Audax pet peeves!

[bludger]

It was a bit of a disco on his trike but he went at such a pace I didn't really see anything of him once we did the bit from Bristol to the hotel breakfast buffet. I think trikes get special dispensation!

[Karla]

Furthermore, if you're going for the static + flashing lights approach to get the best of both worlds (attention-getting and ability to judge position), it's best if there's a bit of physical separation between them.  My preference is to mount the flashing light down low, so that it's below the eyeline of following cyclists (though I'll turn it off entirely for group riding on dark roads) and disappears below the bonnet of cars stopped behind me in traffic.

I'd forgotten how well the low mounted flashers on Aiden's Trike work without blinding group riders, could see them blinking away a couple of km away on Yorkshire Grit, and I've followed him when they've been on.

If you mean Mr Hedley, it's a good thing you're not whinging about his lights because you just spelled his name wrong 

[vorsprung]

The back was usually the Cateye 'grenade' rear light that had two independent sets of lights, I'd usually have one on solid and the other doing the Knight Rider KITT swoosh back and forth.

A couple of observations on this from following them on countless night rides:

Funky KITT type patterns are no different from a single constantly lit LED when viewed from any real distance; the distance between LEDs is lost in the general wiggling and bouncing around of the bike.
A single constantly lit LED (see above) right next to several other constantly lit LEDs disappears into a single point of light when viewed from any real distance.

On that basis, I'd suggest that the only strategies for those Cateyes that actually make sense are:
1) Single row on constant.
2) Both rows on constant (doubling the brightness).
3) Single row flashing together.
4) Both rows flashing together (doubling the brightness) - assuming they stay in sync over time?

They don't really stay in sync in my experience. Even if you press the buttons to start them both at the same time, seems to drift off after a while.

Fortunately the Cateye grenade lights LD1100 are not in widespread use now.  I only have maybe 1 in the spares box.  They are somewhat outdated and not as bright as the current lights

[citoyen]

If you adjusted the start time, you might get a lot more travelling by train.

I’d love more people to be able to get to my event by train but the start/finish venue wouldn’t be able to accommodate a later finish.

Also, late finishers would miss the last train home.

What many riders don’t seem to appreciate is that organisers put a lot of thought into things like setting the start time - there are usually good reasons why events don’t start earlier or later, and they aren’t chosen to suit an individual’s convenience but the needs of the event as a whole. 

Also it’s not my fault that Southeastern Trains are a shower of shits. In the not so distant past, they used to run earlier and later trains on weekends but the fuckers decided to stop that - probably because it wasn’t profitable enough, I expect. It’s a fucking nightmare for me personally, as I’d much rather be able to take the train to events than drive.

Anyway, one of the reasons I put my event on is that I live in an area that’s currently under-served by the AUK calendar, and local riders are my primary target market.

I do also offer riders the option of camping over at the venue the night before or after the ride.

[citoyen]

Also: organisers are human beings. Instead of moaning about the start time on the internet, why not fire off an email to them to ask if they might consider moving the start time next year? They’ll probably reply to explain politely why that isn’t possible.

I have also in the past allowed riders arriving by train to start a bit later.

See, the thing is, organisers will generally do what they can to accommodate riders’ needs where possible. Which is one of the reasons why it rankles a bit when riders moan on the internet about problems that can easily be solved with a bit of direct communication.

[mattc]

Riders with incredibly bright lights who sit on your wheel, projecting your shadow onto the potholed road you're riding down. You let them go past, and their ludicrously bright rear lights blind you.

Solved simply by letting the rider go well in front of you, or you drop them and continue.

'Peeves' are about peevishness, and that's about irritability. That condition mounts up as exhaustion and sleep deprivation set in. So on the second night of PBP, when you're making your way along poorly-surfaced roads, with overhanging trees, and you are closing on someone slightly slower than yourself, you might find yourself annoyed when they get on your wheel, and you now can't see ahead well enough to drop them.
<snip>

I can't remember the last time ESL had a moan about anything - certainly not admitting to his own irritability. He is normally a philosophical, wise, stoic sort - so for him to comment on this suggests it really is a problem! 

[S2L]

Also: organisers are human beings. Instead of moaning about the start time on the internet, why not fire off an email to them to ask if they might consider moving the start time next year? They’ll probably reply to explain politely why that isn’t possible.

I have also in the past allowed riders arriving by train to start a bit later.

