Quiet

[quixoticgeek]

It's really quiet at the moment, where is everyone? Is there something big going on that everyone has gone to?

J

[Kim]

Some sort of bike ride, I think.

[Jurek]

And.
August.

[Martin]

I'm aiming for a  double 200 and an AAA ride this month, none of them calendars, there just aren't any nearby

Summer is always a quiet time

[mattc]

There will be quite a few just finishing this excellent ride: http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/19-290/

(I've done about 3 of them so fancied a break this year).

No doubt iddu+riders will tell us all about it soon

[Tim Hall]

And.
August.

After that is September and The London Sightseer on 01/09/19. Go on, would could possibly go wrong?

[Manotea]

Not that quiet... back from a couple of weeks away to 200+ emails in my DIY inbox...

[Jaded]

I believe that lots of riders got hit by debris during the Didcot Disaster.

It has been covered up though. The generation board, demolition company, police, fire service and NHS are all in on the cover up. It is a disgrace.

[Kim]

I believe the Didcot Disaster is being reported by the Dutch news.  Presumably as a metaphor for British competence.

[S2L]

Not that quiet... back from a couple of weeks away to 200+ emails in my DIY inbox...

But it's good business... 

[lmm]

It's a busy weekend for events, I was conflicted between Worldcon and Folk East. Those are probably what all the other cyclists are busy with.

[Redlight]

I spent the weekend in a state of mild envy but consoled myself by booking a series of hotels between Geneva and Nice for a little ride through the Alps next September (amazingly many hotels on the classic route are already fully booked so I've had to go off-route a little bit on a couple of days). 

Now I've just got to work out travel arrangements, but none of the rail services are taking bookings that far ahead yet.

[slugbait]

I spent the weekend in a state of mild envy but consoled myself by booking a series of hotels between Geneva and Nice for a little ride through the Alps next September (amazingly many hotels on the classic route are already fully booked so I've had to go off-route a little bit on a couple of days). 

Now I've just got to work out travel arrangements, but none of the rail services are taking bookings that far ahead yet.

Slightly offtopic, but the classic route is "Route des Grandes Alpes"? Because I'm planning to do the Route des Grandes Alpes (with Mont Ventoux on the way back to Geneva) in July 2020 and was hoping to just book hotels along the way...

[mattc]

Slightly offtopic,

That's OK - it's nice and quiet now!

[perpetual dan]

:drums:

[Martin]

Started after my off last November I Are be mostly walking this season, need to finish the last of 3 Long Distance Paths that start from my home town; maybe in 3 weeks time

you even get a badge! (if you thought Audax was sad!) it's quite sobering to think the distance that a LDP covers (and involves 5 day trips or 3 and a weekend sleeping in the woods somewhere) can be done as a 200k in 11 hours...

[Redlight]

I spent the weekend in a state of mild envy but consoled myself by booking a series of hotels between Geneva and Nice for a little ride through the Alps next September (amazingly many hotels on the classic route are already fully booked so I've had to go off-route a little bit on a couple of days). 

Now I've just got to work out travel arrangements, but none of the rail services are taking bookings that far ahead yet.

Slightly offtopic, but the classic route is "Route des Grandes Alpes"? Because I'm planning to do the Route des Grandes Alpes (with Mont Ventoux on the way back to Geneva) in July 2020 and was hoping to just book hotels along the way...

That's the one - Iseran, Telegraphe, Galibier, Izoard, Bonette, etc.  I wouldn't take a chance on finding hotels along the way. July and September are the two peaks for doing that route It's popular with organised cycle tours, who block book rooms and some of the towns are partially shut down in the summer. I've had to re-think a couple of days and adjust the planned mileage in order to get to places with accomodation.  Valloire, at the foot of the Galibier, seems to be permanently full, for example.  The other challenge is to find hotels that serve evening meals or are close to restaurants. Again, some of these places seem to go into one horse mode outside the ski season.

