The Flatlands 2017 - 9th Sep

[Oscar's dad]

Had I of been there I could have got my iPhone to play the Dambusters theme.

[tippers_kiwi]

Had I of been there I could have got my iPhone to play the Dambusters theme.

But you weren't 

[Oscar's dad]

Had I of been there I could have got my iPhone to play the Dambusters theme.

But you weren't 

The ride was roughly 400k too long!

[kartaphilos]

Oh Yeah, I meant to say...probably the Highlight of my ride was as I was riding into Coningsby I had a Lancaster Bomber pass directly over my head at very low altitude obviously on approach. That was AWESOME!

Oh Man, I missed that.  It would have been good to see (and hear!).   I did stop further up the road at the Dambusters memorial for a selfie.

I saw this too, and found it amazing. Plus its reassuring to see the RAF is on its toes. You just can't trust those Germans, and who knows what will happen after Brexit.

 

btw - nice work on the correspondence with the journalists on Lincolnshire live piece.

[tippers_kiwi]

Had I of been there I could have got my iPhone to play the Dambusters theme.

But you weren't 

The ride was roughly 400k too long!

Yes, it was!

[alotronic]

Oh Yeah, I meant to say...probably the Highlight of my ride was as I was riding into Coningsby I had a Lancaster Bomber pass directly over my head at very low altitude obviously on approach. That was AWESOME!

I saw this too, and found it amazing. Plus its reassuring to see the RAF is on its toes. You just can't trust those Germans, and who knows what will happen after Brexit.

Very witty!

[cyclinggeezer]

If WW11 aviation interests you then that part of Lincolnshire is the place to be.

RAF Conningsby has the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) with a visitors centre.

Apart from seeing several Hurricanes and Spitfires on the tarmac you can go inside and see them up close and personnal being serviced. This also includes their  Dakota and the "City of Lincoln" Lancaster.

The other place up the road is the Lincolnshire Aviation Centre at East Kirkby. They have a massive working recreated WW11 bomber air field and the star attraction is "Just Jane",another Lancaster which taxis up and down the airfield. Its currently being restored to flight. Again you can go inside the hanger and get up close. Loads of things to see there.

Also worth checking out is the Metheringham airfield museum and Cranwell Aviation museum.

The is also the new Bomber Command memorial and museum at the top of Canwick Hill in Lincoln

Locals get too used to the Red Arrrows and the BBMF going over. Hence the County is known as "Bomber County" after all the bomber airfields from WW11.

There is also an 200km ride called Bomber County. Next runs 17th March from just south of Lincoln so you could take an extended break to look at all of this heritage.



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[tippers_kiwi]

 
I really do have to spend some more time around these areas I ride through on Audaxes. My plan this next year is to get my daughter out more and do some touring...I think all the above makes a good base for things to see. I'll have to keep off the bike stuff going with her and she loves a bit of history!

When that Lancaster went over me it did strike me how it must have sounded when dozens or more of them were flying in formation, it must have been terrifying if they were the enemy and reassuring if they were friendly.

It also reminded me of my Dad and his stories of running to the top of the hill in the village where he grew up in North Eastern Switzerland when they heard the bombers flying over. They used to be able to see the flashed and glow from the bombing just over the border in Konstanz. He also used to tell me about a Lancaster that was crippled and landed in a field just outside the village and the stories of the relief the aircrew felt when they realised they had made it to Switzerland.

It's really good that this is all being preserved in such a tactile way in the UK!

[cyclinggeezer]

It's really good that this is all being preserved in such a tactile way in the UK!
[/quote]

The county's aviation heritage is also very international. There were Polish airman who flew from RAF Swinderby and RAF Faldingworth. Australians flew from RAF Binbrook.

There were also New Zealand, Czechs, Belgians, Norweigans, Dutch, French and Americans aircrew at various times here.

http://www.raf-lincolnshire.info/nations.htm

Most old airfields have a memorial and there is a trail you can follow to see alot of them too.

Not forgetting the Cold War heritage too. At the viewing car park at RAF Waddington you can see a Vulcan Bomber parked up over the road and the last one that used to fly is now in a museum at an airport at Doncaster. Very spectacular when they flew over you with their large delta shaped wings.











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[Oscar's dad]

I really do have to spend some more time around these areas I ride through on Audaxes. My plan this next year is to get my daughter out more and do some touring...I think all the above makes a good base for things to see. I'll have to keep off the bike stuff going with her and she loves a bit of history!

When that Lancaster went over me it did strike me how it must have sounded when dozens or more of them were flying in formation, it must have been terrifying if they were the enemy and reassuring if they were friendly.

