Author Topic: Steamride: London-Oxford-London The Ghan  (Read 4011 times)

RideHard

  • The London Grimpeur
  • ACH Organiser
    • Steam Rides & Chiltern Grimpeurs
Steamride: London-Oxford-London The Ghan
« on: 03 March, 2015, 07:00:04 pm »
This year's Steamride has an extra treat in store,  by way Christmas Common  ;D
Marc the Steamride photographer, will be there to record the event again :)
http://www.tourofbritain.co.uk/stages/stage6/#.VPYB_XysV5c

Still taking late entries this week..
147 entries so far for the LOL TheGhan. I've ordered 160 brevet cards so entries will close when/if I reach this limit.

Great photos from last year's event..
http://www.christianlewisphotography.co.uk/quainton-oxfordshire-26

Be final route-checking on Sat 6th March... say Hi if you see me ;)
ACH SR: Dean 300; Steam Ride LOL 200; Quainton Express 100; University Challenge 600; London Circuit 400; C2C; Hadrian's Wall; Chiltern Pub Crawl; White Hart.   2022 AUK: ACH SR; Wessex SR; LEL; LeJog

Re: Steamride: London-Oxford-London The Ghan
« Reply #1 on: 04 March, 2015, 08:58:01 am »
I've entered. First time at this one looking forward to it.

Re: Steamride: London-Oxford-London The Ghan
« Reply #2 on: 04 March, 2015, 12:43:09 pm »
Have entered this as my first audax. It will be my longest ever ride. Slightly nervous but looking forward to it!

Cycling Daddy

  • "We shall have an adventure by and by," said Don Q
Re: Steamride: London-Oxford-London The Ghan
« Reply #3 on: 04 March, 2015, 05:38:51 pm »
Well done for taking the leap.  Remember to take time to enjoy it all.  Arrive with time to spare (and eat a breakfast) plenty of experienced Audax riders will be happy to bore entertain you with their knwo2ldge..  I am down for  this too hope to see you.  Look for the fat old git on a nice bike (Qoroz Ti) I aim to be there for a Big Breakfast and will then probably feel ill for the next 60km. or so.  :facepalm:
Les
Too much sanity may be madness. And maddest of all, to see life as it is and not as it should be.”
― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Steamride: London-Oxford-London The Ghan
« Reply #4 on: 05 March, 2015, 06:35:32 am »
Enjoyed this one so much last year, had to enter again. Should be even better this time with the revised final section. :thumbsup:
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Jonah

  • Audax Club Hackney
Re: Steamride: London-Oxford-London The Ghan
« Reply #5 on: 05 March, 2015, 06:47:44 am »
A pint of Frontier in The River Head anyone?

parkysouthlondon

  • PBP (11,15,19,23), 1001Miglia (2021), TCRNo8(2022)
    • SWRC FB
Re: Steamride: London-Oxford-London The Ghan
« Reply #6 on: 05 March, 2015, 06:52:38 am »
This is one of the only local events I can do, so I can ride to the start.
South Western Road Club
2024 events    Tour Divide USA

bikey-mikey

  • AUK 6372
  • Yes, I am completely mad ! a.k.a. 333
Re: Steamride: London-Oxford-London The Ghan
« Reply #7 on: 05 March, 2015, 12:03:18 pm »
I did it last year, and have happy memories...

So I'm coming along again, and I've bought new earplugs, just for the event..

Anybody wondering whether I've done so purely because I might have to ride wiv Parky, are completely wrong...  :demon:
I’ve decided I’m not old. I’m 25 .....plus shipping and handling.

Cycling heatmap
https://www.strava.com/athletes/4628735/heatmaps/6ed5ab12#10/51.12782/-3.16388

Mike Conway

  • Wheel builder and general bike rider
    • 23mm-wheels
Re: Steamride: London-Oxford-London The Ghan
« Reply #8 on: 06 March, 2015, 02:50:58 pm »
I've signed up for this - perfect since I live 5 miles up the road...