See, the thing is, organisers will generally do what they can to accommodate riders’ needs where possible. Which is one of the reasons why it rankles a bit when riders moan on the internet about problems that can easily be solved with a bit of direct communication.

Indeed

[Exit Stage Left]

Riders with incredibly bright lights who sit on your wheel, projecting your shadow onto the potholed road you're riding down. You let them go past, and their ludicrously bright rear lights blind you.

Solved simply by letting the rider go well in front of you, or you drop them and continue.

'Peeves' are about peevishness, and that's about irritability. That condition mounts up as exhaustion and sleep deprivation set in. So on the second night of PBP, when you're making your way along poorly-surfaced roads, with overhanging trees, and you are closing on someone slightly slower than yourself, you might find yourself annoyed when they get on your wheel, and you now can't see ahead well enough to drop them.
<snip>

I can't remember the last time ESL had a moan about anything - certainly not admitting to his own irritability. He is normally a philosophical, wise, stoic sort - so for him to comment on this suggests it really is a problem! 

These 'peeves' don't exist in isolation, they often have a rich historical context. I think back to the run-ins involving YACFers and RAAM veterans over the issue. I was reminded of that at the Mersey Roads, where the protagonists were assembled in an environment where observers were blinded by the lights sported by some '24' riders.

I had a moan about the health and safety aspects of the 'tented village' at Press Heath, asking 'Is it only me'? Jim Hopper's reply of 'Yes' hit the spot.

Any debate about over-bright lights became irrelevant once super-bright LEDs became cheap and widespread. There's a whole raft of peeves that have been overtaken by developments.

[EllysH]

If you adjusted the start time, you might get a lot more travelling by train.

I’d love more people to be able to get to my event by train but the start/finish venue wouldn’t be able to accommodate a later finish.

Also, late finishers would miss the last train home.

What many riders don’t seem to appreciate is that organisers put a lot of thought into things like setting the start time - there are usually good reasons why events don’t start earlier or later, and they aren’t chosen to suit an individual’s convenience but the needs of the event as a whole. 

Also it’s not my fault that Southeastern Trains are a shower of shits. In the not so distant past, they used to run earlier and later trains on weekends but the fuckers decided to stop that - probably because it wasn’t profitable enough, I expect. It’s a fucking nightmare for me personally, as I’d much rather be able to take the train to events than drive.

Anyway, one of the reasons I put my event on is that I live in an area that’s currently under-served by the AUK calendar, and local riders are my primary target market.

I do also offer riders the option of camping over at the venue the night before or after the ride.

*shifts uncomfortably *

May have listed train / start time as my pet peeve, but since then this thread has gone way more serious.

Seeing a great looking event, only to realise I can't get there by train - without turning it into a whole weekend thing - might suck but I can't say I actually blame organisers.
It's just one of those things!



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[Kim]

May have listed train / start time as my pet peeve, but since then this thread has gone way more serious.

Seeing a great looking event, only to realise I can't get there by train - without turning it into a whole weekend thing - might suck but I can't say I actually blame organisers.
It's just one of those things!

+1

I tend to assume that organisers have good reasons for making the decisions they do, and are unlikely to have failed to notice the presence of a nearby railway station.

My peeve is with the rail network, not the organisers!  I'm reasonably sure they're not the ones painting give way lines and installing cattle grids at the bottom of steep dips, either.

[bludger]

It's one of my peeves too. It's partly why I'm so keen to start organising; I'd like to put on a range of events starting and ending from well inside the M25, and easily reachable by train.

[Martin]

If you adjusted the start time, you might get a lot more travelling by train.

I’d love more people to be able to get to my event by train but the start/finish venue wouldn’t be able to accommodate a later finish.

Also, late finishers would miss the last train home.

What many riders don’t seem to appreciate is that organisers put a lot of thought into things like setting the start time - there are usually good reasons why events don’t start earlier or later, and they aren’t chosen to suit an individual’s convenience but the needs of the event as a whole. 

Also it’s not my fault that Southeastern Trains are a shower of shits. In the not so distant past, they used to run earlier and later trains on weekends but the fuckers decided to stop that - probably because it wasn’t profitable enough, I expect. It’s a fucking nightmare for me personally, as I’d much rather be able to take the train to events than drive.

Anyway, one of the reasons I put my event on is that I live in an area that’s currently under-served by the AUK calendar, and local riders are my primary target market.

