Author Topic: Have you been out today on a Perm or DIY?  (Read 152897 times)

Re: Have you been out today on a Perm or DIY?
« Reply #575 on: 06 January, 2020, 10:56:10 am »
Yesterday, a full value trundle up and down the Vale of York for my January ride.  I'm entered for Deano's alpine challenge on the 18th but thought I'd better get a DIY in the bag just in case of bad weather and/or not being up to it.

Early start and minor roads meant hardly any traffic as I zig-zagged down to the edge of York.  More traffic there, and on a B road towards Ripon that is obviously used as a rat run by the locals.  A couple of short spells of drizzle, and the wind was getting stronger through the day, but at least by then I was heading back North so mostly behind me.

Getting dark for the last hour or two and colder after mild temperatures earlier in the day, my legs got cold and started to hurt (even more than usual) - should have worn thicker trousers.

[/url]IMG_20200105_092823 by Dave Sharpe, on Flickr[/img]
Sunshine approaching from the South.

First time in 1,000 years.

FifeingEejit

  • Not Small
Re: Have you been out today on a Perm or DIY?
« Reply #576 on: 06 January, 2020, 12:54:10 pm »
Strong winds and lurgy means I've not pedaled a bike all year.
The weekend coming isn't looking promising either, 3 to do this month...

bairn again

Re: Have you been out today on a Perm or DIY?
« Reply #577 on: 09 March, 2020, 10:30:29 am »
I managed my 1st 200 since 28th December yesterday, my favourite one way ride to Stonehaven from Edinburgh.  Whilst mostly tailwind assisted I did make heavy weather of it through a few schoolboy errors and some pretty poor road conditions. 

With forecast rain I put on a fairly substantial jacket.  Im not a jacket rider and this one had me overheating despite the cold wind.  I was glad to remove it for about 90 minutes mid afternoon between the showers but that just served to expose my wet layers beneath to the cold wind which was a bit meh until they dried out.  At whch point the rain started again.  On Friday both the BBC and MetOffice forecasts had zero rain Sunday and I reckon it rained for around 5 hrs out the 10 I was out. 

I used overshoes that are better suited to cold conditions rather than wet. As a result I had warm wet feet that I knew would start to get cold in the final hour or so.   

I had a big dinner Saturday night but it just made me feel sluggish from the start.  I forced down an otherwise delicious lunch at the half way mark in Meigle but spent most of the 2nd half of the ride feeling very queasy. 

The 30k after Montrose represented the only tricky bit into a cross head wind (other than the bit from home to the Forth Bridge) and my legs had just gone.  I stopped at the top of the climb after Auchenblae to force down a bit of malt loaf.  I think I’d probably been suffering from the dreaded knock without realising it (with hindsight Id probably not taken in enough fluid either what with me baking gently inside a too heavy rain jacket).  I rode briefly with two guys from Stoney without about 15km to go but they were too quick for me - only just mind as I still had them in my sights when they were on the final climb through the farm.   

Using unclassified roads in Perthshire and Aberdeenshire this time of year wasnt a wise move.  Lots of very wet or flooded roads and much crud.  B roads would have been wiser. 

Still, job done, not a "Hollywood" ride by any means but it was all completed in daylight.  Train home and after dodging the booze soaked rugby revellers at Haymarket Station I made the short journey home by a combination of tram then a 2km warm down back home.
 
The highlight of the ride was seeing a red squirrel near Murrayshall Hotel - but the wee fella scurried off before I could get a pic!  Oh and some lovely rainbows while I made my slow motion progress between Marykirk and Auchenblae where I had Mark Shannon’s word ringing in my ears – “there's no such thing as an easy 200”.   

A manky bike awaits me in the garage.  Will probably go for a gentle swim tonight just to be kind to my legs.     

At this time of year I'm normally itching for the days to get long enough to bag a 300.  No' just now Im not!  I suspect this years audax riding may end up being back loaded.









bairn again

Re: Have you been out today on a Perm or DIY?
« Reply #578 on: 20 March, 2020, 03:05:54 pm »
Given that events have been suspended I suppose id better provide a quick summary of my DIY 200 last Sunday. 

It was the DIY version of an old event Id put on the calendar before, The Nippy Sweetie with a start / finish at home in West Edinburgh, north to Perth, west to Comrie  :thumbsup:, over Langside to Dunblane via Kinbuck and back to Edinburgh via the West Fife path and Dunfermalino with a final retrace over the Forth Bridge back and Dalmeny back home.

