Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => Audax => Topic started by: aidan.f on 08 October, 2017, 11:13:39 pm
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As you are now too late to enter the BCM the NBR is IMO an excellent 600 starting from Newcastle and routed to Dumfries and the Galloway forest park. Great scenery comes with quiet A roads and well graded climbs.
We are providing a sleep stop showers, hot food and beds at 330k the right distance for FV riders to get a couple of hours zzz. Commercial sleep stop at 390k only £22pp for faster entrants who want a bed that no one else is waiting to use .
Newcastle is only 3 hours by train from London and Grand Central offer good deals. Plenty of camper van parking and lightweight camping at the start.
Hope we will see you on July 14th.
606 Km actual distance with 4700m ascent http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/18-8/ (http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/18-8/)
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Don't you mean 14 July
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I am going to try this. Never ridden a 600 so this could be my first. Looks a great ride.
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Don't you mean 14 July
Bagman - Thanks yes! - should not do these things late at night on a mobile - top post edited.
I am going to try this. Never ridden a 600 so this could be my first. Looks a great ride.
Bob, good, IMO an ideal first 600. Although not a fully supported ride we will be ready in the right place. I am making sure the places for food will be ready for you and also hope to have a car around the back of the field between Newton Stewart - Girvan - Kirkconnel.
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Sounds good. Never been to D&G so always good to see somewhere new. Pencilled in the diary, hope it goes better than our attempt at the old Border Raid.
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That new route looks really wonderful but still keeps the highlight of the World Heritage Lockerbie Truck Stop. :thumbsup:
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Denise - from the Mid Lothian regiment has just updated me about the Kirkconnel overnight hall
(http://www.gremlyn.plus.com/kirkconnel/bed.jpg)
looks really comfy.. ;) well c'mon you are gonna be tired .. We will be cooking something nourishing here..
(http://www.gremlyn.plus.com/kirkconnel/cooker.jpg)
And you can get freshened up as well ..because ..
(http://www.gremlyn.plus.com/kirkconnel/shower.jpg)
There will be a kit inspection at 04:00 hrs in the drill hall before you leave the control !
(http://www.gremlyn.plus.com/kirkconnel/hall.jpg)
Seriously though, it is just the job for us. Combined with what is IMO an excellent route and other good stops should be great 600.
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A bit far to travel for me... that said, I am applying for a job in Edinburgh which would start in July... so I might be up for it ;D
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Looks great Adian, the only problem is I am away on holiday that weekend. I get to miss another BR600 ;-(
But I do get to do the Chevey Chase, Mostrooper and the Hot Trod.
Rich...
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I'm in and looking forward to the new route, especially as it now avoids the heinously dull B7076
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In...I've been signed up since it was first advertised. Really starting to look forward to it now.
Something i was thinking about tuther day; Are there Miges in the area at that time of year ?
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In.
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In...I've been signed up since it was first advertised. Really starting to look forward to it now.
Something i was thinking about tuther day; Are there Miges in the area at that time of year ?
I hate the buggers but they bloody love me. I don't recall them being a problem last time I did it although the old route didn't go as far west as the new route does.
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In.
+1
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Something i was thinking about tuther day; Are there Miges in the area at that time of year ?
The section through south-west Scotland is similar to the Southern Upland 400 Audax which I rode in August last year. There were no midges or I'd have been eaten alive as I seem to attract them like a magnet.
I'm signed up for this and really looking forward to it.
Good to meet you Aiden on the Moffat Toffee. I hope the preparations are going well.
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Final details arrived by email yesterday evening.
Looking forward to it !
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I'm in. Looks good.
Dave C
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Does anyone (Aidan) know if we can leave a bag at the start? I plan to travel down and back via train and want to leave a bag of clothes and wash kit at the start for when I get back.
Cheers. Dave C
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Damn, only third this year :)
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Damn, only third this year :)
Superb Deano, did you complete your challenge of under 30 hours fixed? Do you get anything special as a reward? New legs perhaps?
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Damn, only third this year :)
I assumed you were there as a helper when I saw you peel off the military road at the Corbridge turn off. Alternative route via A69?
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Damn, only third this year :)
Superb Deano, did you complete your challenge of under 30 hours fixed? Do you get anything special as a reward? New legs perhaps?
