[HAMR] Tommy Godwin record

[caerau]

Just saw a feature on BBC1's One Show on this guy.

http://www.tommygodwin.com/

Apparently the record can never be broken.

Sounds like a challenge for the audax mob.  Anyone up for it?

 

[Redlight]

Just saw a feature on BBC1's One Show on this guy.

http://www.tommygodwin.com/

Apparently the record can never be broken.

Sounds like a challenge for the audax mob.  Anyone up for it?

 

It would need to be a retired member with a very understanding family!

[Lordy]

If I'm right there was a thread on this before trying to encourage Teethgrinder to go for it.

[caerau]

Bikey Mikey sprung to mind for me 

[wilkyboy]

The most important question: is that a B17, or something else? 

[Deano]

I don't think TG said he would, but I don't think he said he wouldn't either...

https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=58795.msg1211561#msg1211561

[teethgrinder]

There is another thread. A record too dangerous to break, or something.
I've built a proto type bike and tested it over the last Christmas by trying to ride 220 miles a day over several days. I never quite managed it. A lot of strong wind and heavy rain, so it definitely was a good test for the bike. The bike held up well, but I'd use disc brakes instead of the V brakes I used. The pads only lasted a few days and by my reckoning I'd need new rims every 6-8 weeks.
Still not too sure about tyres either. Marathon Plusses were noticeably slow but with Vredsteins I was getting a puncture every 100 miles, though the extra speed they gave me more than compensated for time spent mending punctures compared to M+s. I might try some Panaracers or something next winter.
I'm also looking into what wheels to use. Narrowed it down to either Hope with carbon rims, Hope with Mavic Open Pro rims or build my own wheels with Hope hubs and carbon clinchers custom drilled in China.
I hope to have two bikes set up by the end of the year, my proto type but with disc brakes and a titanium bike with disc brakes but my money seems to vanish very quickly!
Guinness pretty much refuse to reckognise any attempt at the record. The only way they would validate it would be if someone did it on a velodrome while being watched by someone in person.
I'm really not counting on sponsorship and like the idea of going alone financially, but hopefully get people to help with practical stuff if I can. If I fund it myself I won't have to stop because of sponsors pulling out on me.
Once I have the bikes set up and a stockpile of spares to last the year, I reckon I'll need £12,000 for a go (so cheaper than a punt at RAAM). Half of that to pay my bills for the year because I'd have to be unemployed. That would leave just over £100 a week to feed myself and keep my bikes on the road. Hopefully I'll get it right when I build up a stock of chains, innertubes and so on and not need to spend money on anything for my bike.
I'm concentrating on the Mersey 24 this year and trying to get myself faster, which will help. Then I'll have some fun and might do another test week in August. After that I'll think about getting an evening job and maybe weekend work too in the Autumn and start saving up some money.
The aim at the moment is to be ready for 2015. 2014 would be good but I'd need sponsorship for that and I'm not exactly looking for it.
Then if that all goes to plan, or near enough to plan, it'll be a matter of whether I can manage it or not. I'll treat it as a self funded year off work. I might give up in a week or I might get on and get close or maybe even beat the record. I'll never know unless I try.

[trumpet]

I assume you'll be riding fixed TG !

[Chuffy]

Ok, I'm in....

Willing to contribute to a Kickstarter fund or similar.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I suspect that a support network would be a big advantage. Tommy had folk cooking and cleaning at his house and making sure he had serviceable bikes to ride.

It might be feasible for TG to visit various parts of the country for a few days and to have forum folk feed him, provide a bed, swap out worn bike bits, etc

[Tomsk]

This should be interesting....I don't doubt that of all the long distance riders in the UK, Teethgrinder would be the one to beat the record, based on his mightily impressive history.

I reckon many on here and in AUK would chip in if funds were needed, also there's a huge network of practical support out there. Much easier now to verify distances and arrange sleep stops as needed etc, than in Tommy Godwin's day.

[Deano]

I suspect that a support network would be a big advantage. Tommy had folk cooking and cleaning at his house and making sure he had serviceable bikes to ride.

It might be feasible for TG to visit various parts of the country for a few days and to have forum folk feed him, provide a bed, swap out worn bike bits, etc

Yes, I'd happy to provide all of that - and it's not as though I'm out in the hills, Darlo's at the top of the Vale of York, so you could take advantage of the smooooth service road alongside the A1.

And as I said before, I'd chip in to a fighting fund.

[caerau]

 

Not been thinking about it at all then 

If this is actually serious then if you pass through Wales there is a free watering and food stop waiting for you here 

[Euan Uzami]

Guinness pretty much refuse to reckognise any attempt at the record. The only way they would validate it would be if someone did it on a velodrome while being watched by someone in person.

... yet if you're really good at eating a large number of baked beans in a minute with chopsticks, piling a large number of jellies on your head without them toppling over, or cramming as many people as possible into a mini, they'd LOVE to hear from you.

