Author Topic: ACME Winter Brevet Populaire Series  (Read 71931 times)

Redlight

  • Enjoying life in the slow lane
Re: ACME Winter Brevet Populaire Series
« Reply #200 on: 30 November, 2016, 12:14:33 pm »
I've just looked at the train fares from London  :o :o.  It's gonna be an expensive day out.

Interestingly, I had been looking at the National Rail site, which was quoting about £43 return.  Decided to shop around a bit and got the same ticket for £17.70 on the Trainline, which is much more realistic.

The system really is broken.  good point on the railcard - we have a family and friends one which has saved us a lot over the year, but I've never thought of corralling a few others and using it when travelling solo.
Why should anybody steal a watch when they can steal a bicycle?

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: ACME Winter Brevet Populaire Series
« Reply #201 on: 30 November, 2016, 12:26:09 pm »
... good point on the railcard - we have a family and friends one which has saved us a lot over the year, but I've never thought of corralling a few others and using it when travelling solo.

Quote from a forthcoming story on BBC News ...

Quote
Police report that a middle aged man was arrested earlier today at London's Liverpool Street Station, he has been charged with kidnap and false imprisonment.

The police statement said the man claims to be a long distance cyclist and was trying to gather together enough people to qualify for a Group Saver ticket so he could travel more cheaply to Witham in Essex to the start of a bicycle ride.

Several people have contacted the BBC saying they witnessed the incident.  One woman said she had only entered the station to visit the public toilet when the man who was subsequently arrested grabbed her and pushed her towards platform 13.  The woman consequently did not make it to the lavatory in time and wet herself.

Redlight

  • Enjoying life in the slow lane
Re: ACME Winter Brevet Populaire Series
« Reply #202 on: 30 November, 2016, 12:45:52 pm »
There are worse ways to meet people and make new friends - sharing a bus shelter in Lincolnshire at 3 in the morning, for example
Why should anybody steal a watch when they can steal a bicycle?

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: ACME Winter Brevet Populaire Series
« Reply #203 on: 30 November, 2016, 12:50:18 pm »
There are worse ways to meet people and make new friends - sharing a bus shelter in Lincolnshire at 3 in the morning, for example

True. My "I regularly meet men on the internet and occasionally spend the night with them" gag is a favourite of mine.  Just to be clear, I met huggy in a park.

huggy

  • ACME GCFO
    • ACME
Re: ACME Winter Brevet Populaire Series
« Reply #204 on: 30 November, 2016, 01:11:20 pm »
There are worse ways to meet people and make new friends - sharing a bus shelter in Lincolnshire at 3 in the morning, for example
Also spending 3 days straight in something resembling a soup kitchen serving hollow eyed cyclists with a strong resemblance to vagrants  ::-)
Never knowingly underfed on an Audax

Re: ACME Winter Brevet Populaire Series
« Reply #205 on: 30 November, 2016, 07:37:01 pm »
Interestingly, I had been looking at the National Rail site, which was quoting about £43 return.
I'm getting £21.10 from National Rail - but that's only from Liverpool Street of course.

redfalo

  • known as Olaf in the real world
    • Cycling Intelligence
Re: ACME Winter Brevet Populaire Series
« Reply #206 on: 30 November, 2016, 09:42:05 pm »
We'll be a group of three leaving Highbury/ Stoke Newington 6am sharp and will ride to Withammat relaxed pace. ETA is 9-9.15, which will give more than enough time for relaxed breakfast. (riding back to Shenfielf will turn it into 200)  Anyone interested in joining us? Drop me PM.
Really looking forward to the ride.
Cheers
Olaf
If you can't convince, confuse.

https://cycling-intelligence.com/ - my blog on cycling, long distances and short ones

Re: ACME Winter Brevet Populaire Series
« Reply #207 on: 01 December, 2016, 10:50:14 am »
Looking forward to the second edition. After my rushed departures to make it home in good time I have this time made the 12km from Tiptree to Witham a 100 km loop so I can stay and chat for as long as I like at the end and will not need to remind everyone I only have 14km left to ride  ;D

Hope it warms up a bit, I don't fancy being out at 4am with the chance of ice....I'm sure I will make a sensible decision to suit the conditions though.

Redlight

  • Enjoying life in the slow lane
Re: ACME Winter Brevet Populaire Series
« Reply #208 on: 01 December, 2016, 12:22:21 pm »
I have this time made the 12km from Tiptree to Witham a 100 km loop
... I don't fancy being out at 4am with the chance of ice....I'm sure I will make a sensible decision to suit the conditions though.

I am beginning to be sure you need your head examined!

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

Re: ACME Winter Brevet Populaire Series
« Reply #209 on: 01 December, 2016, 12:31:36 pm »
I have this time made the 12km from Tiptree to Witham a 100 km loop
... I don't fancy being out at 4am with the chance of ice....I'm sure I will make a sensible decision to suit the conditions though.

