Yet Another Cycling Forum

General Category => Audax => Topic started by: Bairn Again on 29 August, 2018, 01:36:02 pm

Title: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: Bairn Again on 29 August, 2018, 01:36:02 pm
Advance warning of  a PBP qualifier in Alba next year with an Edinburgh start / finish, appearing soon on the calendar. 

No gratuitous climbing, lots of very quiet roads in Perthshire Angus and Fife. 

Draft Route

Leg 1 (370km) : https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28461030

Leg 2 (230km) : https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28461236

Traditional 6am start, book your accommodation in the capital or ride through.   

Finish control in Montys Bar all being well  :thumbsup: 


Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 : 18th May 2019
Post by: FifeingEejit on 29 August, 2018, 01:45:41 pm
Skinflats, Comrie, Glenfarg, Dunning, Kelty ...
and not quite home at the 460km mark

Nice
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: Feanor on 29 August, 2018, 08:01:21 pm
Comrie and Skinflats.
The Yin and Yang of Audax Ecosse.

And a Monty's finish. ( Will there be nibbles again? )

What's not to like?
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: Bairn Again on 30 August, 2018, 02:02:03 pm
Not to mention my 200km on 20th January which goes through both Skinflats and Prestonpans (aka "The Pauns") twice. 

Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: Cyclops on 30 August, 2018, 02:08:30 pm
Twice through bottom Pauns? The first pass will just give the locals a chance to arm up for the return.
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: citoyen on 30 August, 2018, 02:25:15 pm
The promise of a return to Monty's is almost enough to make me want to do this one. Very tempting.
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: Phil W on 30 August, 2018, 08:28:13 pm
The Full Monty would be an appropriate name
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: hippy on 31 August, 2018, 09:03:58 am
I've done a lot in Wales and England and even rode around Ireland once but I'd like to ride more of Scotland - LEJOG A-roads don't really count.

Worth the train ride up for this? What's special about Monty's? I'm picturing a lot of audaxers staggering out, late Sunday night, praying for a nearby kebab shop..
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: Bairn Again on 31 August, 2018, 09:08:28 am
I've done a lot in Wales and England and even rode around Ireland once but I'd like to ride more of Scotland - LEJOG A-roads don't really count.
What's special about Monty's?

It was used as the Arrivee for the West Highlands 1000km, where I used the surplus funds from DNS's to provide an extended free bar and a grand time was had by all. 

Its just a nice wee Edinburgh pub, of which there are dozens.  www.montys.bar


 
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: hippy on 31 August, 2018, 09:15:11 am
Ah ha! Well a free bar will leave people with a good impression of almost anywhere :)
Bar looks good though - half a dozen ales, keg for the craft brews and they do espresso martinis for when I start to flag half way through tasting their 60 single malts... ;)
It's in the diary instead of BCM for now. Any idea how far out I can book a train from London's Famous London? I'll have a look at some stage but if anyone knows off the top of their heads..
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: JonB on 31 August, 2018, 10:13:27 am
Any idea how far out I can book a train from London's Famous London? I'll have a look at some stage but if anyone knows off the top of their heads..

When I went up for the West Highlands 1000 I used this service which sends an email when tickets become available, https://www.thetrainline.com/ticketalert, I initially got an email for the outward journey and then 2 or 3 days later got an alert for the return.  It worked  :) (bike booking was a faff though  :()
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: hippy on 31 August, 2018, 10:55:01 am
Ooh, nice one. I wonder, can the guys/gals at stations book stuff further into the future or are they limited to the same advanced bookings we are?
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: JonB on 31 August, 2018, 11:08:31 am
My experience is no, they don't appear to have any more access than we do.
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: hippy on 31 August, 2018, 11:17:39 am
Cheers for the info. I've set up an alert anyway.
If nothing else it might prompt me to sort it out sooner rather than later and actually allow me to get up there on a Friday with a bike (which I imagine will be pretty tricky normally).
Friends of mine use to do overnight sleeper cabins? up there but I'd question my ability to actually get any sleep in one.
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: citoyen on 31 August, 2018, 11:26:37 am
Officially, the cheap tickets become available 12 weeks ahead of travel date but in practice it seems to vary between operators. I signed up for the ticket alerts from both Trainline and Virgin but I also kept an eye on the booking sites and in the end I had booked my journeys in both directions before I'd received the alerts. Different sites seemed to have the cheap tickets available at different times and you don't have to buy from the operator you're travelling with - I bought my outbound ticket from West Coast even though I was travelling the East Coast route.

