Author Topic: London-Wales-London  (Read 67565 times)

Re: London-Wales-London
« Reply #300 on: 13 May, 2018, 09:45:45 am »
After last years debacle involving Gina being hit by a drunk driver, we took it a little easier this year to avoid being too tired at during the Lambourne-Henley leg.

Some of this was unintentional as Gina decided to put her insoles in the wrong shoes and wonder why she had no power after Tewkesbury.

We were about an hour slower than last year by the time we hit Sonning Common, but luckily there were no drivers to be seen!

A great day and met some great riders...am I coming next year....we will see ;)

whosatthewheel

Re: London-Wales-London
« Reply #301 on: 17 May, 2018, 06:32:49 pm »
Finally managed to add my piece

https://whosatthewheel.com/

Re: London-Wales-London
« Reply #302 on: 22 May, 2018, 06:30:54 pm »
Did anyone get any nice pics by the way?

telstarbox

  • Loving the lanes
Re: London-Wales-London
« Reply #303 on: 31 May, 2018, 07:52:12 am »
2019 🏅 R1000 and B1000

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: London-Wales-London
« Reply #304 on: 31 May, 2018, 08:45:25 am »
Nice piece. Shame about some of the lame BTL comments.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Re: London-Wales-London
« Reply #305 on: 31 May, 2018, 09:16:28 am »
....Great to see a good number of women at the start today. Hopefully that number continues to grow....
Out of curiosity, does anyone know how many women took part?

Wycombewheeler

  • PBP-2019 LEL-2022
Re: London-Wales-London
« Reply #306 on: 31 May, 2018, 09:45:30 am »
Finishers list shows 8 I think.

Eddington  127miles, 170km

Re: London-Wales-London
« Reply #307 on: 28 July, 2018, 12:26:39 pm »
....Great to see a good number of women at the start today. Hopefully that number continues to grow....
Out of curiosity, does anyone know how many women took part?

My sense was that women were over-represented among the DNS - I hope we can get a more diverse field next year (we are aiming to open for entries on 16 September).

Liam

Wycombewheeler

  • PBP-2019 LEL-2022
Re: London-Wales-London
« Reply #308 on: 28 July, 2018, 10:32:08 pm »
....Great to see a good number of women at the start today. Hopefully that number continues to grow....
Out of curiosity, does anyone know how many women took part?

My sense was that women were over-represented among the DNS - I hope we can get a more diverse field next year (we are aiming to open for entries on 16 September).

Liam
any chance of running an x rated version alongside the paid controls one? this 400 is the most convenient for me, but I prefer being able to choose when, where and what I eat. Demand should be pretty high next year with people looking t get the PBP qualifiers, and the event sold out last year.

Eddington  127miles, 170km

Re: London-Wales-London
« Reply #309 on: 29 July, 2018, 08:22:42 am »
any chance of running an x rated version alongside the paid controls one? this 400 is the most convenient for me, but I prefer being able to choose when, where and what I eat. Demand should be pretty high next year with people looking t get the PBP qualifiers, and the event sold out last year.

Hi

No plans to do so.  However, If you are able to help out on the day I'd be delighted to arrange a helpers' ride the week after.  We'll need people to support for a few hours in Lambourn and Chepstow; if you can't ride on the day it's great way to be part of it all.

Liam

mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
    • Didcot Audaxes
Re: London-Wales-London
« Reply #310 on: 29 July, 2018, 08:33:43 am »
The "optional TLC" ride has been discussed before (mainly around LEL): the general view is that it's too much hassle to check which riders have paid for food/bed and which not. Shame, because it has some advantages (for the riders, anyway).
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

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
London-Wales-London
« Reply #311 on: 29 July, 2018, 08:57:36 am »
The "optional TLC" ride has been discussed before (mainly around LEL): the general view is that it's too much hassle to check which riders have paid for food/bed and which not. Shame, because it has some advantages (for the riders, anyway).

Surely the TLC is optional anyway - the only mandatory bit is getting your card stamped.

There are also quite a few 400s in the calendar that don’t offer the full TLC thing.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Re: London-Wales-London
« Reply #312 on: 20 September, 2018, 01:07:12 pm »
....Great to see a good number of women at the start today. Hopefully that number continues to grow....
Out of curiosity, does anyone know how many women took part?


Based only on a count of first names we have 35 women signed up so far.  We have a lot of Chris' but I excluded them from the count!

Re: London-Wales-London
« Reply #313 on: 20 September, 2018, 06:09:08 pm »
Does anyone have the gpx file for this or any previous editions?  Looking to reccy it next Friday.

TIA

Re: London-Wales-London
« Reply #314 on: 20 September, 2018, 06:47:47 pm »
I'M happy to supply - Are you planning on riding it?

Re: London-Wales-London
« Reply #315 on: 21 September, 2018, 12:38:12 pm »
I'M happy to supply - Are you planning on riding it?

Yes I am just going out for a jolly on it beforehand.

whosatthewheel

Re: London-Wales-London
« Reply #316 on: 21 September, 2018, 02:00:10 pm »
I'M happy to supply - Are you planning on riding it?

