ACME Grand 1000km 28 June 2018

[jayteezim]

I have also entered this event. Excuse the ignorance as I only joined the AUK at the beginning of this year and have never cycled in the areas that this is supposed to cover. I put all the control points into RWGPS and joined the dots using the cycling feature and it came up with a 1123km route. I know the official route has not been posted however can someone give me an idea of where the route is likely to go.
I see on the post giving a guidline of where to stop recommends almost 600 km before the first break which is porbably a bit far for me without a break.
I see above travelodge nottingham wootton is mentioned above just before st neots? i can not find it on the map or google.
any help would be appreciated

[Tomsk]

Let's wait until I've finished the route folks! The controls are listed on AUKweb as well as here - it all still needs a bit of work and there are seven, yes seven months to go...

[Snotty Gilbert]

Travelodge at Nottingham Wootton. Not quite as far as St Neots, but fits in well after a stop in Port Talbot the previous night.

Would that be Northampton Wooton, or are you adding a few 100Ks extra?

[tally51]

I'm booked in at Tewkesbury, Port Talbot and St Neots.  That gives 3 reasonable days riding and 100K on the last morning given the initial info. That should give a bit of peace of mind that I've got some beds lined up over the winter, then can all be revisited nearer the time when the route is finalised. 

[the straggler]

Let's wait until I've finished the route folks! The controls are listed on AUKweb as well as here - it all still needs a bit of work and there are seven, yes seven months to go...

I'm not too bothered about the final distance - as Tom probably based the distance between controls 'as the crow flies' method to make certain the overall minimum 1000km distance is achieved.   

It could end up as a epic BRM 1100+ km and the cost still remains at £4. Now that's what I call VFM IMHO.

[Bikeabilityman]

I'm booked in at Tewkesbury, Port Talbot and St Neots.  That gives 3 reasonable days riding and 100K on the last morning given the initial info. That should give a bit of peace of mind that I've got some beds lined up over the winter, then can all be revisited nearer the time when the route is finalised.

That daily distance seems to be in keeping with other 1000km events.

[wilkyboy]

Travelodge at Nottingham Wootton. Not quite as far as St Neots, but fits in well after a stop in Port Talbot the previous night.

Would that be Northampton Wooton, or are you adding a few 100Ks extra?

We don't go anywhere close to Nottingham, nor Northampton, not really. 

This is my speculation on the route — pure speculation based on the info Tomsk has posted here.  It's Gavin & Stacey plus a hilly Welsh loop and a modified retour:  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/26526898.  I repeat — this is me just joining the dots, nothing more than that.  Just over 1040km by my reckoning, but plenty of opportunities to shorten for the brave.

As Tomsk mentioned, it's still SEVEN months away and we have, therefore, more than one RRTY event to ride, plus at least one, possibly two events to organise between now and then ...

[rob]

My you lot are organised.

[alotronic]

I wasn't thinking of doing this particularly, but then I looked at those welsh climbs in streetview - wow. Very tempted now!

[Tomsk]

I wasn't thinking of doing this particularly, but then I looked at those welsh climbs in streetview - wow. Very tempted now!

No hills, no scenery 

[megajoulesexpenditure]

Yes as Tomsk says there are 7 months until our Severn crossing and a lot of work and miles to get in before then so now that we have our provisional totally flexible plan in place we'll get on with our miles and let Tomsk plot the route details for us. I'm sure it will work out and be an excellent adventure

[Ajax Bay]

This is my speculation on the route — pure speculation based on the info Tomsk has posted here.  It's Gavin & Stacey plus a hilly Welsh loop and a modified retour:  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/26526898.  I repeat — this is me just joining the dots, nothing more than that.  Just over 1040km by my reckoning, but plenty of opportunities to shorten for the brave.

1000km cycling event starting from Witham(not Billericay), Essex. Controls at Buntingford, St Neots, Towcester, Banbury, Tewkesbury, Chepstow, Pontypridd, Barry, Tonypandy, Llandovery, Neath, Barry, Chepstow, Pershore, Wellesbourne, Towcester, St Neots and Buntingford.
I look forward to be impressed to see a route with these controls coming out at less than 1050km without disproportionate minor road wiggling. My stab is 1050km (starts and finishes in Witham).
Would we be allowed more time if this was designed as a 1100km BRM ride? We'd get a full fourth day's ride in. [Edit: "BRM (Brevets de Randonneurs Mondiaux) events are run all around the world under the standard set of rules laid down by the ACP (Audax Club Parisien) and the rides are validated and recorded by them.  They are at standard distances, with a maximum of 5% over distance, and the maximum time limits for each distance is: 1000km      75h00 ." So 1050km is the maximum distance if the ride is to be a BRM.]

[jiberjaber]

This is my speculation on the route — pure speculation based on the info Tomsk has posted here.  It's Gavin & Stacey plus a hilly Welsh loop and a modified retour:  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/26526898.  I repeat — this is me just joining the dots, nothing more than that.  Just over 1040km by my reckoning, but plenty of opportunities to shorten for the brave.