My legs are in rubbish shape without a ride over 60km in the last month... will be getting in a couple of 100k's this weekend though...

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Steamride: London-Oxford-London The Ghan
« Reply #9 on: 06 March, 2015, 03:58:20 pm »
You'll be fine, it's a nice easy ride - only one hill worthy of the name.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Phil W

Re: Steamride: London-Oxford-London The Ghan
« Reply #10 on: 07 March, 2015, 06:22:16 pm »
See you there.

Re: Steamride: London-Oxford-London The Ghan
« Reply #11 on: 15 March, 2015, 05:13:12 am »
Well, broke my collarbone 2 months ago and haven't ridden since then until yesterday where I got kinda nauseous on a 18km ride, and I flew economy class yesterday from Melbourne.  So there is really no chance I can do this ride.

But jetlag has left me wide awake at 5am, so I may as well at least ride to the start and have breakfast with everyone.  I'm not sure I have the wherewithal to even follow the GPX file or print a route map this morning, but we shall see.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Steamride: London-Oxford-London The Ghan
« Reply #12 on: 15 March, 2015, 08:10:58 pm »
That was fun. Cold but fun. Bloody cold. And windy. But at least there was only one brief spell of rain.

The new route is a definite improvement on last year.

Thanks Tim and all the other ACH helpers. Fab ride.

"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Re: Steamride: London-Oxford-London The Ghan
« Reply #13 on: 15 March, 2015, 08:35:22 pm »
Good to be home again after another great edition of the Steam Ride. It was about 10degC colder than last year's edition with a chilling NE wind making for difficult riding conditions at times. But, a much improved course and good company all day made this a fine day to be out on the bike.

We managed to form a good group of strong riders right from the off and stuck together all the way to Oxford, arriving at the halfway point in a shade over 3.5 hours. Nice to see Jonah on card stamping duties but we didn't hang around and pushed on the Didcot. I like the different use of bikeways and off-road sections on this ride, including a strada bianchi section around the back of the Cooling Towers. To Didcot them and the welcoming embrace of the Spar next to the station. Last year we sat in the sun, it was 18degC but today there wasn't much hanging around and we pushed on. The headwind really got up on the exposed sections around Ewelme and the elastic finally snapped with my partners on a long uphill drag. I struggled for a while alone, but the Co-Op at Chinnor restored flagging spirits. I have to say the counter assistant here, and in the Spar were both engaged and interested in what we were doing, a sign perhaps of the growing acceptance in the UK of cycling as a sporting activity.

I was a little apprehensive about the climb up Bledlow Ridge, feeling a little overcooked at that stage, but this years route didn't include the hairpin turn towards High Wycombe so the punishment was over mercifully quickly. This was followed by a glorious, tailwind assisted blast down the valley into West Wycombe and the roads and terrain become familiar as I closed in on our final destination. I picked up an ailing zigzag somewhere near Burnham Beeches and we rode back together, one or two nasty title rises were despatched in short order and then we were back. A little confusion in finding the final control meant a few minutes lost at the end but hey, it's not a race is it? There were a few riders ahead of us during the day but it transpired that my two buddies from earlier were the only finisher so far. We settled in for a pint and a full debrief of  the day as a steady trickle of riders came through. Good to see a few old faces, Parky, ekimeno etc. at the finish. I do think the pub makes a more convivial post-ride venue, a pint of Pride certainly hits the spot after a ride like today's.

Thanks to all at ACHackney, but especially RideHard for organising, and Ivan ( I think) for not only lending me the track pump at Quainton to inflate the tire post-puncture, but doing the hard work of actually pumping it up for me - I had a very fine bacon sandwich to eat at the time. I met a fair few PBP aspirants today, all fast and on their first audax so I wish them all the best for the coming months.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Steamride: London-Oxford-London The Ghan
« Reply #14 on: 15 March, 2015, 09:51:41 pm »
Blueskies, I presume you were one of the group supping pints at the finish when I arrived at about quarter to five but I don't know what you look like or I'd have said hello. Mind you, I've met Jonah before and I didn't recognise him at first either. Terrible at faces. I'm sure there are a few other people I should have recognised. Parky must be the one in the SWRC jersey. I'm better at recognising jerseys.