I am beginning to be sure you need your head examined!
My wife might well agree with you, I think I have it all in hand and to me my plan makes perfect sense....not sure that helps much though.

See you on Saturday!

Re: ACME Winter Brevet Populaire Series
« Reply #210 on: 01 December, 2016, 01:06:33 pm »
I will act as your sensible chaperone and make sure you tow me as far as Tiptree at a sensible hour  :thumbsup:
The pleasure of pain endured
To purify our misfit ways

Re: ACME Winter Brevet Populaire Series
« Reply #211 on: 01 December, 2016, 02:17:29 pm »
I'm looking forward to the ride, especially as it'll give me a chance to hear from other riders what they think of the roads and vista on my doorstep.

My direct route back afterwards is 48km, so my 'loopy' route to the start is a slightly longer 56km to make the full 200km by a little margin. Funnily enough, as I live near to the halfway cafe my route to the start follows the second half of the Stansted Airport Express route. It's a nice route, so I thought why not!

I'm aiming to be in Witham for 8:30-ish, to enjoy a second breakfast before the earlier 9:30 start time.

It's going to be cold, but not sub-zero. So dress well.

Eddington: 133 miles    Max square: 43x43

Redlight

  • Enjoying life in the slow lane
Re: ACME Winter Brevet Populaire Series
« Reply #212 on: 02 December, 2016, 06:22:05 pm »
I'm looking forward to the ride, especially as it'll give me a chance to hear from other riders what they think of the roads and vista on my doorstep.

It'll be a bit of nostalgia trip for me. I lived in Woodford for about 10 years and used to do most of my cycling around Essex, with the occasional drift in the neighbouring counties.  Looking forward to it, even if it is a bit nippy.
Why should anybody steal a watch when they can steal a bicycle?

Re: ACME Winter Brevet Populaire Series
« Reply #213 on: 02 December, 2016, 10:28:30 pm »
I've just seen that cycle reservations are required. Is that right?

bhoot

  • MemSec (ex-Mrs RRtY)
Re: ACME Winter Brevet Populaire Series
« Reply #214 on: 02 December, 2016, 11:06:40 pm »
Unless it's an intercity Norwich train then no reservations needed on Anglia.... and even on the intercity trains it's often possible to get on anyway. But I think most/all Witham stoppers are the "local" trains (London to Ipswich, Colchester, Harwich, Clacton etc) so there shouldn't be any issues.

Phil W

Re: ACME Winter Brevet Populaire Series
« Reply #215 on: 03 December, 2016, 08:45:50 pm »
True. My "I regularly meet men on the internet and occasionally spend the night with them" gag is a favourite of mine.  Just to be clear, I met huggy in a park.

An underground car park...

Re: ACME Winter Brevet Populaire Series
« Reply #216 on: 03 December, 2016, 10:02:15 pm »
Unless it's an intercity Norwich train then no reservations needed on Anglia.... and even on the intercity trains it's often possible to get on anyway. But I think most/all Witham stoppers are the "local" trains (London to Ipswich, Colchester, Harwich, Clacton etc) so there shouldn't be any issues.
That was what I assumed, because I don't think reservations are normal on local services.

However, the timetable services were popping up "Cycle reservation required" notices, so I checked Abellio's information. That's clear and well-written, but they don't seem to have noticed that they run local services in Essex. So, it's fine in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire; this rather implies that Essex might be different. And without local knowledge, it's hard to be certain which services might be inter-city.

Never mind. It was fine. Which is more than I can say for the return leg. The Abellio train was OK. Liverpool Street to Kings Cross was difficult, because there was no backlight on my new Garmin Touring Edge Plus GPS, so I couldnt' see my pre-planned route. Once I got to KX, I found the setting to turn the backlight on. However, without a backlight, I couldn't find the backlight setting ::-)

And then Great Northern cancelled several trains in succession. I failed to get on a slow train because the ones before that were cancelled. Then two more were cancelled and I had to wait for the next one, which was packed as well for the same reason. People nearly ended up sitting on my bike :-[

Re: ACME Winter Brevet Populaire Series
« Reply #217 on: 04 December, 2016, 08:49:06 am »
Another great edition of the winter series yesterday  :thumbsup: Tomsk and Huggy and their respective other halves have created a very smooth event.  A civilised breakfast before the start, good winter riding and a chance to catch up with people over a beer afterwards works for me.  Add in the potential for those of an ECE persuasion and you have a winning format.

No pressure on me for the Kelvedon Oyster next month then  :facepalm:

The ride itself was a mix of familiar roads and typically Tomsk hidden lanes.  It felt more like a summer event with all the riders out and about.  One of the highlights for me was shamelessly tucking in behind Tippers as he led a fixed paceline to Thremhall.  It was a pleasure to be able to ride at fixed pace with all its quirks rather than try to keep pace with the freewheelers.

