Author Topic: London-Wales-London  (Read 67593 times)

London-Wales-London
« on: 18 September, 2016, 05:00:49 pm »
In case anyone gets confused, Severn Across in 2017 gets a bit of a facelift - slightly better controls at Chepstow and Tambourin (no more kipping in Membury Services).

Hopefully, I'll have a groovy website soon as well.

Thanks for all the offers of nice photos... I have a couple I'm going to use on the website

Liam


Re: London Wales London (Severn Across as was...)
« Reply #2 on: 18 September, 2016, 07:12:14 pm »
Chalfont-Chepstow-Chalfont?


Re: London Wales London (Severn Across as was...)
« Reply #4 on: 18 September, 2016, 08:24:59 pm »
Chalfont-Chepstow-Chalfont?

Anything ACP can do ...

Martin

Re: London Wales London (Severn Across as was...)
« Reply #5 on: 18 September, 2016, 08:42:42 pm »
+1 for London-Wales-London; most peeps don't have a clue where Chalfont or indeed Chepstow are; all the times I've done the ride I've answered those who asked where I rode at the weekend with "to Wales and back"

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: London Wales London (Severn Across as was...)
« Reply #6 on: 18 September, 2016, 09:11:48 pm »
Chalfont is unfortunate in rhyming slang...  ;) ;D

Re: London Wales London (Severn Across as was...)
« Reply #7 on: 18 September, 2016, 09:31:26 pm »
Chalfont is unfortunate in rhyming slang...  ;) ;D

St Peter?!?

;)

Perhaps appropriate to long hours in the saddle...

    ...but back to the subject.

Redlight

  • Enjoying life in the slow lane
Re: London Wales London (Severn Across as was...)
« Reply #8 on: 23 September, 2016, 07:09:51 pm »
£23?  Presumably the upgraded controls are catered?
Why should anybody steal a watch when they can steal a bicycle?

Graeme

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Re: London Wales London (Severn Across as was...)
« Reply #9 on: 23 September, 2016, 10:45:24 pm »
I'm in. It turned up in my Twitter feed and prompted me to book the time off work. I've wanted to do the Severn Across for ages, but rebranding as London Wales London in the LEL year is genius.

mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
    • Didcot Audaxes
Re: London Wales London (Severn Across as was...)
« Reply #10 on: 24 September, 2016, 09:00:43 am »
£23?  Presumably the upgraded controls are catered?
There is a strong hint that the Lambourn-Tambourin control is a sleep haven. I'm pretty confident in assuming that there will be food there too.

The finish has always been fully catered with usable sleep facilities, so you get quite a lot for your money (even though it seems expensive compared to a few utter bargains available in the calendar!) There have been less cheap 400s involving wales+England in recent years.

No doubt Fitzy will be along to correct me if wrong ...
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

Re: London Wales London (Severn Across as was...)
« Reply #11 on: 24 September, 2016, 12:52:04 pm »
£23?  Presumably the upgraded controls are catered?

A fair question!  I had hoped my funky website would be live by now but my web designer (AKA my daughter) has taken a job overseas....

The revised version is as MattC suggested with feeds at start and finish, outside Chepstow and during the night. Bookings already coming in which, as a member of the last minute club, always amazes me!


Liam

Redlight

  • Enjoying life in the slow lane
Re: London Wales London (Severn Across as was...)
« Reply #12 on: 24 September, 2016, 02:32:58 pm »
The revised version is as MattC suggested with feeds at start and finish, outside Chepstow and during the night. Bookings already coming in

Sounds good. Severn Across was always a good route but the catering options in Chepstow were somewhat uninspiring if you didn't have enough time in hand for a sit-down meal.  ISTR trying to get through the next section on a tuna sandwich and chocolate milk shake from the Tesco garage  :sick:

Why should anybody steal a watch when they can steal a bicycle?

Re: London Wales London (Severn Across as was...)
« Reply #13 on: 24 September, 2016, 06:18:06 pm »
TBH my main concern was the control at Membury services.  It's fine on the Dean but doesn't quite cut it for a longer ride where some people need a few zzzz.  Mr Iddu and assorted folk from this parish are possibly going to do something more suitable.... details to be nailed down but the aim is to make it a bit more accessible to the less hardcore amongst us.

Wycombewheeler

  • PBP-2019 LEL-2022
Re: London Wales London (Severn Across as was...)
« Reply #14 on: 24 September, 2016, 09:09:55 pm »
TBH my main concern was the control at Membury services.  It's fine on the Dean but doesn't quite cut it for a longer ride where some people need a few zzzz.  Mr Iddu and assorted folk from this parish are possibly going to do something more suitable.... details to be nailed down but the aim is to make it a bit more accessible to the less hardcore amongst us.

so true, I think I was about average in the field, but I found the food outlets closing down when I was at Membury. On the Dean at an earlier arrival time, no problem.

sleep on a 400 seems like a difficult call though, the fatser riders, can finish without sleep, and the slower riders probably don't get much time for sleep, so you're looking a relatively small group.