For the bike booking, I had to call the customer service once I'd bought my ticket - East Coast doesn't let you book your bike online, although that may change now it's out of Virgin's hands. West Coast does let you book online, iirc, but only if you're travelling a West Coast route (they're both called Virgin but they're different companies).
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: citoyen on 31 August, 2018, 11:29:57 am
I've done a lot in Wales and England and even rode around Ireland once but I'd like to ride more of Scotland - LEJOG A-roads don't really count.
What's special about Monty's?

It was used as the Arrivee for the West Highlands 1000km, where I used the surplus funds from DNS's to provide an extended free bar and a grand time was had by all. 

Its just a nice wee Edinburgh pub, of which there are dozens.  www.montys.bar

I thought the staff there were great too - they seemed really into the event.
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: fuaran on 31 August, 2018, 11:33:27 am
You can book the sleeper 12 months in advance.
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: hippy on 31 August, 2018, 12:02:38 pm
You can book the sleeper 12 months in advance.

Ah yes. £60 for a seat, £175+ for a bed. Ooof, that's each way. Min. £350 for sleeper w/ bed, return. Why are trains so expensive here?!

Do you know how far the seats recline? Is it like cattle class in a plane or better?
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: yorkie on 31 August, 2018, 02:15:16 pm
For the bike booking, I had to call the customer service once I'd bought my ticket - East Coast doesn't let you book your bike online, although that may change now it's out of Virgin's hands. West Coast does let you book online, iirc, but only if you're travelling a West Coast route (they're both called Virgin but they're different companies).
The East Coast route has been LNER (London North Eastern Railway) since earlier this year (24th June, I think) as Stagecoach (& Virgin) wanted out of the deal/were kicked out by the DfT**, so the route is now run by LNER, as an effectively nationalised railway, on behalf of the DfT. The trains and staff are the same, mind, as is the website that doesn't allow bike bookings!  >:(


For booking bikes online, I tend to use ScotRail's website, as it (still) allows the booking of bikes when booking the person. TransPennine Express and gWr's websites both also allow the booking of bikes (most of the time!) - they are both run by First Group, so the websites use the same booking engine, although unlike the ScotRail website, when they fail to book a bike, they don't tell you/fail gracefully**.

Advance tickets only become available 12 weeks before travel (normally - it can be less at weekends/bank holidays) as that is the planning window for planned maintenance on the railway - if it isn't in the working timetable by 12 weeks before, then it doesn't happen (unless it's an emergency and there is the prospect of things falling off!!)  :-D


**delete as applicable!  ;)
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: FifeingEejit on 03 September, 2018, 11:13:17 pm
You can book the sleeper 12 months in advance.

Ah yes. £60 for a seat, £175+ for a bed. Ooof, that's each way. Min. £350 for sleeper w/ bed, return. Why are trains so expensive here?!

Do you know how far the seats recline? Is it like cattle class in a plane or better?

I tried asking on Twitter how they can justify increasing the cheapest sleeper price from 30 quid to over a bloody ton and they dingied me...
it's a farce, I hope Serco collapse because of it... or at least their operation of the sleeper, should never have been split from Scotrail.



Also, just been through Kelty on my way back from Arran, it was miserable, but it wasn't Skinflats
Comrie at Dusk was one of the highlights of riding to Arran; except I missed the chippy so didn't get a Mars Bar Fritter.
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: hippy on 03 September, 2018, 11:32:38 pm
Once again, cheaper to drive. Trains in this country (and I guess the other country up there) are quite ridiculous.
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: FifeingEejit on 04 September, 2018, 09:24:51 am
Once again, cheaper to drive. Trains in this country (and I guess the other country up there) are quite ridiculous.