According to Mr Garmin, today's max temp was 5C, although I suspect it was a wee bit warmer than that at times.

"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Re: Steamride: London-Oxford-London The Ghan
« Reply #15 on: 15 March, 2015, 10:20:25 pm »
Hi Citoyen - yes, that was us. I'm in the black Peloton jacket, the other two were in the LMNH and KW jerseys. Maybe you were with us to Quainton? A few people in that train, I had a puncture around Waddesdon so dropped off the back. Glad you had a good day, not an easy course in those conditions, my Garmin said feels like 2degC in the wind.

Hope to catch up again sometime soon, 3down next for me.

Re: Steamride: London-Oxford-London The Ghan
« Reply #16 on: 15 March, 2015, 11:41:36 pm »


I was a little apprehensive about the climb up Bledlow Ridge, feeling a little overcooked at that stage, but this years route didn't include the hairpin turn towards High Wycombe so the punishment was over mercifully quickly.

Just for future reference, the climb was/is Chinnor Hill and not Bledlow Ridge. The climb that locals generally refer to as 'Bledlow Ridge' in my experience is 'Wigan's Lane' if I recall the road name correctly.

Re: Steamride: London-Oxford-London The Ghan
« Reply #17 on: 16 March, 2015, 05:12:08 am »
Well, broke my collarbone 2 months ago and haven't ridden since then until yesterday where I got kinda nauseous on a 18km ride, and I flew economy class yesterday from Melbourne.  So there is really no chance I can do this ride.

But jetlag has left me wide awake at 5am, so I may as well at least ride to the start and have breakfast with everyone.  I'm not sure I have the wherewithal to even follow the GPX file or print a route map this morning, but we shall see.

well, decided to set off on the ride after a 20 km pedal to the start.  Did OK, but about 40km from the end, I was done.  Uphills became impossibly hard, and i was beset with waves of nausea.  Found a ride buddy, and we lumbered through the last bit together, so I finished the distance - yay! - but took an extra hour.  We had been riding with a bunch of other late riders who probably finished around 9.45.

Texted Tim at 9.30, to let him know we were DNF and ok, then discovered when I woke up at 4am (damn you, jet lag!), that the message hadn't actually sent. Oops.  I tapped on it, which re-sent it.  Double oops. 

Sorry x 2 to Tim.  And thanks for a great ride.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Steamride: London-Oxford-London The Ghan
« Reply #18 on: 16 March, 2015, 09:35:13 am »
Maybe you were with us to Quainton? A few people in that train

I rode solo pretty much all day except for the bit from Chinnor to High Wycombe, when I tagged along with Parky & two others.

Left them at HW when they took the official route while I ploughed on along the main road. I remember the back way through HW being a bit slow going last year, especially the bit through the park.

Just before Windsor Hill, I got caught by two riders who had left Chinnor before us, so clearly it was a good decision. Saw the same two riders at Burnham Beeches looking around for the answer to the info. I carried on and found it about 100m further up the road. That info seemed to cause a few problems - even Tim didn't seem too sure himself of where it was!
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Re: Steamride: London-Oxford-London The Ghan
« Reply #19 on: 17 March, 2015, 04:33:07 pm »
Just remembered: the GPX file was excellent, but this was my favourite part ...



The unscheduled beer stop into the Kings Arms in Wheatley.  I skipped it, I'm ashamed to say.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Steamride: London-Oxford-London The Ghan
« Reply #20 on: 17 March, 2015, 05:54:12 pm »
 ;D

I made my own GPS track so missed out on that treat.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."