ACME Miscellany

[jiberjaber]

Kirsty MacColl knew a guy down the chip shop who swore he was Elvis.  Last night, when we arrived at the pub, there was an old bloke sitting in the corner, cackling to himself who swore he had ridden LEL.  He even had the jersey !  We humoured the poor old duffer and let him join in with us though. 

The night had begun normally enough with a good sized contingent assembling at Spa; OD, the Hustler, Hotblack, Tomsk, Stanners Kiwi, Grey Sheep and the Lord Oakington all tore off into the darkness leaving me puffing away behind - I did actually have to check I hadn't turned up on time trial night by mistake.  What made it all the more galling was that Tomsk had turned up on what looked like a small road roller and was carrying a selection of garden tools, I am sure I saw a full size scythe sticking out his saddle bag and very possibly a small lawnmower.  We managed to avoid the COR that had been carelessly left in the route when I cobbled it together 2 years ago and arrived at the Donkey & Buskins in reasonable time.

This was a new pub to nearly all of us and it was a lot nicer inside than we had anticipated.  The only downside was a limited selection of ales.  Firelight by St Peter's won the Quaffers Choice by default but it would have been a winner most nights anyway.  Of course some of our more irresponsible members took the limited selection as an excuse to go seriously off piste; OD was lost in the wine list for a good half hour before choosing his vintage, Oaky went for Tia Maria and Guinness, Stanners slipped back into his old ways with a cider and LEL Elvis mumbled something about meths so we gave him a Guinness as well.  It is fortunate that the Hustler now comes equipped with a waiter's pad and his very own Kitty Kitty pen.  He was also able, yet again, to charm the barmaid into delivering the beers for him.  He seems to be labouring under the misapprehension that he has been elevated to some sort of executive position.

As well as planning what will hopefully become a couple of new ACME rides, we discussed something to do with broadband, Epiphany and Wales.  We also held the first meeting of the MEMWNS caravan club.  Sadly the conversation had to be cut short when our diversity officer Oaky was forced to step in to caution OD about his behaviour.  Oaky is now designing a series of cultural awareness workshops, attendance at which will be compulsory.

It hadn't got any warmer outside while we sat in the pub so it was a cold ride home.  Tomsk probably had a brazier in his saddlebag as well so he would have been alright.

Did you give the cat a stroke or has it packed it's bags and headed off to London?

[Oscar's dad]

RIGHT THEN, LISTEN UP, THIS IS IMPORTANT, IT LOOKS LIKE ACME IS GOING TO BE ON THE TELLY!!!
As mentioned yesterday evening, during last month I attempted to register ACME for The BBC One Show Virtual Rickshaw Challenge in aid of Children in Need.  For those of you who don't know the Rickshaw Challenge involves young people with disabilities and special needs taking turns to pedal a rickshaw over a pretty significant distance.  This year they are riding from London to Glasgow in a week (500 miles)    Anyhow, the raise extra money the BBC are giving clubs the chance to do their own Rickshaw Challenge by logging their mileages and trying to get sponsorship. 

Thinking this was a great idea I thought I'd register ACME!  The problem was the website sort of defeated me, I managed to link my Strava account to the team page I created but couldn't figure out how to do much else.  So I donated £25, gave up, and forgot all about it.  But...

Yesterday evening, just as I was getting ready a lady called Hannah, who is the One Show's Assistant Producer, phoned me to find out about the ACME Rickshaw Challenge ... oops!    I fessed up and told her of my difficulties but said we were still  interested.  After telling her all about us Hannah asked if we would be interested in talking part in Monday's show.  I told her we would be absolutely delighted and she said she would get back to me today to confirm ... and she has    We are going to be on the telly 

Here is where you come in:

1. I have managed to get the Virtual Rickshaw Challenge web page to send you each an invite to join the ACME team.  If you haven't had an email and would like to take part let me know
2. You need to attach your Strava account to the team page.  If you don't have a Strava account (now's the time to get one!) there may be a way of adding your rides manually - I will try to find out
3. See if you can get people to sponsor you per mile.  I don't think there is a way of doing this automatically (I may be wrong) so you might just have to work it out for yourself and then donate via the team page

Now then, here's the exciting bit...

4. Can you get yourself to the BBC TV Centre in central London for 1730hrs on Monday???  You need to bring a bike and wear your ACME team kit.  I'm not entirely sure what we will be asked to do, just cycling around was mentioned, but who cares, we'll just wing it in true ACME fashion.  If you can make it I need to know ASAP.  We should be done by 1930hrs.