I do also offer riders the option of camping over at the venue the night before or after the ride.

I was very tempted by your event next month specifically the campsite option but add two single train fares from / to That London and it becomes a major undertaking, cracking route though I think it's more or less the same as we rode in 2007?

[quixoticgeek]

I was very tempted by your event next month specifically the campsite option but add two single train fares from That London and it becomes a major undertaking, cracking route through I think it's more or less the same as we rode in 2007?

Why 2 singles? From London to Kent, you can get a 1 month return, valid on day of travel outbound, and for 1 calendar month for the return trip? You can also use a Network rail discount card if you are travelling after 1000.

If you are travelling after 1800 on the Friday, I believe there is even a weekender ticket, tho I am not sure if that works out any cheaper.

J

[Martin]

I was very tempted by your event next month specifically the campsite option but add two single train fares from That London and it becomes a major undertaking, cracking route through I think it's more or less the same as we rode in 2007?

Why 2 singles? From London to Kent, you can get a 1 month return, valid on day of travel outbound, and for 1 calendar month for the return trip? You can also use a Network rail discount card if you are travelling after 1000.

If you are travelling after 1800 on the Friday, I believe there is even a weekender ticket, tho I am not sure if that works out any cheaper.

J

yes they are a bit cheaper than 2 singles but nowhere near as cheap as a day return which is often only about 10p more than a single, yes I have a Gold Card (free with a season ticket although only covers the "SE") too which removes the minimum discount fare with a Network Card.

There was an "Awaybreak" 5 day return within Network Southeast but not sure if it exists any more; National Rail seems to suggest the non discounted £10 Advance is the cheapest to Citoyenland.

I got a £31 Advance return to Bath last weekend to do 3peaker's excellent 200 AAA perm (or rather AAA 200!) so there are bargains to be had

[bairn again]

Im more prone to peeves as an organiser than rider (though folk leaving doors open in cafes and suchlike leaving me sitting in a draught was my first thought). 

#1 is folk who DNS without emailing me and who believe that i should have seen their post about it on Facebook (which i don't use). 

#2 is unsolicited bad suggestions about controls, route etc.  In fairness some are worthwhile, but  most are ludicrously bad.  The best one was the guy who contacted me to let me know that Montys Bar was wholly unsuited to be the finish control on the West Highland 1000k.  That is unlikely ever to be surpassed. 

[Brakeless]

Im more prone to peeves as an organiser than rider (though folk leaving doors open in cafes and suchlike leaving me sitting in a draught was my first thought). 

#1 is folk who DNS without emailing me and who believe that i should have seen their post about it on Facebook (which i don't use). 

#2 is unsolicited bad suggestions about controls, route etc.  In fairness some are worthwhile, but  most are ludicrously bad.  The best one was the guy who contacted me to let me know that Montys Bar was wholly unsuited to be the finish control on the West Highland 1000k.  That is unlikely ever to be surpassed.

I'm afraid I'm in part agreement about Montys. The ride was brilliant but the last place I wanted to be at the end of 1000km was stood up in a cramped noisy bar. I was in and out as quick as I could be. I wouldn't agree with wholly unsuited but it definately wasn't for every ones tastes.

[bairn again]

Im more prone to peeves as an organiser than rider (though folk leaving doors open in cafes and suchlike leaving me sitting in a draught was my first thought). 

#1 is folk who DNS without emailing me and who believe that i should have seen their post about it on Facebook (which i don't use). 

#2 is unsolicited bad suggestions about controls, route etc.  In fairness some are worthwhile, but  most are ludicrously bad.  The best one was the guy who contacted me to let me know that Montys Bar was wholly unsuited to be the finish control on the West Highland 1000k.  That is unlikely ever to be surpassed.

I'm afraid I'm in part agreement about Montys. The ride was brilliant but the last place I wanted to be at the end of 1000km was stood up in a cramped noisy bar. I was in and out as quick as I could be. I wouldn't agree with wholly unsuited but it definately wasn't for every ones tastes.

We had a seated area reserved so nobody needed to stand.

And its "standing" not "stood" by way. 

FFS. 

[FifeingEejit]

Better meddle wi the deil than...

The only issue I had with Monty's after the AA 400 was the lack of "normal" bike locking options... and with it being central Edinburgh locknig a bike is necessary... but I was prepared on that basis and the approach taken worked.

The route could have done with not being largely comprised of home ground in the pissing rain; but that's not the route devisers problem...

