[HAMR] Tarzan (Kurt Searvogel)

[Wowbagger]

Thanks. Unlikely in the extreme, I'd say.

I hadn't given any thought to Tommy's best consecutive 365 days. If, as seems highly likely, they did exceed the 1939 75065 miles, then frankly both Kurt and Steve need to readjust their thinking. The UMCA's rules clearly don't compare like with like.

[red marley]

I don't think they should feel the need to beat Tommy's best 365 days in that the UMCA challenge never has been best 365 out of longer period. Riders have to state their year start/end in advance of beginning just like the original challengers. This is undoubtedly harder than picking the best after the fact.

[LeoW]

Didn't Tommy ride 77,000 miles May to May ?
Leo

[Martin]

Semantics IMO; there is no "Tommy Godwin record" to break, the HAMR is what the remaining 2 participants are attempting which is a straight 365 day period starting any day

and best of luck to them both 

[Wowbagger]

It is the TG record that was Steve's inspitation for kicking this whole challenge off in the first place so I don't think hecwould agree with you.

[Citizenfish]

Semantics IMO; there is no "Tommy Godwin record" to break, the HAMR is what the remaining 2 participants are attempting which is a straight 365 day period starting any day

and best of luck to them both 

Absolutely. In fact I see this whole challenge as more of a setting of individual benchmarks, pushing the realms of what is possible ever further, rather than beating a fixed record. The UMCA have given us a modern framework for this and I for one applaud them and Steve/Kurt/Miles for bringing it back to life. Remember that Tommy never beat the "one armed" record of Walter Greaves...

[Justin(e)]

Yes. But I don't know which as I don't have a record of Tommy's daily distances between days 366-500.

How intriguing.  That certainly puts the cat amongst the pigeons. 

If Kurt slivers across the line for the recognised HAMR, then discovers that TG rode further (using the same non calender year reasoning as Kurt) then we have a problem Houston. 

Given the nervy nature of the response from Alicia to "the Brits are complaining" post, I am not sure whether this information would be received as a service or as a troll by camp Kurt.

[red marley]

I don't think it is a big issue at all. Kurt has entered the UMCA HAM'R. When he completes he will hold the official record. If that is above 75,065 miles he will also legitimately hold the highest ever recorded world record attempt for a year of cycling (all of which require the period of the record to be stated before commencing). That there might have been other ways in which one could accumulate miles doesn't in any way diminish his official and moral right to hold the record.It is possible that Kurt might use Tommy's progress both in 1939 and 1940 to spur him on, but that is different issue.

[Legs]

You wouldn't take your 10 mile time trial PB as the best 10 miles of a particularly fast 25.  Usain Bolt's 100m record isn't the second 100m (or any other 100m snippet) of his 200m record.  Declaring beforehand is the important issue here, not the 'single calendar year' aspect.

Kurt's progress in recent days has been very impressive.  Forza Kurt!

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

You wouldn't take your 10 mile time trial PB as the best 10 miles of a particularly fast 25.  Usain Bolt's 100m record isn't the second 100m (or any other 100m snippet) of his 200m record.  Declaring beforehand is the important issue here, not the 'single calendar year' aspect.

Kurt's progress in recent days has been very impressive.  Forza Kurt!

+1 - and hence the requirement for TG to nominate a fixed date in advance for his restart - so there is a level playing field with the past (and clear guidance on any future attempt)  Incidentally my fastest 50 miles was done somewhere on a 100 mile TT but my 50 mile TT best remains the one I did in a 50 mile TT.

I wonder if Kurt now feels that the end is in sight and that's spurring him on a little.

Allez Kurt and then from 11 January Allez Steve!

[mcshroom]

It's the declared 365 day period, not the best 365 rolling total.

A calendar year may have been nice (as was suggested very early on in these attempts), but as the HAM'R rules state any fixed 365 day period, then that is what they are doing. You still have to ride on every day in the calender, whichever order they are arranged in.

[Karla]

Incidentally my fastest 50 miles was done somewhere on a 100 mile TT but my 50 mile TT best remains the one I did in a 50 mile TT.

My fastest 50 miles was done somewhere on a (sadly now annulled) 100 mile TT and my fastest 10 miles was done somewhere on a 50 mile TT. Thinking about it, my fastest 25 miles may have been done on that 100 too. 

Back on topic, arguments about records for stated years that start on January 1st rather than say Feb 9th or Jun 16th are IMO very petty indeed.  It reminds me of whichever hour record contender it was who spent his twilight years doing hour records at sea level, on a traditional bike, with one leg etc etc.  As Mcshroom says, both Kurt and Steve still have to ride on every day of the year, no matter which one they use as a start date. 

Equally petty though is the argument that they aren't breaking Tommy's record, just the HAMR.  Whatever the UMCA say, everyone knows that the furthest anyone has ridden in a year is 75,065 miles and that it was Tommy Godwin wot did it.