My recommendation would be set up a website and generate as much publicity as possible, it would then be validated by 'general acceptance'. Get a newspaper to cover it if possible. Don't worry about guinness, they're not the sole authority, they just like to think they are.

[L CC]

Shower, food & bed in 2 locations in the Flatlands. But you knew that anyway, teethy.

(Unable to chip in for mechanical assistance or cold hard cash, sorry. Can do CAEK tho')

[tiermat]

Surely, in this day and age of GPS everywhere they should re-consider? If you can validate a DIY Audax by GPS, surely they can do this for a record?

[Peter]

I may be wrong but I thought I read somewhere that the reason Guiness wouldn't recognise it was because they thought such an exploit would be dangerous on today's roads, rather than a problem with distance verification.  Is Guiness the official arbiter of all record-bids of whatever kind, now?  I think the IAAF and the the other sporting bodies ought to be told!

[tiermat]

Surely, in this day and age of GPS everywhere they should re-consider? If you can validate a DIY Audax by GPS, surely they can do this for a record?

Probably not. There's no guarantee that a GPS unit isn't being passed between riders relay style.

Same could be said of the round-the-world record attempts.

[teethgrinder]

Don't worry about guinness, they're not the sole authority, they just like to think they are.

I'm not. Guinness are corrupt because they charge about £1000 per claim, which rules out anyone from poor countries making a claim. The LEJOG record is still held by Andy Wilkinson (1991) according to Guinness. Gethin Butler took almost an hour off it in 2001. It was all observed and checked by the same people (RRA) so the RRA records are correct.
It's not just having someone there as witness to satisfy them either, they have their own critria about altitude gain and stuff which would instantly rule out riding on the open road.
If I do it I'll do it because it's something I want to do.


Having help will make all the difference. Just shopping for food will cost me time, as well as cooking it.
Tommy had a lot of help from the cycling community, often arrived at one of his bases and was sat down, fed then put to bed. Having someone to kick me out in the morning would be handy too.

Surely, in this day and age of GPS everywhere they should re-consider? If you can validate a DIY Audax by GPS, surely they can do this for a record?

Probably not. There's no guarantee that a GPS unit isn't being passed between riders relay style.

I could also use a moped, or even write fake GPS tracks on a computer if I knew how.
GPS with a HRM would be better because everyone has different heart rate patterns. Plus having a lot of witnesses.

[mattc]

I completely understand why you don't want to get involved with the likes of Guinness (not least due to the cost!), but I fear that if you don't arrange some sort of recognised validation, the whole thing might become a bit of a myth, just some random nutter waffling on the internet.

It just needs to be some body with a reputation - could be the RRA, Cycling Weekly, AUK.

It's a unique challenge - we can't directly compare the validation required with LEJOG, audax rides or people in a Mini etc. A mixture of [GPS, "old-fashioned" computer, witnesses, random checks, photos, whatever] might work. No system is perfect, so you need to piggyback on the status of an existing organisation so that people take it seriously. IMHO.

[Dave_C]

A few mates and I have started to measure our rides in mili-Goodwins!!

[teethgrinder]

I completely understand why you don't want to get involved with the likes of Guinness (not least due to the cost!), but I fear that if you don't arrange some sort of recognised validation, the whole thing might become a bit of a myth, just some random nutter waffling on the internet.

It just needs to be some body with a reputation - could be the RRA, Cycling Weekly, AUK.

It's a unique challenge - we can't directly compare the validation required with LEJOG, audax rides or people in a Mini etc. A mixture of [GPS, "old-fashioned" computer, witnesses, random checks, photos, whatever] might work. No system is perfect, so you need to piggyback on the status of an existing organisation so that people take it seriously. IMHO.

You can rule out RRA because they require an observer for their records, so I'd need someone watching me all the time.
Cycling (Weekly) started the thing off and had cards to be signed by a witness every 100 miles and posted into Cycling (Weekly). I think that people would want something more substantial than till recepts these days.
If it gets known and I have a tracking device on my bike that people can see where I am on the internet, then people might come out to meet me so I'd have witnesses, so a website would be very handy. Especially with Facebook and Twitter to help spread the word.

[caerau]

Do it like that and I'm sure you would have company most of the way.  I'd certainly come out to ride with you for a while if you were doing that and down my way. 

[Chuffy]

How about using a GPS enabled digital camera? Self-portrait with bike & roadsign every 100 miles and a GPS location + timestamp as verification.

How are the round the world attempts validated?

[Karla]

The recent round the world race was tracked by GPS, but Mike Hall said that he also had to collect a load of receipts & similar for Guinness.

TG, I'm sure that AUK or CW could come up with some sufficiently flexible means of observing you.  I'll be in Newcastle by that point so you have an offer of bed, food, tools and an observer there if you ever venture that far north.