The forecast had a SW wind helping me to Perth where I was scheduled to get soaked in a headwind for the 45km to Comrie where Id be blown all the way home on the NW wind. It didnt quite work out that way as the wind seemed to turn NW well before I got to Perth but it stayed dry for all but a very short period near Clackmannan.  Ying and yang.

the climb over Langside was enjoyed in glorious sunshine and with a tailwind - most enjoyable - though there was still plenty water running off the roads from weeks of rain.

the cycle path between Clackmannan and Dunfermline made for an almost totally off road tarmac return from Causewayhead to home though I did get a bit bored in parts and stopped for a drink just to break the monotony.  the stretch heading west after perth wasnt quite as grim as Id expected it as there were a number of stretches where hedges provided shelter.   

I used ridewithgps on my phone rather than a GPS to record the ride though it added random distance of around 14km when I was stopped but hadnt paused the ride on my phone.  Im assuming that pausing the ride on my phone would fix it (and that if I want to be more accurate I will just use a GPS unit....EDIT - or enable Auto Pause).

Got home in just over 10 hours, not the fastest ever but I had two long stops and was still well within daylight on arrival back at home. 

Wonder when my next one will be? 
       

         

bairn again

Re: Have you been out today on a Perm or DIY?
« Reply #579 on: 06 August, 2020, 09:28:54 pm »
On holiday at the in laws in Ft William, I was waiting for the first dry day to get out for a 200 so I was up with the lark to do a Ft William - Kinlocheil - Kinlochleven - Oban - Ballachulish.   The final 110km from Ballachulish to Oban and back was almost all on the dedicated cycle path.  The only exception was the 2km between the south end of the Connel Bridge and Dunbeg. 

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/53825982

Given that pretty much half the ride was on paths it was never going to be fast I decided to tour it and take a few more pics than normal.

Looking back on Ardgour from the 0840 Corran Ferry




Velo rouge on said ferry




Can your DIY200 do this?  Mine can. Looking east from the North side of Loch Leven



The cycle path between Ballachulish and Kentallen




Appin



Lunch in the costa del Oban



Castle Stalker



Info control Q.  "How many windmills can you see? 



Interesting building in Kentallen



Glencoe mountains behind the bridge the locals call "big ugly"



Re: Have you been out today on a Perm or DIY?
« Reply #580 on: 06 August, 2020, 10:56:34 pm »
My dad built that bridge, don't knock it :)

Lovely ride, G. I've not bothered yet, still holding out hope for a late SR. Might bag a 200 on one of my routes next weekend to get the 200 done, mind.

Re: Have you been out today on a Perm or DIY?
« Reply #581 on: 07 August, 2020, 09:12:26 am »
take a few more pics than normal.

<snip>

Git.

 ;D

bairn again

Re: Have you been out today on a Perm or DIY?
« Reply #582 on: 07 August, 2020, 12:29:03 pm »
One final bit of praise for the NCN78 route was that it even had a signed diversion (to a short stretch of the A828).  This was a pleasant antidote to those bike routes that just peter out in nothing or confusion - even without temporary diversions! 



Some stretches arent particularly glamorous, chiefly those that run directly adjacent to the narrowed A828 but it does score highly on

(a) quality of surface : a few rough bits but excellent otherwise and the A828 itself is a bit of a boneshaker
(b) directness : a few meanders but no daft detours that make you wish youd just used the road and
(c) segregation : diversions aside its fully off road for around 50km 

Im a semi regular visitor to the West Highlands and Id not ridden the section between Kentallen and Dalnatrat before (so much so that I missed it southbound and took until Duror to pick it up).  Lots of families and all ages using it too so a big  :thumbsup: :thumbsup:




Re: Have you been out today on a Perm or DIY?
« Reply #583 on: 08 August, 2020, 09:51:53 pm »
A last minute decision to try out a DIY today meant a 9am start but I needed to test my recently bought bike and me as It's been a long time since my last 200k. Lovely weather all round as i headed east then north over the FRB through Rosyth then up to Dollar.

Glendevon was a delight with little traffic and i made nice time to the garden center cafe just outside Crieff. Headed west to Comrie then up over the moor road which has been stripped of it's tarmac and is now a gravel mess sadly, used to like that road too. Usual busy bits heading south through Dunblane and Stirling but not too bad.