1000km cycling event starting from Witham(not Billericay), Essex. Controls at Buntingford, St Neots, Towcester, Banbury, Tewkesbury, Chepstow, Pontypridd, Barry, Tonypandy, Llandovery, Neath, Barry, Chepstow, Pershore, Wellesbourne, Towcester, St Neots and Buntingford.
I look forward to be impressed to see a route with these controls coming out at less than 1050km without disproportionate minor road wiggling. My stab is 1050km (starts and finishes in Witham).
Would we be allowed more time if this was designed as a 1100km BRM ride? We'd get a full fourth day's ride in.

You're not far off with that, i've got 1086 at teh moment including a slight 6km detour to tak in South Northampton's delights.  Half the fun in this is trying to join the control dots so I'm looking forward to comparing notes with an official route, at the moment I've got a schedule that sees me home with 90mins in hand based on my LEL data... not quite sure how I'll keep going without a main meal every 3 hours like on LEL though! 

[tippers_kiwi]

Oddly I am still not remotely tempted to take part in the ride but I am really enjoying watching everyone planning! I think my 1,000 will have to come post PBP year at some stage....

[Tomsk]

I look forward to be impressed to see a route with these controls coming out at less than 1050km without disproportionate minor road wiggling. My stab is 1050km (starts and finishes in Witham).

The minimum distance is indeed below ACP's 5% over-distance rule. The [advisory] route will be a little more [Tomsk's Rules], but it will be lovely and you'll thank me for it [but some might still choose to plough down the A Horrible]. 

[mattc]

Hmmm. Unless someone can correct me, it's 75h dead, even for a n+5%km event. So we'll be riding an extra 50km, maybe more, in the same time limit.

That's quite a big disincentive for me - 2-3hours+ less sleep Still, good to be transparent about these things 

[whosatthewheel]

Hmmm. Unless someone can correct me, it's 75h dead, even for a n+5%km event. So we'll be riding an extra 50km, maybe more, in the same time limit.

That's quite a big disincentive for me - 2-3hours+ less sleep Still, good to be transparent about these things 

On the other hand, you'll probably be on the road a lot more hours than that should you choose to ride MC1K3... 

[LittleWheelsandBig]

There are no options for BRMs to be any nominal distance other than the standard 200, 300, 400, 600 or 1000k, so an 1100km BRM isn't possible.

Is there a particular reason why this event couldn't start and finish about 20km west of Witham to bring both the shortest and routesheet distances closer to 1000km?

[psyclist]

Comparing the ACME Grand to some other 1000km rides in the calendar for next year, this will be significantly flatter and probably not much further in actual riding distance, comparative to the length of the event. Therefore I wouldn't get too hung up on the ride distance, but consider this as a package in respect to the distance, amount of climbing, scenery and interesting places to stop for refuelling and sleep.

[mattc]

I've done plenty of 1000km+ rides, some flatter than others, with widely varying facilities, roads, yada yada. The rides vary in their ratio of TypeI fun to TypeII fun. That is Audax.

I'm quite capable of weighing these factors up for myself; I may not make perfect judgements, but my choice is more likely to suit *ME* than your choice!

It's perfectly sensible to discuss/consider the over-distance, just as it is sensible to discuss the facilities, scenery, and the brilliant Extra Info that Tomsk provides

[psyclist]

I've done plenty of ...

Yes, I'm aware of your palmarès. I was just putting across my view for the benefit of all readers of this thread, not offering advice to anybody specifically.

[mattc]

I've done plenty of ...

Yes, I'm aware of your palmarès. I was just putting across my view for the benefit of all readers of this thread, not offering advice to anybody specifically.

Fair enough!

[if you want any more palmarès details, let me know. I expect all readers of this thread will be interested. ]

[Ivo]

There are no options for BRMs to be any nominal distance other than the standard 200, 300, 400, 600 or 1000k, so an 1100km BRM isn't possible.

Is there a particular reason why this event couldn't start and finish about 20km west of Witham to bring both the shortest and routesheet distances closer to 1000km?

800k also exists but is hardly ever organised.

[whosatthewheel]

There are no options for BRMs to be any nominal distance other than the standard 200, 300, 400, 600 or 1000k, so an 1100km BRM isn't possible.

Is there a particular reason why this event couldn't start and finish about 20km west of Witham to bring both the shortest and routesheet distances closer to 1000km?

800k also exists but is hardly ever organised.

Shame... could be popular...

[LittleWheelsandBig]

There are no options for BRMs to be any nominal distance other than the standard 200, 300, 400, 600 or 1000k, so an 1100km BRM isn't possible.

Is there a particular reason why this event couldn't start and finish about 20km west of Witham to bring both the shortest and routesheet distances closer to 1000km?

800k also exists but is hardly ever organised.

Not in http://www.audax-club-parisien.com/EN/312.html so possibly as exceptions to the rules.