Oh and I got lost on the way to Waverly after but that's down to partial familiarity with the city... Oh I think I'm at blah it's straight on here... I wasn't at blah.

[Brakeless]

Im more prone to peeves as an organiser than rider (though folk leaving doors open in cafes and suchlike leaving me sitting in a draught was my first thought). 

#1 is folk who DNS without emailing me and who believe that i should have seen their post about it on Facebook (which i don't use). 

#2 is unsolicited bad suggestions about controls, route etc.  In fairness some are worthwhile, but  most are ludicrously bad.  The best one was the guy who contacted me to let me know that Montys Bar was wholly unsuited to be the finish control on the West Highland 1000k.  That is unlikely ever to be surpassed.

I'm afraid I'm in part agreement about Montys. The ride was brilliant but the last place I wanted to be at the end of 1000km was stood up in a cramped noisy bar. I was in and out as quick as I could be. I wouldn't agree with wholly unsuited but it definately wasn't for every ones tastes.

We had a seated area reserved so nobody needed to stand.

And its "standing" not "stood" by way. 

FFS.

WOW 

[JonB]

The best one was the guy who contacted me to let me know that Montys Bar was wholly unsuited to be the finish control on the West Highland 1000k.  That is unlikely ever to be surpassed.

Montys worked for me

[citoyen]

The best one was the guy who contacted me to let me know that Montys Bar was wholly unsuited to be the finish control on the West Highland 1000k.  That is unlikely ever to be surpassed.

It's possible to quibble about some aspects of the venue - eg having to hoik bikes over the low wall to put them somewhere secure-ish (always going to be a problem with a city centre finish) - but the food, drink, company and atmosphere were all superb. I thought it was a fantastic venue for the finish of that particular ride, and added to the sense of occasion on what was a thoroughly memorable weekend all round. And the size of the venue seemed pretty much spot on for the numbers involved.

Even better, I only had to stagger less than half a mile to my hotel afterwards, which was just as well once I started getting stuck into the single malts... 

[bairn again]

The best one was the guy who contacted me to let me know that Montys Bar was wholly unsuited to be the finish control on the West Highland 1000k.  That is unlikely ever to be surpassed.

Montys worked for me

and that's the overwhelming feedback I got from a load of riders post event.   

[EllysH]

The best one was the guy who contacted me to let me know that Montys Bar was wholly unsuited to be the finish control on the West Highland 1000k.  That is unlikely ever to be surpassed.

It's possible to quibble about some aspects of the venue - eg having to hoik bikes over the low wall to put them somewhere secure-ish (always going to be a problem with a city centre finish) - but the food, drink, company and atmosphere were all superb. I thought it was a fantastic venue for the finish of that particular ride, and added to the sense of occasion on what was a thoroughly memorable weekend all round. And the size of the venue seemed pretty much spot on for the numbers involved.

Even better, I only had to stagger less than half a mile to my hotel afterwards, which was just as well once I started getting stuck into the single malts... 

Sounds fun.

Definitely going to be keeping an eye out for this next year

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[citoyen]

I was very tempted by your event next month specifically the campsite option but add two single train fares from / to That London and it becomes a major undertaking, cracking route though I think it's more or less the same as we rode in 2007?

Yes, the outrageous fares are indeed as much of an issue as the timetable. I'm lucky that now I'm back to commuting daily, weekend trains to London are covered by my season ticket.

The route was developed from that ride we did all those years ago, but much refined (and improved, I reckon).

[Ajax Bay]

#2 is unsolicited bad suggestions about controls, route etc.  . . . The best one was the guy who contacted me to let me know that Montys Bar was wholly unsuited to be the finish control on the West Highland 1000k.

I'm afraid I'm in part agreement about Montys. The ride was brilliant but the last place I wanted to be at the end of 1000km was stood up in a cramped noisy bar. I was in and out as quick as I could be. I wouldn't agree with wholly unsuited but it definately wasn't for every ones tastes.

Do let us know what type of final control site you'd prefer for the end of a 1000 with a hors delai time of 2300?
Lots (more than half) of the others (not me) were sitting down. Standing up meant it was easier to get to the food and the bar. Was it noisy? Not for me, but I stayed for a couple of hours, I wasn't "in and out as quick as I could be". Perhaps there was a cacophony of applause for you as you entered.
Hope @bairn again runs the ride again: one of the best around.