[HAMR] New challenger - Bruce Berkeley AKA Cycle_dr 1

[mrcharly-YHT]

Is it just me or is this attempt just looking dooooooooomed!

BB

based on history, your statement heralds a bruce resurgence

[Ham]

We're all dooooooooooomed.

There, I said it.

[TheRedEyeJedi]

He has gone from saying he was the official Guinness week and month record holder to saying he holds these records 'unofficially' but could claim them if he wants.   How can you claim any record unofficially?   How can you be sure you have already not been beaten by someone else's 'unofficial' attempt.   In the case of his week records all the evidence I can find shows that multiple RAAM competitors have beaten his unofficial record.

It would be really sad if he got very close to the record unofficially and then there was some debate over ratification that cast a shadow on 'The Year' or the previous competitors.

[Wowbagger]

I have just "joined" the February distance challenge on Strava, just to see how many kilometres Bruce has ridden so far. In 5 days he has ridden "only" 976k, which is 2 whole days behind, in my book. There are two others ahead of him this month.

Curiously, there are two Essex riders in the top 6, one of whom is from Great Leighs, and therefore eligible for membership of the MEMWNS rides. I suggest that OD tries to recruit him.

[danridesbikes]

[toontra]

That looks like a stock response to anyone who writes enquiring about a record attempt.

[TheRedEyeJedi]

I think that strava title was aimed at me.... I feel quite proud!  I was really supportive of him on there in previous comments and then got into a discussion about his claimed records and the ratification of this attempt...and then his friends started sending me fairly threatening messages!    Strava hardmen - Ive heard it all now! A least if it comes down to a fight my 17 stone body will be a strava advantage at long last!

Apparently its fine that he is claiming two world records that belong to someone else and anyone who questions this should either 'fuck off' or 'go ride more miles'.   I saw Hoppo had backed up what I had said as true and also asked him to clarify his position on Guinness too but I dont know what was said because he then blocked me on Strava!

Its going to be very difficult for him to claim a Year record purely based on Strava miles if he blocks anyone on there who questions him!

Presumably if Guinness do not ratify his year record then he will just slag them off because they dont ride as far as him on strava, and then claim the record anyway. 

What a very strange individual.  I personally can not understand why you would continue to allow media to say you have world records that you clearly do not have?  It seems such a dodgy thing to do when you are relying on that organisation and the public to trust in your current record attempt

[Phil W]

That looks like a stock response to anyone who writes enquiring about a record attempt.

Yes, it's a stock response, the proof will be in the pudding.

[Exit Stage Left]

So 6 weeks to process. He's had 12 months to sort out the Month record. So assuming he goes the distance, we can expect to be still waiting for the Year Record in 2029.

[mrcharly-YHT]

I personally can not understand why you would continue to allow media to say you have world records that you clearly do not have?

I don't think that is the case; road.cc have retracted the oft-repeated statement about the month and week records.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Probably because of the discussions here and elsewhere.

[TheRedEyeJedi]

I personally can not understand why you would continue to allow media to say you have world records that you clearly do not have?

I don't think that is the case; road.cc have retracted the oft-repeated statement about the month and week records.

Well there was multiple people still claiming he owns the records on his facebook and strava posts...and he has not once distanced himself from them.  He obviously reads it all because he soon blocked me for what I had said!  I wish him all the best... but calling out anyone who criticizes him in his ride descriptions seems to lack a bit of class.

[mrcharly-YHT]

I personally can not understand why you would continue to allow media to say you have world records that you clearly do not have?

I don't think that is the case; road.cc have retracted the oft-repeated statement about the month and week records.

Well there was multiple people still claiming he owns the records on his facebook and strava posts...and he has not once distanced himself from them.  He obviously reads it all because he soon blocked me for what I had said!  I wish him all the best... but calling out anyone who criticizes him in his ride descriptions seems to lack a bit of class.

I lost all respect for him when he blanked Kurt.

[toontra]

That looks like a stock response to anyone who writes enquiring about a record attempt.

Yes, it's a stock response, the proof will be in the pudding.

The mere fact that he thinks posting a stock letter will prove anything to anyone suggests he isn't quite on the ball (so to speak).

[red marley]

I find the discussions on the Bruce's Strava posts really quite depressing. I guess it comes with the social media territory, but the comments seem to be  80% inane flattery ("You da monster dude!"), 10% genuine attempts, like Shaun's (is that you RedEye?), to find out what's going on with his validation, and 10% vitriolic putdowns of anyone who is not in the 80% category. Hoppo's somewhat blunt exclamation ridden prose comes across as considered and tactful in comparison. And Bruce's post title today doesn't really help matters.

I can't work out if Bruce is deluding himself with his stated belief that he has Guinness ratification of his past and current rides, or whether he has simply backed himself into a corner and finds it difficult to admit that he needs to take a different approach to have any credible recognition of a future record.