Got home by half three!
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Damn, only third this year :)
I assumed you were there as a helper when I saw you peel off the military road at the Corbridge turn off. Alternative route via A69?
Yeah, A69 all the way to Brampton. A bit longer but less hilly, and the gradients were a bit kinder to my long gear than the choppy bits of the military road would have been.
Not to mention, i'm sure the fast lads would have dropped me like a stone up the military road.
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Damn, only third this year :)
But your brevet card only made it back in about fifty third!
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Damn, only third this year :)
But your brevet card only made it back in about fifty third!
Hurrah, someone found it! I was sure it was in my back pocket when I left my little nap spot before Kelso - I'd suspected it had dropped out of my pocket on one of the bouncy descents in the Cheviots. I had enough receipts anyway.
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Raided the border again this weekend. Thanks to aidan.f, Lynn and helpers for putting on a great event :-) The isotonics at the arrivée were much appreciated :P
It was mostly a Billy No Mates ride for me, but I kept getting passed by the same groups of people on the two days - Team Rapha; Ben & Lee; Halifax Man; George fae Fife and his friend (Cat?); and DaveC and Graeme otp. DaveC and I joined up for the last leg from Alnwick which helped me a lot.
Lots of new roads for me, the section along Hadrian's Wall was nice. The roads of Ayrshire haven't improved much since I was last there.
Weather: warm and bastardy headwind on Saturday, very hot on Sunday after Melrose.
Spotted: loads of dead badgers, a dead fox, a dead mole and also some live stuff: a red kite near New Galloway, some buzzards, a kestrel, hare, deer, whitearses.
There was also the added bonus of a meteor over New Cumnock :)
Just one more ride to do...
(https://ridewithgps.com/trips/full/25572284.png) (https://ridewithgps.com/trips/25572284)
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/846/28564474267_441a15d35e_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Kw9p2D)
IMG_1288_01 (https://flic.kr/p/Kw9p2D) by The Pingus (https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_pingus/), on Flickr
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1830/43403131092_00fa7eb00c_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/298ooJq)
IMG_1290_01 (https://flic.kr/p/298ooJq) by The Pingus (https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_pingus/), on Flickr
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Hurrah, someone found it! I was sure it was in my back pocket when I left my little nap spot before Kelso - I'd suspected it had dropped out of my pocket on one of the bouncy descents in the Cheviots. I had enough receipts anyway.
Yes, on the long one before Kirk Newton.
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Deano, did you loose your elecy ciggie refill bottle. I recall seeing one on the approach to Grey Mares Tail or somewhere near that, in a layby and wondering what it was. Then latrer thinking I'd seen it at the accommodation on the grass?
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Got home by half three!
Wot. :o
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Got home by half three!
Wot. :o
And that was home as in Darlo, not the arrivee. I finished around 6:30pm... Deano was finished 7 or 8 hours before me. :-O
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Really nice to meet you Pingu.
That cafe in Melrose... that put customer service in the way of actual customer service.. pah. But your eggs and chorizo looked delicious.
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You too Graeme :)
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Just one more ride to do...
As I've already mentioned (on an aborted 600, IIRC ), you're Quite Wrong about that :-)
Anyways, well done on the Border Raid.
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Just one more ride to do...
As I've already mentioned (on an aborted 600, IIRC ), you're Quite Wrong about that :-)
Anyways, well done on the Border Raid.
You remember my eloquent reply :)
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Deano, did you loose your elecy ciggie refill bottle. I recall seeing one on the approach to Grey Mares Tail or somewhere near that, in a layby and wondering what it was. Then latrer thinking I'd seen it at the accommodation on the grass?
No - you were probably hallucinating, Dave. Again.
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Already thinking about next year, same time, same place. Will be a good pre-PBP shake-down. Or simply a nice 600.
The Peacocks, the Bl***dy Peacocks though....
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Already thinking about next year, same time, same place. Will be a good pre-PBP shake-down. Or simply a nice 600.
The Peacocks, the Bl***dy Peacocks though....
Is there a date cut off for Pre PBP qualifiers? I seem to think of early to mid June for this? I'm sure you'll know.