[mmmmartin]

This has aso occurred to me - I guess that everyone is saving themselves for this ride:
https://www.fnrttc.org.uk/30-august-cambridge-to-king-s-lynne

[Martin]

This has aso occurred to me - I guess that everyone is saving themselves for this ride:
https://www.fnrttc.org.uk/30-august-cambridge-to-king-s-lynne

Not sure KL counts as coast! you need to go up to Guys Head to see The Wash proper

Thanks for the heads up about Terrington, I'll add it to the blurb for next year's DD although TBH it's not that special from the outside as to warrant a re-route,

[Chris S]

This has aso occurred to me - I guess that everyone is saving themselves for this ride:
https://www.fnrttc.org.uk/30-august-cambridge-to-king-s-lynne

Not sure KL counts as coast! you need to go up to Guys Head to see The Wash proper

Thanks for the heads up about Terrington, I'll add it to the blurb for next year's DD although TBH it's not that special from the outside as to warrant a re-route,

I agree - but the Friday's go to Hull too - which is also "Riverside" not "Seaside", so I guess the precedent has already been set.

[mmmmartin]

Chris is correct - although the tide goes in and out at Hull, and we do pass a few feet from the lapping waves, so it is sort of coastal. And we've been to the C as in Chilterns (Friday night Ride Through The Chilterns - to Oxford) and have also run the FNRttK - Flemish Night Ride to the Kust, from Brussels to Ostend. And theremight even have been a ride to C as in Cambridge, or was it back from Cambridge? Can't remember.

[mzjo]

I spent the weekend in a state of mild envy but consoled myself by booking a series of hotels between Geneva and Nice for a little ride through the Alps next September (amazingly many hotels on the classic route are already fully booked so I've had to go off-route a little bit on a couple of days). 

Now I've just got to work out travel arrangements, but none of the rail services are taking bookings that far ahead yet.

Slightly offtopic, but the classic route is "Route des Grandes Alpes"? Because I'm planning to do the Route des Grandes Alpes (with Mont Ventoux on the way back to Geneva) in July 2020 and was hoping to just book hotels along the way...

That's the one - Iseran, Telegraphe, Galibier, Izoard, Bonette, etc.  I wouldn't take a chance on finding hotels along the way. July and September are the two peaks for doing that route It's popular with organised cycle tours, who block book rooms and some of the towns are partially shut down in the summer. I've had to re-think a couple of days and adjust the planned mileage in order to get to places with accomodation.  Valloire, at the foot of the Galibier, seems to be permanently full, for example.  The other challenge is to find hotels that serve evening meals or are close to restaurants. Again, some of these places seem to go into one horse mode outside the ski season.

I seem to remember something about access for cyclists to some of the roads or cols being restricted to certain week-ends in july and august by the prefecture of the Hautes Alpes (or perhaps closed to cyclists during those months) for safety reasons; Might be wrong though.

[slugbait]

I seem to remember something about access for cyclists to some of the roads or cols being restricted to certain week-ends in july and august by the prefecture of the Hautes Alpes (or perhaps closed to cyclists during those months) for safety reasons; Might be wrong though.

I know that there are cycle-only days in the summer, but hadn't heard of no-cycle days. That would also strike me as strange: if you want to go from St Michel de Maurienne to Briançon by bike, then Telegraphe-Galibier-Lauteret is the only viable route. By car, you have the option to take the tunnel from Modane to Bardonecchia.

[JonJo]

Chris is correct - although the tide goes in and out at Hull, and we do pass a few feet from the lapping waves, so it is sort of coastal.

Huh! Using that argument the ride could finish at Boothferry Bridge at ~22 miles and ~ 2a.m. 

[mmmmartin]

Chris is correct - although the tide goes in and out at Hull, and we do pass a few feet from the lapping waves, so it is sort of coastal.

Huh! Using that argument the ride could finish at Boothferry Bridge at ~22 miles and ~ 2a.m. 

True. But the delights of Hull Wetherspoons at 8am are surely a delight worth cycling the rest of the night for?