You've not factored in parking in Edinburgh, and then paying the council to release the vehicle from the pound where it'll inevitably end up, have you?
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: hippy on 04 September, 2018, 10:18:38 am
Don't be silly, I'll just park it on a footpath somewhere, like everyone else does. :(
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: Bairn Again on 04 September, 2018, 01:03:16 pm
I use the trains and find that the cheapest fares aren't available around 10-11 weeks beforehand.  They say 12 weeks but in my experience it doesn't happen.  I often end up playing with dates of travel just to establish for a fact what the lowest fare is, and take it from there but it does mean checking daily at the "T-11 weeks" mark or so. 

That's before VTEC upgraded their "awesome" website by, er, removing the ability to book bikes online.  That option is available with Scotrail but they don't offer tickets as far in advance as LNER so its all a bit f****d up just now as a user of LNER who travels with a bike a lot.   

Not sure where the nearest free parking is relative to Haymarket but it'll not be close - Murrayfield at least and even then you're talking about areas that have chronic park problems anyway so good luck there. 

For the WH10000 I suggested Hermiston P&R, and freewheel down to the tram (or cycle in) 
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: hippy on 04 September, 2018, 01:11:22 pm
Much as I love motorways, I'm not going to be driving so let's scratch that idea.
I've got an alert set so I'll probably just end up looking around nearer the T-12 period and seeing what I can do.
I work near a station so might end up hassling them, given the bike booking problem.
It's only 700k London to Edinburgh, I'll just cycle up.
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: hillbilly on 04 September, 2018, 05:47:34 pm
Looks like a nice route.  I may be tempted.

For the chap who asked, the chairs on the current sleeper don't recline and its quite difficult to get to sleep in them.  That said, the sleeper trains are being upgraded at some point in 2018/19 and so this might (or might not) improve by the time of the event.

Sometimes the easiest option is to box up the bike and fly to Edinburgh, if there is the facility for left luggage at the Arrivee, particularly if you can find someone's sofa to crash on (I'm lucky enough to have family up there).
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: Feanor on 04 September, 2018, 11:43:19 pm
I have keyfobs for private parking in central Embra.
I wonder how much I can rent them for....
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: hippy on 05 September, 2018, 09:23:52 am
For the chap who asked, the chairs on the current sleeper don't recline and its quite difficult to get to sleep in them.  That said, the sleeper trains are being upgraded at some point in 2018/19 and so this might (or might not) improve by the time of the event.

Sometimes the easiest option is to box up the bike and fly to Edinburgh, if there is the facility for left luggage at the Arrivee, particularly if you can find someone's sofa to crash on (I'm lucky enough to have family up there).

Thanks. I guessed as much. Why allow people to actually sleep when there's money to be made?

I could fly but I always prefer trains if it's viable. Train travel is so much sexier these days than flying. Planes are just buses in the sky now.

Also I think slowly pulling out my fingernails is more fun than boxing bikes. :)
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: Ivan on 05 September, 2018, 12:31:30 pm
Looks like the sleeper only gets in around 7am so not sure if it's a viable option unless you intend to travel up Thursday night. I'm seriously considering this ride - will probably get a Friday evening train.

My only useful bit of train booking knowledge is that Virgin (West Coast at least, at Euston) will issue you with a bike reservation *before* the cheap tickets go on sale, so you can then book the advance ticket online. At least that's what they did for my Dublin railsail ticket for TAW last year, YMMV.
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: telstarbox on 05 September, 2018, 12:52:12 pm
Virgin WC will also let you book a cycle reservation over the phone before you've booked your (cheap) train ticket - you then get a code which you type into the ticket machine, which prints a reservation ticket to attach to your bike.
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: hippy on 05 September, 2018, 01:46:09 pm
There's some Jedi-level train knowledge happening in here...
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: JonB on 05 September, 2018, 02:06:09 pm
There's some Jedi-level train knowledge happening in here...

Yes, truly impressive!!
Title: Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
Post by: bairn again on 13 September, 2018, 10:30:06 am
Hi folks

As a result of multiple Real Life TM issues I'm going to play safe and pull this event (and my planned January 2019 200) from the calendar.

Don't want to publish events that might have to be moved or cancelled, esp in a PBP year.

Apologies.