Kept stops to minimum, petrol stations for water and one cafe stop so I was pleased to be home in under 10 hours for my first 200k in a while. Suffered with hot right foot and 2 numb toes? so will need to check cleat position maybe?

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/53965629
Mind of a cyclist, body of a dart player.

Re: Have you been out today on a Perm or DIY?
« Reply #584 on: 14 August, 2020, 05:58:15 pm »
...Headed west to Comrie then up over the moor road which has been stripped of it's tarmac and is now a gravel mess sadly, used to like that road too

I came over that road yesterday and its great now the gravels been swept aside by the cars.
It was towards the end of a 300km from home, but my route choice wasn't great. Traffic on the Tyndrum to Crianlarich bit was extremely heavy.  On hearing a big truck behind me for a minute or 2 I pulled over to let him passed.  It was about 10 mins before I could set off again !
Mine couldn't have been a Perm or DIY as I was motor-assisted up the OMR at the tail end of the convoy. While in the truck I heard the walkie-talkies saying to "hold all the traffic as they're sending down stuff from the RabT road"    This meant not a single car passed me until I was near Inveraray !  :thumbsup:
I'd not ridden the Haul Road to Gairlochhead before, and I won't be doing it again.  It was close to start time at the MoD bases and commuter traffic was very heavy and very fast.  Trucks and buses don't want to slow down on the hilly road and lose momentum.  I hated that bit tbh.

Re: Have you been out today on a Perm or DIY?
« Reply #585 on: 14 August, 2020, 06:14:40 pm »
...Headed west to Comrie then up over the moor road which has been stripped of it's tarmac and is now a gravel mess sadly, used to like that road too

I came over that road yesterday and its great now the gravels been swept aside by the cars.
It was towards the end of a 300km from home, but my route choice wasn't great. Traffic on the Tyndrum to Crianlarich bit was extremely heavy.  On hearing a big truck behind me for a minute or 2 I pulled over to let him passed.  It was about 10 mins before I could set off again !
Mine couldn't have been a Perm or DIY as I was motor-assisted up the OMR at the tail end of the convoy. While in the truck I heard the walkie-talkies saying to "hold all the traffic as they're sending down stuff from the RabT road"    This meant not a single car passed me until I was near Inveraray !  :thumbsup:
I'd not ridden the Haul Road to Gairlochhead before, and I won't be doing it again.  It was close to start time at the MoD bases and commuter traffic was very heavy and very fast.  Trucks and buses don't want to slow down on the hilly road and lose momentum.  I hated that bit tbh.

That's the story of the roads on the west coast sadly, lovely roads but almost impossible to ride due to the volume of traffic. I love the RabT road but it's a no go most times of the day, Glen Fruin is a better way to get to Arrochar and beyond. If I can find time i still plan on doing a DIY 300K Bridge of earn/Perth then out to Crianlarich either Via Comrie or the Sma Glen then home down from Crianlarich and Loch Lomond but this will be an afternoon or evening start purely for traffic reasons.
Mind of a cyclist, body of a dart player.

FifeingEejit

  • Not Small
Re: Have you been out today on a Perm or DIY?
« Reply #586 on: 18 August, 2020, 08:58:32 pm »
I'm out at Tummel just now, surprised by how quiet the roads have been here although Glen Ogle and Callander were a shambles on saturday.
Killin managed to confuse me, normally there's the odd person on the falls and a stream of traffic sight seeing the north road but the falls were stowed and it was the south road that was busy with fly campers.
Seems to have totally messed up my ability to judge which road to use when as when I got to Kenmore, there was no traffic coming through either and the Schiehallion road was quiet an aw.
Right enough, it wasn't raining for once.

Returning home via Pitlochry and Dunkeld tomorrow so I'll get a chance to judge midweek traffic, if I can get the distance up without my legs exploding for days afterwards I might use my excess of holidays for midweek diys/perms, although we're being encouraged to use them now before the feared wave 2...


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frankly frankie

  • I kid you not
    • Fuchsiaphile
Re: Have you been out today on a Perm or DIY?
« Reply #587 on: 21 August, 2020, 11:37:49 am »
A stupid bug had found its way into the DIY (Mandatory) entry process - it should be OK as of now, but because the bug is in the email that gets auto-sent to entrants, it might affect anyone who has entered a DIY(M) in the last 10 days or so.