Eddington  127miles, 170km

mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
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Re: London Wales London (Severn Across as was...)
« Reply #15 on: 25 September, 2016, 12:14:11 pm »

sleep on a 400 seems like a difficult call though, the fatser riders, can finish without sleep, and the slower riders probably don't get much time for sleep, so you're looking a relatively small group.
The sleep stop is very popular on the Brevet Cymru, even if less than half the riders actually sleep there.
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

CrazyEnglishTriathlete

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Re: London Wales London (Severn Across as was...)
« Reply #16 on: 25 September, 2016, 12:49:04 pm »

sleep on a 400 seems like a difficult call though, the fatser riders, can finish without sleep, and the slower riders probably don't get much time for sleep, so you're looking a relatively small group.
The sleep stop is very popular on the Brevet Cymru, even if less than half the riders actually sleep there.

Even though I am usually a fatser rider (that's getting very true after a week stuck in Sao Paulo) I would very much have appreciated a sleep stop on last year's Severn Across.  I'd had a lets-crash-the-air-traffic-control-systems and get you back to Heathrow at midnight Thursday/Friday week and by the time it got to 10pm I had to pull off the A4 and sit in a hotel lobby with a coffee and closed eyes for a while before I could continue.  If circumstances repeated a kip in Lambourn would be Tony-the-Tiger grrrrrrreat.
Eddington Numbers 130 (imperial), 182 (metric) 571 (furlongs)  114 (nautical miles)

Re: London Wales London (Severn Across as was...)
« Reply #17 on: 26 September, 2016, 08:27:58 am »
Thanks to Bigwheelsandsmall and The Sloth for the images...  the London Wales London website is live... www.londonwaleslondon.com

Liam

Re: London Wales London (Severn Across as was...)
« Reply #18 on: 26 September, 2016, 08:45:44 am »
A slow pedant queries the front page's claim of a 26 hour time limit - his friend Shirley reckons it's really 27.

Nice work on the site, mind - has me reaching for next year's diary.

Redlight

  • Enjoying life in the slow lane
Re: London Wales London (Severn Across as was...)
« Reply #19 on: 26 September, 2016, 08:47:48 am »
Thanks to Bigwheelsandsmall and The Sloth for the images...  the London Wales London website is live... www.londonwaleslondon.com

Liam

Very professional (as would be expected, of course)... but can I point out the small typo on the home page:

"The next section takes you to the challenge of Yat Rock before a fast decent into Chepstow and, at 218 km, Wales."

I'll get my anorak.
Why should anybody steal a watch when they can steal a bicycle?

Re: London Wales London (Severn Across as was...)
« Reply #20 on: 26 September, 2016, 08:59:21 am »

[/quote]

Very professional (as would be expected, of course)... but can I point out the small typo on the home page:

"The next section takes you to the challenge of Yat Rock before a fast decent into Chepstow and, at 218 km, Wales."

I'll get my anorak.
[/quote]

Ah hem.... it comes as a relief that this is the only one!  I blame my daughter who has abandoned me to work overseas, otherwise the site would have been beautifully checked!


Re: London Wales London (Severn Across as was...)
« Reply #21 on: 26 September, 2016, 09:01:15 am »
BTW - what do you think of the photography?  I particularly like the images on the "Audax" and "Training" pages!

LittleWheelsandBig

  • Whimsy Rider
Re: London Wales London (Severn Across as was...)
« Reply #22 on: 26 September, 2016, 09:08:14 am »
Worthwhile website

Pedant's corner
Shirley is correct - 27 hour limit for 400 BRM.
HK has provided some photos.
What to bring mentions 'outer tubes', rather than tyres.
Wheel meet again, don't know where, don't know when...

Re: London Wales London (Severn Across as was...)
« Reply #23 on: 26 September, 2016, 09:12:53 am »
Pedant's corner
Shirley is correct - 27 hour limit for 400 BRM
HK has provided some photos.

Thanks - have amended!

(Plus thanks for not mentioning my typo above LittleW)

mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
    • Didcot Audaxes
Re: London Wales London (Severn Across as was...)
« Reply #24 on: 26 September, 2016, 09:15:01 am »

Quote

Very professional (as would be expected, of course)... but can I point out the small typo on the home page:

"The next section takes you to the challenge of Yat Rock before a fast decent into Chepstow and, at 218 km, Wales."

I'll get my anorak.

Ah hem.... it comes as a relief that this is the only one!  I blame my daughter who has abandoned me to work overseas, otherwise the site would have been beautifully checked!
While we're here ... I'm guessing from the precision of that statement, you've checked that we do indeed stray briefly into Wales. I've always wondered if the Dean/7Across route does; I don't think there's a border sign, and it's very unclear on most maps I've looked at. (I've never paid a toll, or had my passport checked either).
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles