Poll

How often do you use a train to get to the start / from the finish of an Audax event? (includes the night before / after and ECEs, but not unscheduled DNF)

Less than 6 times a year
21 (34.4%)
6 or more times a year
21 (34.4%)
Never and I do 6 events or more a year
12 (19.7%)
Never and I do less than 6 events a year
6 (9.8%)
You're having a laugh, I live on a line served by Southern / Thameslink!
1 (1.6%)

Total Members Voted: 54

Author Topic: Train to events  (Read 3326 times)

CrazyEnglishTriathlete

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Re: Train to events
« Reply #25 on: 06 August, 2019, 07:46:51 pm »
I found that the Scotrail website allows cycle reservations to be booked at the same time as the tickets.  Whenever I have the chance to fill in a survey on a train website I make this point.

I only do 5 - 6 Audax events a year.  I used to drive to most of them, but now the majority I ride to the start or take the train, which avoids a tired drive home afterwards.

Most obscure train station is probably Caersws, which I used as a start/finish station for the Cambrian 4C.  Oddly enough I had two seats to myself on the way back  :facepalm:

It feels expensive (£124 for the round trip to Newcastle from Basingstoke for the Border Raid even when booking 12 weeks in advance), but that's 20p a mile, which is about the fuel cost for my car, not taking into account wear and tear on the vehicle and a minimum of 6 hours of sheer hell (probably more like 10) sitting in summer Friday traffic.

If you are travelling Cross Country between Birmingham or further north and Reading or further south, split your fare at Banbury - it will half the rail fare.  Makes cycle reservations a faff, but you will save a fortune.
Eddington Numbers 130 (imperial), 182 (metric) 571 (furlongs)  114 (nautical miles)

Re: Train to events
« Reply #26 on: 06 August, 2019, 07:56:42 pm »
I nearly alwasy take the train to an event (Travelling with someone else in a car to an event maybe every 4 years at the max). Sometimes I cycle to the start.

Martin

Re: Train to events
« Reply #27 on: 06 August, 2019, 08:43:22 pm »
Not connected with cycling but I goofed up having booked a cottage weekend in Wales without checking I could get time off work;as I couldn't share a lift up on Friday I paid a pretty hefty £100 return fare (not walk on, a couple of weeks in advance). It worked out that it would have only saved about £20 to have gone all the way home got the car and driven up (by which time everyone else would have been asleep) and also missing the Sunday night rather than getting an early train back to London on Monday


It did end up costing the same as a week's package to Mallorca though....

cygnet

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Re: Train to events
« Reply #28 on: 06 August, 2019, 09:46:39 pm »
I've used a train to get to the start of all my Audax rides this year with the exception of the Ditchling Devil. But I also flew all the way around the world for two of them!
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FifeingEejit

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Re: Train to events
« Reply #29 on: 06 August, 2019, 09:52:05 pm »
Given the difficulty in booking as the national booking system doesn't include cycle reservations, meaning additional phone call, with the possibility of no bike space; cost of tickets;  and limited options from my local station, without extra changes and therefore more booking complications ......

I have used a one way trip on the train a few times for a DIY, even then this means that I can't use the recumbent as it doesn't fit in the limited bike space.

So the easier, more reliable option is to use the van.  Obviously not environmentally friendly however our system doesn't seem to offer much of an alternative.

Check the Scotrail website for bike reservations, restarted with just theirs, then gained LNER and I've managed to book VT and TPE bikes apces with them too recently.
The big problem with bike bookings online is the system doesn't deal with legs where there are no bike bookings required/possible, so if I wanted to get a ticket from say Leuchars to Brampton (Cumbria) with a bike I have to do all 3 legs... but then the 3 legs works out cheaper than as an off-peak return for the full thing...

Re: Train to events
« Reply #30 on: 06 August, 2019, 10:54:21 pm »
I like travelling by train to events. Works well for the Witham/ACME ones - into London and then out from Liverpool Street. Can be done for some others. However, I've chosen "less than six" because I don't get to ride that many events a year anyway - doesn't really tell you the percentage of my total events that it represents (it's a minority). And at present, I'm banned from riding on medical grounds, so there won't be any for a bit yet :'(

Re: Train to events
« Reply #31 on: 06 August, 2019, 11:04:59 pm »
Living in London, I almost always use a train to get to events if i cannot ride to the start. I only get scuppered on early starts W/E start times, where necessary to take train the night before and take accommodation before the event. But much preferable to driving.

S2L

Re: Train to events
« Reply #32 on: 07 August, 2019, 07:40:18 am »
but that's 20p a mile,

Suggest you get a more modern, more fuel efficient car... fuel wise, mine averages 60 mpg, which works out at 10 p a mile with current petrol price, it's also obviously half the emissions of yours

Cudzoziemiec

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Re: Train to events
« Reply #33 on: 07 August, 2019, 09:36:58 am »
I think I've taken a train to the start of two or three events in my audaxing life. One or two of those I've trained to the start and ridden home. I'm not sure if Sunday's Honeybourne event counts as a train: I took the train to Gloucester, rode from there to the campsite near Evesham, then in JBB's car to the event about 10 miles away on the morning. The main reason for the train was to get to the campsite, but the reason for the campsite was that JBB had organised it for the sake of the audax, plus if I hadn't had the event on Sunday I'd have been more willing to ride about 110km luggaged up on the Saturday.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Re: Train to events
« Reply #34 on: 07 August, 2019, 10:27:09 am »
.....you won't find many people coming on here to say "I drive all over the country for Audax events".



When I was actively audaxing (sadly not the case in recent years) my wife and I would plan a long weekend around an audax event. While I was riding Mrs D would do something she knew I was less interested in, often involving shopping, and for the rest of the weekend we would visit places / walk / whatever together. In that way we visited many parts of England Wales and Scotland. And yes, we drove.

As an organiser, I encourage riders to come by train (providing train information in the details provided) but I know that quite a few riders regularly come a considerable distance to Reading / South Oxfordshire events, from East Anglia, the Midlands, South West, with the majority of these driving. Most of the London entrants come by train.

I think that use of trains is somewhat easier for those who live near a rail "hub" (London, Bristol, Birmingham etc) with access in many directions.

Re: Train to events
« Reply #35 on: 07 August, 2019, 03:49:17 pm »
Gave up my car for financial and environmental reasons 5 or 6 years ago so now only do rides that are within 50km of home or can be “trained” to. As a result my CAL:DIY ratio has pretty much reversed from 4:1 to 1:4
Eddington Number = 132

S2L

Re: Train to events
« Reply #36 on: 07 August, 2019, 04:14:19 pm »
Gave up my car for financial and environmental reasons 5 or 6 years ago so now only do rides that are within 50km of home or can be “trained” to. As a result my CAL:DIY ratio has pretty much reversed from 4:1 to 1:4

Likewise... still have a car, but try to use it sparingly... this year I have done 8 x 200... but only one was a calendar event, 6 were DIY and one was ECE. I have done a few BP, because that's what is available locally

Phil W

Re: Train to events
« Reply #37 on: 08 August, 2019, 04:14:09 pm »
My events are all accessible by train for getting to the start and going home.