Yes I am just going out for a jolly on it beforehand.

If I was to do it unsupported, I'd go clockwise. The Chiltern lanes coming back from the south in the dark are quite nerve racking, due to poor road surface, whereas the top part in Oxfordshire has better roads. It's also flatter after Stow on the Wold, ideal when you are tired. You can probably avoid the last nasty kick up Cadsden lane by climbing the ridge further north passing by Chequers.. I think it's called Butlers Cross.

Just a thought
The Severn crossing approach might be a bit more awkward that way, but shouldn't be an issue

Re: London-Wales-London
« Reply #317 on: 21 September, 2018, 02:12:01 pm »
I'M happy to supply - Are you planning on riding it?

Yes I am just going out for a jolly on it beforehand.

Hope you enjoy it.

I do ask people to consider making a charitable donation to Jasmijn's CRUK page - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/LEJOGRECORD
It's a nice way to acknowledge the work put in over the years by people to refine the route; it doesn't have to be much but it will influence your kamma!

Re: London-Wales-London
« Reply #318 on: 21 September, 2018, 02:18:18 pm »
I'M happy to supply - Are you planning on riding it?

Yes I am just going out for a jolly on it beforehand.

If I was to do it unsupported, I'd go clockwise. The Chiltern lanes coming back from the south in the dark are quite nerve racking, due to poor road surface, whereas the top part in Oxfordshire has better roads. It's also flatter after Stow on the Wold, ideal when you are tired. You can probably avoid the last nasty kick up Cadsden lane by climbing the ridge further north passing by Chequers.. I think it's called Butlers Cross.

Just a thought
The Severn crossing approach might be a bit more awkward that way, but shouldn't be an issue

I think avoiding Cadsden Lane by going down to Butlers Cross does have the disadvantage of a few extra K on a busy narrowish road. Cadsden Lane is not terrible and the descent down to Askett is quite jolly.

whosatthewheel

Re: London-Wales-London
« Reply #319 on: 21 September, 2018, 03:46:04 pm »


If I was to do it unsupported, I'd go clockwise. The Chiltern lanes coming back from the south in the dark are quite nerve racking, due to poor road surface, whereas the top part in Oxfordshire has better roads. It's also flatter after Stow on the Wold, ideal when you are tired. You can probably avoid the last nasty kick up Cadsden lane by climbing the ridge further north passing by Chequers.. I think it's called Butlers Cross.

Just a thought
The Severn crossing approach might be a bit more awkward that way, but shouldn't be an issue

I think avoiding Cadsden Lane by going down to Butlers Cross does have the disadvantage of a few extra K on a busy narrowish road. Cadsden Lane is not terrible and the descent down to Askett is quite jolly.

I was referring to a clockwise scenario, where you have to climb Cadsden from Askett after 380 km or so, or add 3-4 km and climb the much shallower Butlers cross.

Have you considered trying one year a "clockwise LWL"? I thought about it a lot over the past 4 months (not very busy...) and I can see very few drawbacks... but quite a few advantages for the riders: on top of those listed above, you would be able to use the B 4077 to Stow, which is too busy during the late morning, possibly even the A 46 out of Tewkesbury.

Re: London-Wales-London
« Reply #320 on: 21 September, 2018, 04:11:24 pm »
It is an interesting idea indeed but not one for me for now. Even with an established route things like finessing directions and upgrading controls are a significant undertaking.  Reworking the whole thing is probably beyond the capacity of the team behind it at the moment.

Perhaps when I retire some time I'll think some more about it but for now I'll let it remain a pipedream

Liam

mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
    • Didcot Audaxes
Re: London-Wales-London
« Reply #321 on: 21 September, 2018, 04:13:29 pm »
You know, I think some wise chap suggested this before. Let me see ... ah yes ...

https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=99473.msg2284456#msg2284456
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
« Reply #322 on: 25 September, 2018, 12:00:57 pm »
I'M happy to supply - Are you planning on riding it?

Yes I am just going out for a jolly on it beforehand.

Hope you enjoy it.

I do ask people to consider making a charitable donation to Jasmijn's CRUK page - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/LEJOGRECORD
It's a nice way to acknowledge the work put in over the years by people to refine the route; it doesn't have to be much but it will influence your kamma!

When do a search on the RWGPS page for LWL up pops about five different routes.  Can anyone point me in the direction of the 'official' route?

TIA

Re: London-Wales-London
« Reply #323 on: 25 September, 2018, 12:32:16 pm »
Hi there

The 'official' route isn't there - the 2019 route will have a few tweaks in response to the feedback from last years riders.  But broadly it's the same as last year and as described on the website.  You'll be OK with the Ride with GPS files but you may find a few changes to road layout and controls (e.g Chepstow control is no longer at Tutshill).

A small donation to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/LEJOGRECORD gets you a full briefing.

Liam



Re: London-Wales-London
« Reply #324 on: 25 September, 2018, 01:47:04 pm »
Okay cheers Liam. 

Undecided as to whether to go down A4 or go through Henley on Friday!  Might just see how it's going on the day :)