[mcshroom]

To add to the list, I think my fastest 200km of Audaxing was actually during a 400

[Citizenfish]

Incidentally my fastest 50 miles was done somewhere on a 100 mile TT but my 50 mile TT best remains the one I did in a 50 mile TT.

My fastest 50 miles was done somewhere on a (sadly now annulled) 100 mile TT and my fastest 10 miles was done somewhere on a 50 mile TT. Thinking about it, my fastest 25 miles may have been done on that 100 too. 

Back on topic, arguments about records for stated years that start on January 1st rather than say Feb 9th or Jun 16th are IMO very petty indeed.  It reminds me of whichever hour record contender it was who spent his twilight years doing hour records at sea level, on a traditional bike, with one leg etc etc.  As Mcshroom says, both Kurt and Steve still have to ride on every day of the year, no matter which one they use as a start date. 

Equally petty though is the argument that they aren't breaking Tommy's record, just the HAMR.  Whatever the UMCA say, everyone knows that the furthest anyone has ridden in a year is 75,065 miles and that it was Tommy Godwin wot did it.

I can see your point, however, it is the ability to restart that makes the comparison difficult. I suspect Godwin would have loved the ability to restart from April 1939 after 3 months of dire weather. But Cycling's rules precluded that. Therefore we either compare like with like or allow Godwin a virtual restart? It's these sorts of issues that make comparison over time difficult and so we should celebrate Steve and Kurt for their own pioneering stakes in the ground as modern record setters in the most scrutinised of year competitions ever. 

[mcshroom]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. TG had no reason to suppose that the second winter would be better than the first. Choosing start dates after you have ridden the distances is rather different to being able to choose to start again in advance.

[Citizenfish]

TG had no reason to suppose that the second winter would be better than the first.

It wasn't it was just as bad!

[mcshroom]

TG had no reason to suppose that the second winter would be better than the first.

It wasn't it was just as bad!

Mileage wise

[Chris S]

To add to the list, I think my fastest 200km of Audaxing was actually during a 400

It happens a lot. Our fastest 400 on the tandem was Day 1 of LEL2013 (although a hyoooge tailwind might have helped).

[TimC]

Semantics IMO; there is no "Tommy Godwin record" to break, the HAMR is what the remaining 2 participants are attempting which is a straight 365 day period starting any day

and best of luck to them both 

Absolutely. In fact I see this whole challenge as more of a setting of individual benchmarks, pushing the realms of what is possible ever further, rather than beating a fixed record. The UMCA have given us a modern framework for this and I for one applaud them and Steve/Kurt/Miles for bringing it back to life. Remember that Tommy never beat the "one armed" record of Walter Greaves...

Agreed. There wasn't an option for Steve or Kurt to take on the task according to the same rules as Tommy used, and indeed I believe his own record was never formally recognised by Guinness which would have given them that opportunity. So a new set of rules and oversight had to be formulated and the HAMR is what they ended up with. It's different, but similar enough for us to celebrate all three of them in the same context, and to each have our own take on what Steve or Kurt's efforts mean in comparison to Tommy's. 

[Karla]

Records aren't just recognised by Guinness, you know.

[Mr Larrington]

To add to the list, I think my fastest 200km of Audaxing was actually during a 400

It happens a lot. Our fastest 400 on the tandem was Day 1 of LEL2013 (although a hyoooge tailwind might have helped).

My fastest 200, 300 and 400 were all done on the 2007 South Then North.

[Ian H]

I managed what is possibly my fastest ever BRM 385k this year, during the Flatlands 600.  I'd optimistically booked a B&B at that distance and had to be there by 22.00.  I slept well.

[red marley]

Ten days ago I noted the following:

His average over the last 28 days has been 198.7 mpd. If he were to continue that for the remains of the challenge, he will hit the Godwin line on the very last day of his year (9th Jan 2016). Maybe his average will go up as he hits the Florida home straight, but unless something [even more] remarkable happens, he will be hitting the Godwin line in the last day or two of the challenge. Even if he managed an incredible 220 mpd for the next two months, he still be in the last week when he crosses the Godwin line.

In the last week Kurt's average shot up to an impressive 225 mpd. Perhaps that home straight feeling will allow him to build a substantial Godwin buffer after all.

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

Bernard Bennett only has a few hours left as second place in the annual mileage hall of fame, as Kurt only needs 4 more miles to overhaul the 1939 total.  Kurt also as less than 10,000 miles to go (a casual comment tossed away by someone whose never managed 10,000 miles in an entire year).  He's also had 11 straight 200 mile plus days - his best since mid-September.  Does feel like that home stretch is beckoning.  Again, if you can imagine 10,000 miles as being "nearly there".

[Wowbagger]

An amazing performance.