On submission of the Tracklog, they get a message saying "unable to identify rider - upload blocked".

This problem has been fixed and should gradually go away over the next couple of weeks, but for anyone who is affected there is a way to manually fix the problem before you visit the upload page:

You have a link looking somthing like this (this one is deliberately falsified of course):
Code: [Select]
Tracklog uploader link : (copy the link below and keep it safe)
https://www.aukweb.net/forms/entryformtracklog.php?virtualno=21275&cle=uWLanT&uids=34

If your email has the bug then the 'virtualno' is missing and the link looks like this:
Code: [Select]
https://www.aukweb.net/forms/entryformtracklog.php?virtualno=&cle=uWLanT&uids=34
and that will generate the block.
You can retrieve the missing 5-digit number from higher up in the same email where it is displayed as 'diyeventid=21275'
and insert it (just the 5 digits) into the link (between the 1st = and the &) to repair the damage.  Use the repaired link for the uploader.

I'm sorry for any annoyance this may have caused.

ff
when you're dead you're done, so let the good times roll

Re: Have you been out today on a Perm or DIY?
« Reply #588 on: 21 August, 2020, 11:51:40 am »

Thanks FF, you've saved from attempting to look into this, very much appreciated!

Wycombewheeler

  • PBP-2019 LEL-2022
Re: Have you been out today on a Perm or DIY?
« Reply #589 on: 24 August, 2020, 10:37:32 am »
Diy 400 completed over the weekend.  Saturday spin out to avebury, Silbury Hill and then down to Stonehenge 270km Sunday trip to London - Kensington Gardens, the mall, embankment, tower of London, Richmond Park, Hampton Court, Windsor Castle. Home in 26 hours and 59 minutes. 20 minutes lost trying to set up Samsung pay after leaving my cards at home, nearly proved critical.

Eddington  127miles, 170km

Re: Have you been out today on a Perm or DIY?
« Reply #590 on: 24 August, 2020, 01:46:56 pm »
Diy 400 completed over the weekend.  Saturday spin out tk avebury, Sidbury Hill and stonehenge 270km Sunday trip to London Kensington Gardens, the mall, embankment, Richmond Park, Hampton Court, Windsor Castle. Home in 26 hours and 59 minutes. 20 minutes lost trying to set up Samsung pay after leaving my cards at home, nearly proved critical.

Wow talk about really pushing the time limits. Well done.

Re: Have you been out today on a Perm or DIY?
« Reply #591 on: 24 August, 2020, 02:11:42 pm »
This was a lot of fun especially having Storm Ellen for company in my face for 200km. The Elan Valley blew my socks off. Slept in a graveyard for 2.5 hours which was peaceful and ate my own body weight in yoghurt. Lovely day and a bit out.

https://strava.app.link/lJ287lPdd9


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Wycombewheeler

  • PBP-2019 LEL-2022
Re: Have you been out today on a Perm or DIY?
« Reply #592 on: 24 August, 2020, 02:30:06 pm »
Diy 400 completed over the weekend.  Saturday spin out tk avebury, Sidbury Hill and stonehenge 270km Sunday trip to London Kensington Gardens, the mall, embankment, Richmond Park, Hampton Court, Windsor Castle. Home in 26 hours and 59 minutes. 20 minutes lost trying to set up Samsung pay after leaving my cards at home, nearly proved critical.

Wow talk about really pushing the time limits. Well done.
Yes,  I probably should have slept less and started earlier on Sunday. Or perhaps not removed the saddle bag to save the weight of extra layers used on Saturday. As 10g of the extra weight was my credit card. Was a very nervous finish constantly watching the kms remaining and time tick down.

Eddington  127miles, 170km

Re: Have you been out today on a Perm or DIY?
« Reply #593 on: 24 August, 2020, 03:07:30 pm »
As a DIY the minimum speed would have been 14.3 kph so you needn't have worried as you'd have had another hour or so, or longer if the route was overdistance. I do understand wanting to finish within the 27 hours, mind.

I did my own 400 at the weekend with an evening start. Hacked up the A167 (disappointing to see that the Angel wasn't lit up) to cross the Tyne at High Level and west along the valley to Hexham.

I haven't had an overnight ride since PBP, this was all lovely. A star full of skies until the clouds moved over, no traffic, a decent temperature and a tailwind. I arrived at Alnwick (Alnwick and Hexham are about the only 24-hour opportunities in Northumberland) still in shorts and short sleeves, wondering why I'd bothered to drag all those extra layers up the hills.