The Hustler and I then had the rare honour of driving the ACME train from Thaxted back to Witham. We were riding at a comfortable pace and having one of our usual wide-ranging discourses when we realised we were pulling half a dozen others along.  It is probably fair to say that this coincided with both of us wishing we had eaten something and looking for a stopping point to grab something.  However ACME prides itself on its train service so we had no choice but to continue all the way to Arrivee before collapsing quietly.  Tomsk and Huggy are welcome to take back that job  ;D

Roll on the 21st of January and the next edition.
The pleasure of pain endured
To purify our misfit ways

jiberjaber

  • ... Fancy Pants \o/ ...
  • ACME S&M^2
Re: ACME Winter Brevet Populaire Series
« Reply #218 on: 04 December, 2016, 10:16:06 am »
Sounds like it was a great success, what was the final tally of starters and finishers?
Regards,

Joergen

Redlight

  • Enjoying life in the slow lane
Re: ACME Winter Brevet Populaire Series
« Reply #219 on: 04 December, 2016, 03:58:41 pm »
Indeed, a lovely ride, made even better by the enthusiastic staff (and helper) at the cafe stop.  One that could be ridden in either direction too.  I think there were 94 down to start. It didn't feel like that many on the road, but there was a bunch that went hurtling off on their carbon fibre, tri-barred Condors at the beginning that I didn't see again.

Thanks to Tomsk, Huggy and spouses.  Not sure yet if I'll be there on Jan 21st bit I'm sure the ACME jersey will see some action again soon.
Why should anybody steal a watch when they can steal a bicycle?

bhoot

  • MemSec (ex-Mrs RRtY)
Re: ACME Winter Brevet Populaire Series
« Reply #220 on: 05 December, 2016, 11:31:21 pm »
That was a good day out, many thanks to the org crew. The cafe at Thremhall Park was great - I never knew about it before but I am sure we'll be visiting again. The chicken and veg soup was especially hearty and just what we needed.  Good route, including some new sections for me (surely I must be running out of Essex roads that I haven't ridden.....) and plenty of tandem friendly flatness. Did anyone else experience a strong smell of lavender as we came into Rayne village? I don't think I was hallucinating at that point.
Like many others we were ECE'ing, and with trains running we were able to make our return ride a dog leg via Maldon to Shenfield station which avoided Chelmsford after last month's horror story.
Looking forward to January's installment.

Re: ACME Winter Brevet Populaire Series
« Reply #221 on: 06 December, 2016, 11:42:16 pm »
I thought it was a really sociable ride. Usually I get dropped at some point, often quite early. Here, a large group formed and rode along chatting, at times breaking into smaller groups, and then reforming. It was good to be part of it. There were indeed at least three of us on fixed at times. I recognised one or two Mercians from last time too :thumbsup:

Somewhere after Matching Green (I think), we came across a rider on his first event. His chain was off and jammed. That didn't take long to sort out and, happily, a couple of miles up the road my group was waiting, although I never quite figured out whether that was for me or for some other reason :)

We drifted in ones and twos into Thremhall Park, where the service was just amazing, and all done with a smile. Sad to see my old Scout Group's site looking a bit dilapidated, just across the road from where we were sat. I suppose that's what happens when someone sticks a runway on your camping ground.

I left the cafe on my own, and rode like that for a bit, seeing other riders from time to time. I was now on familiar roads until Great Bardfield, which I've been through many times, but never towards Braintree. This ride was very much about connecting up bits I know (including this section, and the road through the Notleys, which I've crossed but not ridden all the way along).

Approaching Rayne, a neat club group of six came by, and I caught them again on the other side of the village, when they had a Haribo stop. They flattered me by sitting on me all the way until after White Notley, where a rise did for me and I sat on them for a short distance, and then drifted off, the domestique having been burned up and discarded. Think Team Sky, but in slow motion and with no gradient to speak of. Good fun though, as no-one's thought it worth doing that to me for some years now.

Witham appeared suddenly as we crested a slight bend in the road, and it was downhill and back to the finish. The weather had been really mild in the morning, and somewhat cooler later, but a really pleasant day out.

Re: ACME Winter Brevet Populaire Series
« Reply #222 on: 20 December, 2016, 11:58:20 am »
Make Little Bromley Great again!  :P

jiberjaber

  • ... Fancy Pants \o/ ...
  • ACME S&M^2
Re: ACME Winter Brevet Populaire Series
« Reply #223 on: 20 December, 2016, 12:02:33 pm »
Make Little Bromley Great again!  :P

 ;D  :thumbsup: Joke of teh day! :D
Regards,

Joergen

Re: ACME Winter Brevet Populaire Series
« Reply #224 on: 20 December, 2016, 12:37:22 pm »
Make Little Bromley Great again!  :P

 ;D  :thumbsup: Joke of teh day! :D

I thought so, but I tried it at work and absolutely no one one laughed.