[mrcharly-YHT]

I had an email from a friend of Bruce's.

From what he said, Burce is extremely stubborn and utterly resistant to acquiescing to anything he views as 'authority'. 

The discussion on strava is mostly from australians. That's how a lot of them speak. Its a fact that immigrants were offered courses in understanding vernacular so they could tell whether they were being insulted or not.

[TheRedEyeJedi]

I find the discussions on the Bruce's Strava posts really quite depressing. I guess it comes with the social media territory, but the comments seem to be  80% inane flattery ("You da monster dude!"), 10% genuine attempts, like Shaun's (is that you RedEye?), to find out what's going on with his validation, and 10% vitriolic putdowns of anyone who is not in the 80% category. Hoppo's somewhat blunt exclamation ridden prose comes across as considered and tactful in comparison. And Bruce's post title today doesn't really help matters.

I can't work out if Bruce is deluding himself with his stated belief that he has Guinness ratification of his past and current rides, or wether he has simply backed himself into a corner and finds it difficult to admit that he needs to take a different approach to have any credible recognition of a future record.

Yeah - that's me! 

[Exit Stage Left]

It was notable that the last tweet referred to on here lacked a Canyon Bikes #. The media attention has died down after Steve stopped, and Bruce's validation had become an issue. Canyon might be avoiding being linked to that, and Bruce is feeling isolated.

[Bianchi Boy]

From what he said, Burce is extremely stubborn and utterly resistant to acquiescing to anything he views as 'authority'. 

Sooner or later Bruce will realise that all records are controlled by people with 'authority'. He should try ridding an open TT and then getting DQ'd because you do a U turn to get to the start line! Or now we have an unofficial 100 mile record in the UK because a course was measured 200m short. Who can remember the Australian female swimming team been DQ'd in an Olympic final after winning by 30m beacuse one of their team dived in before the last swimmer had completed the swim - some 30s after they had.

Please Bruce grow up. We do not all agree or like the way some things are ran, but that is the way of the world. Some things just have to be complied with.

BB

[toontra]

If he isn't interested in acquiescing to anything he views as 'authority' he really shouldn't be attempting ratified world records. Seems he wants it both ways - getting attention and sponsorship for attempting (and even claiming) records but not going through the hoops that others have had to put up with (at some cost both in terms of money/effort/time). 

Personally I'm not interested what he does with this attempt any longer - for me he is treating the record with disrespect.  I'm sure that wouldn't bother him a jot!

[Exit Stage Left]

Nobody gets their name up on the honours boards at school for cycling. That's for the 'classic' sporting events, the 100 metres, 400 metres, the mile at a push.

The shorter cycling events get some notice from the public, Chris Hoy and Bradley Wiggins are known for their Gold medals. The Tour de France is a big deal, but generally the further you go the less notice is taken, and the competition thins out. By the time you get to Audax, any pretence at pleasing the school sports teacher is long forgotten. The type of people riding them weren't generally "Good at Sports'.

That's why I'm not keen on the arena of stupidly long distance cycling being colonised by the kind of authority figures who put names up on boards on the wall. I can see how Bruce has had to embrace that idea of 'authority' to garner sponsorship, but claiming records but not doing the paperwork weakens the appeal of his ride to me. But it's not a deal-breaker. However I doubt that anyone can get through the year with so little support. If he did I'd be full of admiration.

[toontra]

But there's the dichotomy.  He's obviously fairly adept at doing the paperwork to get commercial sponsorship.  He mentions several large companies that are supporting him.  The cynic in me says that he's perfectly capable of administration when he perceives it directly benefits him, so why not when it comes to Guinness or UMCA?  It's not as if this was a sudden decision - he was talking up the attempt many months ago

[yossarian22]

New to YACF and fantastic to find this forum for Bruce Berkley cycling endeavors. His first month was very strong but recently his kilometerage seems to have dropped.  Reading between the lines, he may be going through a tough patch. I'm sure he appreciates the gracious support and encouragement that flows from here. Does anybody know what's going on?  mrcharly: does your friend have any news about Bruce's knee?

[Heinrich]

I think the uploads may have changed slightly as I now see no ride on the 4th Feb, but a couple on the 5th.

A few low milage days really illustrates the merciless cruelty of the challenge. All that effort climbing above the Searvogel line with a month of impressive riding is wiped out and more.

"Time trials are won, not by riding fast, but by not riding slow"

+1 - the numbers are almost as merciless as the challenge.  Every day in which only 100 miles is ridden adds approximately 0.3 miles a day to the every other day in the year, and a blank day 0.57 miles per day.  So a half dozen bad days can mean the average for the rest going up to 210, 211....

This chart is very interesting ---- wher can we find it?

[Ham]

The link is inthe first message of this thread https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=87407.0 - Jo has been running for over a year, with commentary. Definitely a thread to follow if you are interested in the attempts