The weather changes on Saturday - I got a good ducking up on the Otterburn Ranges, and had to have a fair few stops for naps. A final ducking on the Tynedale side of Yad Moss meant I finished the ride wearing all of my layers, at about midnight on Saturday.

Classic Audax of the type I've been missing, really ;D

Wycombewheeler

  • PBP-2019 LEL-2022
Re: Have you been out today on a Perm or DIY?
« Reply #594 on: 24 August, 2020, 04:46:05 pm »
Well I've just learned something.  Interesting that the limit for a BRM is 27 hours,  but the limit for a BR is based on a minimum speed which could be either 14.3 or 15 as set by the organiser.  Which could be more or less than 27 hours depending on the speed selected.
I can't see anything on the diy entry, or on the diy FAQs that confirms which minimum is applied.

Eddington  127miles, 170km

Re: Have you been out today on a Perm or DIY?
« Reply #595 on: 24 August, 2020, 04:56:17 pm »
Well I've just learned something.  Interesting that the limit for a BRM is 27 hours,  but the limit for a BR is based on a minimum speed which could be either 14.3 or 15 as set by the organiser.  Which could be more or less than 27 hours depending on the speed selected.
I can't see anything on the diy entry, or on the diy FAQs that confirms which minimum is applied.
It comes with the link to your virtual brevet on confirmation of your entry.


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bairn again

Re: Have you been out today on a Perm or DIY?
« Reply #596 on: 25 August, 2020, 12:08:24 pm »
I've long believed that the additional time through BR is more valuable on a 400 than any other distance. 

Its only an hour but it seems to have magical powers and much more so than getting 42 hrs v 40 on a 600.   :thumbsup:

 

Wycombewheeler

  • PBP-2019 LEL-2022
Re: Have you been out today on a Perm or DIY?
« Reply #597 on: 25 August, 2020, 12:31:05 pm »
I've long believed that the additional time through BR is more valuable on a 400 than any other distance. 

Its only an hour but it seems to have magical powers and much more so than getting 42 hrs v 40 on a 600.   :thumbsup:
Because those extra hours on a 600 are hours you don't want to use.  Stay at 6am finish at 10pm ir finish at midnight.  Whereas the extra hour on a 400 is most likely an hour in daytime.

Had I known I would likely have started an hour earlier on Saturday and avoided all night riding,  and would then have been close to the deadline anyway.

Start Saturday 08:30 12 hours for 270km (after sunset, but not really dark if clear skies) resume 06:00 finish 12:00 with 30 minutes in hand.   I would not plan to finish 600 at 11pm or later  having started at 06:00 the previous day

Eddington  127miles, 170km

Re: Have you been out today on a Perm or DIY?
« Reply #598 on: 25 August, 2020, 01:20:03 pm »
Well I've just learned something.  Interesting that the limit for a BRM is 27 hours,  but the limit for a BR is based on a minimum speed which could be either 14.3 or 15 as set by the organiser.  Which could be more or less than 27 hours depending on the speed selected.
I can't see anything on the diy entry, or on the diy FAQs that confirms which minimum is applied.
It comes with the link to your virtual brevet on confirmation of your entry.

I've not known that. Unfortunately the link in the entry confirmation email no longer works as you need to log in through audax.uk, and I can't find anywhere on that site to preview virtual brevets. Does anybody know where they might reside?

Eddington: 133 miles    Max square: 43x43

Wycombewheeler

  • PBP-2019 LEL-2022
Re: Have you been out today on a Perm or DIY?
« Reply #599 on: 25 August, 2020, 02:03:19 pm »
Well I've just learned something.  Interesting that the limit for a BRM is 27 hours,  but the limit for a BR is based on a minimum speed which could be either 14.3 or 15 as set by the organiser.  Which could be more or less than 27 hours depending on the speed selected.
I can't see anything on the diy entry, or on the diy FAQs that confirms which minimum is applied.
It comes with the link to your virtual brevet on confirmation of your entry.

I've not known that. Unfortunately the link in the entry confirmation email no longer works as you need to log in through audax.uk, and I can't find anywhere on that site to preview virtual brevets. Does anybody know where they might reside?
What's stopping you logging in? If I log in,  then go back and try the link again it works.  I've never opened one of those links before

Eddington  127miles, 170km