[huggy]

How's that going to work then? They don't go anywhere near the centre of the cycling universe of Mid-Essex 

[Oscar's dad]

How's that going to work then? They don't go anywhere near the centre of the cycling universe of Mid-Essex 

Read the above, it's simples 

[Oscar's dad]

Just to be clear, we don't have to follow the One Show route, you don't have to do anything different, just attach your Strava account to the team page and do the rides you were always going to do.  I'm not sure when the virtual challenge finishes, Hannah said something about December.

[jiberjaber]

RIGHT THEN, LISTEN UP, THIS IS IMPORTANT, IT LOOKS LIKE ACME IS GOING TO BE ON THE TELLY!!!
As mentioned yesterday evening, during last month I attempted to register ACME for The BBC One Show Virtual Rickshaw Challenge in aid of Children in Need.  For those of you who don't know the Rickshaw Challenge involves young people with disabilities and special needs taking turns to pedal a rickshaw over a pretty significant distance.  This year they are riding from London to Glasgow in a week (500 miles)    Anyhow, the raise extra money the BBC are giving clubs the chance to do their own Rickshaw Challenge by logging their mileages and trying to get sponsorship. 

Thinking this was a great idea I thought I'd register ACME!  The problem was the website sort of defeated me, I managed to link my Strava account to the team page I created but couldn't figure out how to do much else.  So I donated £25, gave up, and forgot all about it.  But...

Yesterday evening, just as I was getting ready a lady called Hannah, who is the One Show's Assistant Producer, phoned me to find out about the ACME Rickshaw Challenge ... oops!    I fessed up and told her of my difficulties but said we were still  interested.  After telling her all about us Hannah asked if we would be interested in talking part in Monday's show.  I told her we would be absolutely delighted and she said she would get back to me today to confirm ... and she has    We are going to be on the telly 

Here is where you come in:

1. I have managed to get the Virtual Rickshaw Challenge web page to send you each an invite to join the ACME team.  If you haven't had an email and would like to take part let me know
2. You need to attach your Strava account to the team page.  If you don't have a Strava account (now's the time to get one!) there may be a way of adding your rides manually - I will try to find out
3. See if you can get people to sponsor you per mile.  I don't think there is a way of doing this automatically (I may be wrong) so you might just have to work it out for yourself and then donate via the team page

Now then, here's the exciting bit...

4. Can you get yourself to the BBC TV Centre in central London for 1730hrs on Monday???  You need to bring a bike and wear your ACME team kit.  I'm not entirely sure what we will be asked to do, just cycling around was mentioned, but who cares, we'll just wing it in true ACME fashion.  If you can make it I need to know ASAP.  We should be done by 1930hrs.

Yeah but what about the cat?

[Oscar's dad]

What cat?

[jiberjaber]

What cat?

THE Cat

[BFC]

What's Strava?

[Oscar's dad]

What cat?

THE Cat

I'm with you now    Funnily enough I did spot the ginger cat curled up on a chair by the fire.  It looked sound asleep and very old so I wasn't sure about giving it a stroke.  Just as I was looking at said cat a waitress walked past and I asked her if it was a real cat.  She said yes 

What's Strava?

Yes, I appreciate you and Tomsk aren't on Strava.   The big question is can you make it into Central London with your bike by 5:30pm on Monday?  You won't need a passport.

[Oaky]

What cat?

THE Cat

I'm with you now    Funnily enough I did spot the ginger cat curled up on a chair by the fire.  It looked sound asleep and very old so I wasn't sure about giving it a stroke.  Just as I was looking at said cat a waitress walked past and I asked her if it was a real cat.  She said yes 

There's a "pussy" joke in there somewhere, but I can't bring myself to type it.

[Oscar's dad]

What cat?

THE Cat

I'm with you now    Funnily enough I did spot the ginger cat curled up on a chair by the fire.  It looked sound asleep and very old so I wasn't sure about giving it a stroke.  Just as I was looking at said cat a waitress walked past and I asked her if it was a real cat.  She said yes 

There's a "pussy" joke in there somewhere, but I can't bring myself to type it.

Something like as you get stuck in to middle age it becomes more difficult to differentiate between a live pussy and a fake one.

[Oscar's dad]

This is SO EXCITING!!!

There has been a flurry of emails between me and the BBC and it is confirmed that ACME will be taking part in Monday's One Show, hopefully we will actually make it onto the screen.

ACME's Virtual Rickshaw Challenge riders will be ted, Oaky, tippers, Soupy and me.  If anyone else fancies taking part please let me know and I will try to get you on the team.

