Author Topic: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019  (Read 4340 times)

Bairn Again

Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
« 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: 



FifeingEejit

  • Not Small
Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 : 18th May 2019
« Reply #1 on: 29 August, 2018, 01:45:41 pm »
Skinflats, Comrie, Glenfarg, Dunning, Kelty ...
and not quite home at the 460km mark

Nice

Feanor

  • It's mostly downhill from here.
Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
« Reply #2 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?

Bairn Again

Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
« Reply #3 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. 


Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
« Reply #4 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.
It didn't look at all like that in the photographs

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
« Reply #5 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.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Phil W

Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
« Reply #6 on: 30 August, 2018, 08:28:13 pm »
The Full Monty would be an appropriate name

Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
« Reply #7 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..

Bairn Again

Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
« Reply #8 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


 

Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
« Reply #9 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..

JonB

  • Granny Ring ... Yes Please!
Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
« Reply #10 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  :()

Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
« Reply #11 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?

JonB

  • Granny Ring ... Yes Please!
Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
« Reply #12 on: 31 August, 2018, 11:08:31 am »
My experience is no, they don't appear to have any more access than we do.

Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
« Reply #13 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.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
« Reply #14 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).
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
« Reply #15 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.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

fuaran

  • rothair gasta
Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
« Reply #16 on: 31 August, 2018, 11:33:27 am »
You can book the sleeper 12 months in advance.

Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
« Reply #17 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?

yorkie

  • On top of the Galibier
Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
« Reply #18 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!  ;)
Born to ride my bike, forced to work! ;)

British Cycling Regional A Track Commissaire
British Cycling Regional A Circuit Commissaire
Cycling Attendant, York Sport Village Cycle Circuit and Velodrome

FifeingEejit

  • Not Small
Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
« Reply #19 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.

Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
« Reply #20 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.

FifeingEejit

  • Not Small
Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
« Reply #21 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?

Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
« Reply #22 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. :(

Bairn Again

Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
« Reply #23 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) 

Re: Stoney Broke - New 600 from Edinburgh : 18th May 2019
« Reply #24 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.