It also reminded me of my Dad and his stories of running to the top of the hill in the village where he grew up in North Eastern Switzerland when they heard the bombers flying over. They used to be able to see the flashed and glow from the bombing just over the border in Konstanz. He also used to tell me about a Lancaster that was crippled and landed in a field just outside the village and the stories of the relief the aircrew felt when they realised they had made it to Switzerland.

It's really good that this is all being preserved in such a tactile way in the UK!

Blimey, evocative stuff.  Good post tippers!

[billyam998]

Random banter aside, why would anyone complete that nightmare journey and, not send their brevet card back to the organiser? I've exchanged a few mails with Tom tonight and, he is still waiting for cards to come back - err why? Surely there should be a time limit after which your effectively marked down as DNF, it's bad enough that they will have to disappear in to the wheels of paris/ BRM validation,  without having to wait for people to stick their cards in an envelope.   

[Wycombewheeler]

Random banter aside, why would anyone complete that nightmare journey and, not send their brevet card back to the organiser? I've exchanged a few mails with Tom tonight and, he is still waiting for cards to come back - err why? Surely there should be a time limit after which your effectively marked down as DNF, it's bad enough that they will have to disappear in to the wheels of paris/ BRM validation,  without having to wait for people to stick their cards in an envelope.

I thought the time limit was two weeks, based on the wait for the dean results to be published.

[Wobbly]

Random banter aside, why would anyone complete that nightmare journey and, not send their brevet card back to the organiser?

I guess some people jut want to complete the ride; brevet cards, AUK points, BRM validation are not important to them.

[rob]

Particularly when you finished a stone's throw from Tomsk's house.   His front window had an AUK control sign.   I filled my card in and dropped it in his letterbox.

[Ian H]

I had to chase a few for the Buzzard, and ended up one short.

[Lee Velo]

Particularly when you finished a stone's throw from Tomsk's house.   His front window had an AUK control sign.   I filled my card in and dropped it in his letterbox.

Well at least I know I posted mine in the correct letterbox!

[rob]

This ride came back to bite me yesterday when the speeding fine I thought I'd picked up on the M25 turned up.   

Turned into an expensive weekend.

[Wobbly]

Crikey. How fast were you riding???

[Bikeabilityman]

This ride came back to bite me yesterday when the speeding fine I thought I'd picked up on the M25 turned up.   

Turned into an expensive weekend.

I've never been done for speeding cycling to the start 

[rob]

This ride came back to bite me yesterday when the speeding fine I thought I'd picked up on the M25 turned up.   

Turned into an expensive weekend.

I've never been done for speeding cycling to the start 

In my defence, your honour, I was doing 57.  The variable speed limit had just flashed up at 50 (allegedly there was queueing traffic) and I was braking.   Annoying and pretty unfair given the shocking behaviour I see on the roads every day.

[jiberjaber]

This ride came back to bite me yesterday when the speeding fine I thought I'd picked up on the M25 turned up.   

Turned into an expensive weekend.

I've never been done for speeding cycling to the start 

In my defence, your honour, I was doing 57.  The variable speed limit had just flashed up at 50 (allegedly there was queueing traffic) and I was braking.   Annoying and pretty unfair given the shocking behaviour I see on the roads every day.

yeah but... there is a delay between the signal changing and the HADECS being activated for that limit... 

[Carlosfandango]

This ride came back to bite me yesterday when the speeding fine I thought I'd picked up on the M25 turned up.   

Turned into an expensive weekend.

I've never been done for speeding cycling to the start 

In my defence, your honour, I was doing 57.  The variable speed limit had just flashed up at 50 (allegedly there was queueing traffic) and I was braking.   Annoying and pretty unfair given the shocking behaviour I see on the roads every day.

yeah but... there is a delay between the signal changing and the HADECS being activated for that limit... 

You must have been just over the threshold at 57mph. I guess we all go slightly faster than the limit at times, gotta take the rough with the smooth.

[grams]

That's really odd. Most drivers seem to take many many gantries to even begin responding to those signs, and even then few go below limit+10 mph (unless forced to by queues). I tend to follow the herd and do likewise and I've never got a ticket.

[tippers_kiwi]

This ride came back to bite me yesterday when the speeding fine I thought I'd picked up on the M25 turned up.   

Turned into an expensive weekend.

Can you get the 3 points converted into AUK points? 

[jiberjaber]

This ride came back to bite me yesterday when the speeding fine I thought I'd picked up on the M25 turned up.   

Turned into an expensive weekend.

Can you get the 3 points converted into AUK points? 

POTD