In the meantime please attach your Strava accounts to our team page so your mileage over the weekend gets chalked up.  Let me know if you have any problems.  Oh and collect a bit of cash for Children in Need - that is the point of the exercise 

[Oscar's dad]

This is SO EXCITING!!!

There has been a flurry of emails between me and the BBC and it is confirmed that ACME will be taking part in Monday's One Show, hopefully we will actually make it onto the screen.

ACME's Virtual Rickshaw Challenge riders will be ted, Oaky, tippers, Soupy and me.  If anyone else fancies taking part please let me know and I will try to get you on the team.

In the meantime please attach your Strava accounts to our team page so your mileage over the weekend gets chalked up.  Let me know if you have any problems.  Oh and collect a bit of cash for Children in Need - that is the point of the exercise 

The Beer Bitch is now on the team!!!

[bhoot]

On a completely different topic, you might like to see the ACME German chapter - scroll down to the second photo on https://brevetselbsthilfegruppe.de/
It seems like Olaf has inspired several German riders to join AUK, enter DIYs and try for their RRtY awards. How many can you sign up for ACME I wonder? (Is it the closest part of the UK to Germany?)

[Oaky]

This is SO EXCITING!!!

There has been a flurry of emails between me and the BBC and it is confirmed that ACME will be taking part in Monday's One Show, hopefully we will actually make it onto the screen.

ACME's Virtual Rickshaw Challenge riders will be ted, Oaky, tippers, Soupy and me.  If anyone else fancies taking part please let me know and I will try to get you on the team.

In the meantime please attach your Strava accounts to our team page so your mileage over the weekend gets chalked up.  Let me know if you have any problems.  Oh and collect a bit of cash for Children in Need - that is the point of the exercise 

The Beer Bitch is now on the team!!!

Does that mean we're visiting a hostelry afterwards?

I don't think they'll allow the Hello Kitty purse on air as it's a branded item.  Can you source a generic non-branded cat-based money receptacle in time?

[Oscar's dad]

This is SO EXCITING!!!

There has been a flurry of emails between me and the BBC and it is confirmed that ACME will be taking part in Monday's One Show, hopefully we will actually make it onto the screen.

ACME's Virtual Rickshaw Challenge riders will be ted, Oaky, tippers, Soupy and me.  If anyone else fancies taking part please let me know and I will try to get you on the team.

In the meantime please attach your Strava accounts to our team page so your mileage over the weekend gets chalked up.  Let me know if you have any problems.  Oh and collect a bit of cash for Children in Need - that is the point of the exercise 

The Beer Bitch is now on the team!!!

Does that mean we're visiting a hostelry afterwards?

I don't think they'll allow the Hello Kitty purse on air as it's a branded item.  Can you source a generic non-branded cat-based money receptacle in time?

I think a cheeky beer afterwards would be appropriate.  That's assuming we don't get invited back to the Green Room for the after show party.  Now we are in the airlock and just about to enter into the world of celebrity I think we should be prepared for anything. 

[Oscar's dad]

I don't think they'll allow the Hello Kitty purse on air as it's a branded item.  Can you source a generic non-branded cat-based money receptacle in time?

Sorry, I forgot to reply to your final point.  I could take an unbranded cat, getting money inside it could tricky and may possibly attract the attention of the RSPCA particularly if the attempt to insert or retrieve coins of the realm was done live on air 

[Oscar's dad]

Hannah from the Beeb has just asked for some photos of us doing our ACME thing in case they need them on the show this evening.  Suffice to say I have just peppered the poor woman's inbox with a fragrant selection of images mostly containing middle aged blokes on bikes with pints of beer.

The excitement mounts 

And so far we have collected £233.75 (inc GiftAid) for Children in Need - please dig deep, HERE'S THE DONATION LINK 

[jiberjaber]

Hannah from the Beeb has just asked for some photos of us doing our ACME thing in case they need them on the show this evening.  Suffice to say I have just peppered the poor woman's inbox with a fragrant selection of images mostly containing middle aged blokes on bikes with pints of beer.

The excitement mounts 

And so far we have collected £233.75 (inc GiftAid) for Children in Need - please dig deep, HERE'S THE DONATION LINK 

Steve - if you get chance could you add teh acme.bike website link in to the team description text - seems a shame to miss an advertising opportunity 

[Oscar's dad]

Done!

[bhoot]

So what happened? We need to know....

[Oscar's dad]

So what happened? We need to know....

You mean you didn’t watch???

[Oscar's dad]

In case you missed us on the telly... https://youtu.be/DsYi5byWWuI

[delthebike]

In case you missed us on the telly... https://youtu.be/DsYi5byWWuI

Only another 14 minutes and 56 seconds to go for your fame quota!