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Very much looking forward to this next weekend. Will be my second attempt at a 600 (having DNFed on The Buzzard last summer). As I'll be nearer the 40hr mark if I do get round this time Lockerbie might be a bit far for a sleep stop, so was thinking of taking a bivvy bag an grabbing a few hours by the side of the road at around 350km. Looking at the map that stretch of road along the river Nith once you leave the A76 looks like it should have some suitably secluded spots... any local knowledge/tips? Cheers
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Looking forward to this. Not my normal stomping ground, but as my boys had major exams in May and June I wasn't doing long rides then, so this is the only calendar 600 I can fit this year. The big plus is lots of new roads and hopefully great views.
With the change in arrangements, does anyone know if there will still be an option to drop a bag at the start to pick up at the finish?
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Yes, we have a hall at the finish from 14:00 until 22:00 hrs. If you are finishing earlier then other arrangements can be made.
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As I'll be nearer the 40hr mark if I do get round this time Lockerbie might be a bit far for a sleep stop, so was thinking of taking a bivvy bag an grabbing a few hours by the side of the road at around 350km. Looking at the map that stretch of road along the river Nith once you leave the A76 looks like it should have some suitably secluded spots... any local knowledge/tips? Cheers
The park round Sanquair curling pond looks good
https://goo.gl/maps/aV26N15SCUFD2fiMA (https://goo.gl/maps/aV26N15SCUFD2fiMA)
Just remember - this is a cold place - we have had 2 degrees overnight at this time of year..
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All packed up and ready to go. Weather forecast has light headwinds all Saturday and varying guesses as to the amount of precipitation, so have assumed I will get (a) wet and (b) tired.
Looking forward to it.
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Looking forward to it.
Same here, though must confess to some pre ride butterflies!
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You'll be fine. Don't faff and keep moving. Night time temperature not dropping into single figures so shouldn't be bad overnight. If forecast is right then Sunday is looking like a reasonable day. Lockerbie truckstop and an assortment of convenience stores await your presence and there's some great scenery.
See you tomorrow.
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Well that was very pretty. Beautiful route. Should have known that the headwind, a lot stronger than forecast, would fade away in the evening to leave a calm night and then turn into a sneaky Southerly from Wooler back. However I did enjoy the GPS Easter Egg with its 1km @14% and off road section. Thanks to Aidan and Lynn for making my rare foray to the borders so worthwhile.
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Thank you Aidan, Lynn and Keith, it was a lovely ride and I'm glad I came over to participate.
A long stretch of the A76 was closed off for traffic (bicycles got waved through no problem), which made a quiet place for a bivvy at about 350km into the ride; I got a bit over three hours of sleep before continuing for a proper brekkie at the Lockerbie truckstop.
Must admit the easter egg at Wooler got me cursing softly (although I usually enjoy this sort of thing). The off road single track was followed by the worst of pavement, so many patches and pot holes it was impossible to find a line to avoid them all (ok, I could have slown down, but I just hate braking when going downhill). I'm now very confident my bike will pass the PBP technical "bump" test :P
As for the head winds, not too bad; I'm used to worse ;D Besides, that's what the aero bars are for!
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I, too was apprehensive about this ride , probably because it was new(ish) territory and it included the most climbing of any 600 km event that I have ever done.
In the end it was the headwind from hell that set most people back on schedules- 300 km all the way to Newton Stewart .
Beyond Newton Stewart, the headwind was supplemented by the road surfaces from hell. After a wet start though, it was at least dry and reasonably warm throughout.
I arrived at Dalrymple just 3 minutes before the Co-op was due to close but the kind ladies waited for me to purchase some food and drink ,then escorted me out.
I made an unusual number of navigation errors that lead to me adding a few kms. here and there but the scenery top class.
A road sign indicated 30 miles to Selkirk-no problem with a tailwind and glorious views .
Thanks to Aidan, Lynn and keith for the extra service at the truckstop and the finish.
A few pictures from along the route-https://flic.kr/s/aHsmFnZuk6 (https://flic.kr/s/aHsmFnZuk6)
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...Must admit the easter egg at Wooler got me cursing softly (although I usually enjoy this sort of thing). The off road single track...
??? There wasn't anything like that last year!