Brevet 25000 Question

[hippy]

You've only really got one go per year for an ACP Fleche thing- in the UK that has to be an Easter Arrow.
Check out the ACP international calendar for what overseas options there are- but you'll probably find they're all Easter-ish. So if you give up Easter weekend for a thou, you've missed your chance.

AUK awards you can also use a Summer Arrow- so if you were to find some similarly paced mates you could knock out a record number of kms. Trouble with that, or course, is that by then there's usually something else you want to be riding- it is the longest Saturday of the year.

Can an arrow not be done like a Perm? ie. get three mates to ride whatever it is (360k?) in a 24hr period?

Hmm.. reading the rules (http://www.aukweb.net/events/arrows/) I've just glazed over a bit. Reaching... for... too... hard.... basket... must... resist...

[jsabine]

The rules aren't that bad ...

Specific start date, either Easter or Summer.
3-5 starters (machines not people), 3+ finishers.
Declare a route and distance beforehand, final distance must be within 20% of your specified distance, subject to minimum 360km. (If it'll be under, control short. If it'll be over, get to your planned finish, then do an extra bit.)
Control in the 22nd hour (if you've started at 0900, that's between 0600 and 0700 the following day), then cover at least 25km before your 24hr control.
No single stop of longer than 2 hours.

See - easy ...!

[hippy]

Problem is I'd already sort of planned something for Easter. I need to be thinking about TABR training, not AUK medals.
I could do an arrow and then ride straight into a 1000k but it's starting to get more trouble than it's worth.
I'll probably try and nail a 1000k, maybe a 1300k and then worry about the Fleche next year.

[zigzag]

1000k can be done any weekend, and 1300k over three days (i.e. extended weekend), unless you want to do them back to back, which i don't think is a good training btw.
i would be up for a 1000k weekend when the days get longer and warmer.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Just for interest, the world fleche record is 778km by US Metro many years ago, a couple of years after an Aussie team did 770km. The longest distance that AUK would credit you is 720km but no reason not to ride further.

[hippy]

Just for interest, the world fleche record is 778km by US Metro many years ago, a couple of years after an Aussie team did 770km. The longest distance that AUK would credit you is 720km but no reason not to ride further.

Difficulty is finding another couple of 800k 24hr riders who aren't already doing something to join in.

[Whitedown Man]

Great Eastern is a fairly flat 1000 (South Mimms to Scotch Corner and back, it's so flat I even had 3 hours left over) and you can add in another 300km in a loop round east anglia; for an extra 100km I can copy you my 400km loop from Peterborough (on the Gt Eastern route) to Ipswich and back via a different route.  As Peterborough-Ipswich is only 110km it could be shrunk down to a 300 no problem.  Or use somewhere else where you you can leave a drop bag.
fwiw I did Gt E as 540km and 460km (approx), lunch at Red Lodge (then 24hrs) southwards and back for 40 winks in small hours then N to Wetherby B&B, 12 hours break, then did the N-est part and back with a rest of 20 winks perched on a bin near Chatteris (nothing else was available).  You're faster than me though!

I can't find the Great Eastern on the Perm page - is it one of those weird ones like the Crackpot that have to be summoned from the depths? (Presume it's not this: http://www.aukweb.net/perms/detail/SP04/)

Bump
(quite like the sound of this)

[Ian H]

The Great Eastern was run by Noel Simpson who now resides in Southern Spain.  You could have asked him about it at the start of the last PBP.

[Whitedown Man]

The Great Eastern was run by Noel Simpson who now resides in Southern Spain.  You could have asked him about it at the start of the last PBP.

[arabella]

Great Eastern is a fairly flat 1000 (South Mimms to Scotch Corner and back, it's so flat I even had 3 hours left over) and you can add in another 300km in a loop round east anglia; for an extra 100km I can copy you my 400km loop from Peterborough (on the Gt Eastern route) to Ipswich and back via a different route.  As Peterborough-Ipswich is only 110km it could be shrunk down to a 300 no problem.  Or use somewhere else where you you can leave a drop bag.
fwiw I did Gt E as 540km and 460km (approx), lunch at Red Lodge (then 24hrs) southwards and back for 40 winks in small hours then N to Wetherby B&B, 12 hours break, then did the N-est part and back with a rest of 20 winks perched on a bin near Chatteris (nothing else was available).  You're faster than me though!

I can't find the Great Eastern on the Perm page - is it one of those weird ones like the Crackpot that have to be summoned from the depths? (Presume it's not this: http://www.aukweb.net/perms/detail/SP04/)

Ah, it has now gone.  When I did it it wasn't Noel anymore anyways.  I can probably dig out the route sheet if you want to DIY it.

[Ivo]

Problem is I'd already sort of planned something for Easter. I need to be thinking about TABR training, not AUK medals.
I could do an arrow and then ride straight into a 1000k but it's starting to get more trouble than it's worth.
I'll probably try and nail a 1000k, maybe a 1300k and then worry about the Fleche next year.

The German Fleche is at the end of april.

[Whitedown Man]

Great Eastern is a fairly flat 1000 (South Mimms to Scotch Corner and back, it's so flat I even had 3 hours left over) and you can add in another 300km in a loop round east anglia; for an extra 100km I can copy you my 400km loop from Peterborough (on the Gt Eastern route) to Ipswich and back via a different route.  As Peterborough-Ipswich is only 110km it could be shrunk down to a 300 no problem.  Or use somewhere else where you you can leave a drop bag.
fwiw I did Gt E as 540km and 460km (approx), lunch at Red Lodge (then 24hrs) southwards and back for 40 winks in small hours then N to Wetherby B&B, 12 hours break, then did the N-est part and back with a rest of 20 winks perched on a bin near Chatteris (nothing else was available).  You're faster than me though!

I can't find the Great Eastern on the Perm page - is it one of those weird ones like the Crackpot that have to be summoned from the depths? (Presume it's not this: http://www.aukweb.net/perms/detail/SP04/)

Ah, it has now gone.  When I did it it wasn't Noel anymore anyways.  I can probably dig out the route sheet if you want to DIY it.

I'd definitely be interested 

[LittleWheelsandBig]

VC167 has done several 1000 group perms that are relatively civilised. Their route might be worth using.

[Bairn Again]

I still a 1300km event and about 50 points shy of the Brevet 25,000 - the other elements don't expire for another three years or so.  I had planned on riding LEL but I couldn't get the annual leave. 

I've got a week booked in August and my planning has got as far as booking the bike express to Bayonne on 12th Aug. 

I will decide definitively in March / April but plan to do either a 1300 or x * 200kms to finish in Lille for the Eurostar back to blighty and defer the 1300km.

Either way I've a nice bike ride in France to look forward to.       

[hippy]

FrankP suggested doing part of the LEL route. I'm not available to ride the calendar LEL so this sounds like a cool alternative.

I can't see the LEL available as a Perm - could I ride it as a DIY?

[jsabine]

Last time the route was available as a series of perms, but this time round Danial's said he's amenable to people using it as the basis for DIYs.