 400 to the pts for the next
600. Only the very best will keep to the original schedule.
Time to rethink.

The controls as far as and including Axminster have a min
speed of 15kph and closing times reflect this. Tor Hole will
close at a time calculated on an overall min speed of
13.3km/hr. The effect is to make Tor Hole the natural sleep
stop with so much time in hand built in (4hrs 24min). West
Stafford and Codford will also have floor space allowing for a
good kip. On a murderous nay suicidal route of this distance it
is essential that you schedule your ride; that you have a plan
at the outset; anyone who finds they do not break their
schedule is having the ride of their life!

A condition of entry is that you provide a schedule with the
entry form and it should be as realistic as possible please.The
controls will be of greater help to you the rider if we know
beforehand that riders are not being over ambitious.

The Crackpot 1000 is the severest test of stamina, endurance,
determination, grit stretching beyond 'challenging'. The Hard
Boiled was a challenge; so was the Porkers; Brimstone is still
a challenge. The Crackpot is there, taunting, haunting,
tempting you; gnawing your marrow; eating into the very
fibre of the raison d’etre of long distance cycling.
Challenging.

Prepare well. If you are in the very least not sound in wind
and limb you will struggle and be an additional danger to
yourself and other road users around you. At best you will
struggle; at worst you will suffer the agonies of the damned.
Have you read the routesheet yet? Do so many times before
the day and do so with a map so that you get the overall
picture as well. Know the route. Memorize the tricky bits.

Please note that we make no allowances for the dark. Trunk
rds as night stages are out. Winding, dirty, dusty, narrow,
country lanes are in. Lights to see with will mean that you can
avoid the tussocks, rockfalls and potholes in the pave. Be
prepared to be astounded by 1:4 descents. Brown corduroy
could be making a comeback. Polish up your navigation, you
will need it!

In '96: 21 started: 11 finished. In '98 it was 17 out of 24.
All in all a fine Tour de Wessex.
Enjoy, and safe cycling

Re: CrAcKpOt
« Reply #12 on: 10 May, 2015, 11:39:59 pm »
I shall think of you tomorrow as I ride the 2k between hotel and customer in Amsterdam, featuring at least 3m of climbing.
“That slope may look insignificant, but it's going to be my destiny" - Fitzcarraldo

321up

  • 59° N
Re: CrAcKpOt
« Reply #13 on: 11 May, 2015, 09:05:00 am »
Good luck Jonah and have fun.  It would be great to attempt it as a calendar ride.  Anyone got a gpx that we can drool over please?

hillbilly

Re: CrAcKpOt
« Reply #14 on: 11 May, 2015, 09:09:58 am »
...I found a pdf of the routesheet from the calendar event

Or in other words:

Dorset Coast: tickled by a feather
Hardboiled: hit by a cushion.
Porker: hit by a branch.
Brimstone: hit by a brick
Crackpot: a piano drops on your head

It is no secret that I would very much like to do this as a calendar event.  I am viewing Mr Jones as the lab rat.#

Weather sounds good. Radio summarised it in three words this morning: clear, dry and warm.  Or in audax parlance, perfect for the time of year with ample excuses for ice cream, and lager shandies.

andyp

  • Andrew Preston
Re: CrAcKpOt
« Reply #15 on: 11 May, 2015, 10:46:37 am »
update #1
He's on the 10:05 from Waterloo, Arr. Poole 12:13...

I've got a set of gpx tracks (well, actually, 3 routes, and 1 track, which were all converted to tracks for use on Justin's etrex at about 10.30 last night!) that came from Steve Abraham, if anyone wants to PM me their email address, i'll send them over, with the PDF of the last calendar routesheet/profiles.

hillbilly

Re: CrAcKpOt
« Reply #16 on: 11 May, 2015, 11:59:57 am »
Is the Master of the Unicog sticking to his modus operandi, or has he been overcome with a dose of uncommon sense?

Re: CrAcKpOt
« Reply #17 on: 11 May, 2015, 12:38:53 pm »
Is the Master of the Unicog sticking to his modus operandi, or has he been overcome with a dose of uncommon sense?

Yesterday I learned from Marcus JB that he never uses more than one gear, he despises multiple gear systems.

A few days ago I quipped that I might try this ride next year, I'm now reconsidering that statement in the light of the above, much as Paddy seems to have reconsidered eating his hat. [edit...a few days ago I was thinking not of the Crackpot, but the Maniac. Same reconsideration applies]

andyp

  • Andrew Preston
Re: CrAcKpOt
« Reply #18 on: 11 May, 2015, 01:15:16 pm »
All running to plan:
"After a Weatherspoons breakfast I told Raj from Longfleet Services that I'd hopefully see him again on Thursday - We have lift-off"

can confirm, he is on fixed :o

marcusjb

  • Full of bon courage.
Re: CrAcKpOt
« Reply #19 on: 11 May, 2015, 01:40:56 pm »
Has he finished yet?
Right! What's next?

Ooooh. That sounds like a daft idea.  I am in!

hillbilly

Re: CrAcKpOt
« Reply #20 on: 11 May, 2015, 02:52:54 pm »
GO JUSTIN(R)(C)

Etc.

Re: CrAcKpOt
« Reply #21 on: 11 May, 2015, 08:16:02 pm »
Has he finished! !

Are we there yet? !!

 :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Hummers

  • It is all about the taste.
Re: CrAcKpOt
« Reply #22 on: 11 May, 2015, 08:49:45 pm »
All running to plan:
"After a Weatherspoons breakfast I told Raj from Longfleet Services that I'd hopefully see him again on Thursday - We have lift-off"

can confirm, he is on fixed :o

 :thumbsup:

Go that man!

H

andyp

  • Andrew Preston
Re: CrAcKpOt
« Reply #23 on: 11 May, 2015, 09:16:23 pm »
Two texts came through together...
8:16pm (- but must've been written this afternoon 3pm ish)
"At Halstock 65k in. The hills started after 35k and the roads got properly wessex after 60k - the weather is glorious: sunny with a cool breeze. I'm feeling a bit phlegmy but a night out in the lane should sort that out. I'm taking it steadily and hope to ride through the first night. The original advice of stopping for a sleep at 500km and then at 800km seems a good plan but i started at 13:00 which is 7 hrs earlier than the original start so i just might be able to munch some more k if my balls don't crack"
J

8:33pm
"Just arrived in Minehead 157km Bit of a headwind into town which might have worn me down a little. This second stage wasn't that lumpy but the climbing that there was has also served to wear me down. Just refuelling in Weatherspoons again and them off to Bovey Tracey"

Hummers

  • It is all about the taste.
Re: CrAcKpOt
« Reply #24 on: 11 May, 2015, 09:19:58 pm »
Two texts came through together...
8:16pm (- but must've been written this afternoon 3pm ish)
"At Halstock 65k in. The hills started after 35k and the roads got properly wessex after 60k - the weather is glorious: sunny with a cool breeze. I'm feeling a bit phlegmy but a night out in the lane should sort that out. I'm taking it steadily and hope to ride through the first night. The original advice of stopping for a sleep at 500km and then at 800km seems a good plan but i started at 13:00 which is 7 hrs earlier than the original start so i just might be able to munch some more k if my balls don't crack"
J

8:33pm
"Just arrived in Minehead 157km Bit of a headwind into town which might have worn me down a little. This second stage wasn't that lumpy but the climbing that there was has also served to wear me down. Just refuelling in Weatherspoons again and them off to Bovey Tracey"

Not Bleddy Buvvy....

That covers some superb countryside   :P

H