Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => Audax => Topic started by: GPS on 09 April, 2016, 02:29:26 pm
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Anyone doing the double this year ?
If so, anyone planning to ride between the two ... ?
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.... anyone .... ?
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Not this year. I'm saving myself...
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Someone is...(not me)
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Someone is...(not me)
How mysterious ... Well, it's nice to know I won't be the only one whoever it is.
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only just seen this.
i plan to do both, but yet to organise trains and accommodation (and perhaps a wider range cassette!)
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See you at the start(s) then !
Fingers crossed for the weather - and the state of my legs that weekend.
Can't wait ...
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Hi,
I shared a room with Zogzag before the BC and saw him at the end. He was going to ride to Poole for the start of Porkers and I could not put him off by suggesting a train to Dorchester ???
Have not heard how he is going on the Porkers, hope he is well and wonder if he plans to ride home to London after the end of Porkers?
Makes me wish I had ridden home, but on reflection I was knackered at the end of the BC. Think the cold got in my bones.
BB
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an update: a route chepstow-poole that i've downloaded via ridewithgps had an off-road sections through fields, mud and loose gravel, i lost quite a bit of time there, plus there was a stiff southerly headwind and steep hills - all combined meant i was late to the start by half an hour. so my second ever dns. i wouldn't do the train in between as this would somewhat diminish the challenge i set out to do! :thumbsup:
cycled over to southampton airport to catch the last direct train to london with 6min to spare.
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zigzag, how many miles did you end up doing with all this riding to Poole then Southampton? I'm happy if I've enough energy left to mow the lawn the day after BC400.
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zigzag, how many miles did you end up doing with all this riding to Poole then Southampton? I'm happy if I've enough energy left to mow the lawn the day after BC400.
thank you for the room at tl, much appreciated! brevet cymru was 414k, ride down to poole 146k and poole to southampton 60k, with riding to/from the stations 672k. i do feel tired, which i expect after such distance with lots of climbing.
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Chapeau for the effort Zigzag!
The two times I did the 'double' was facilitated by transport arranged between Chepstow-Poole by driving. I thin riding it would be indeed an extreme challenge, as the terrain in between in pretty hilly and shortest routes heavily laden with local motor traffic.
Porkers was hard, felt damp, wet and windy at times - and those pitch black lanes!
Maybe a challenge for next year - so much depends on the weather conditions on the day.
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Great effort Rimas :thumbsup: but I thought you learned your lesson on the TCR about trusting GPS software to plan your routes!
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Sorry to see you had routing problems zigzag. I don't trust ridewithgps routes enough to ride them without thorough checking now - not after being put onto a muddy bridleway in the rain at 2 a.m. on a ride anyway. I like cyclocross, but not in the middle of a 500 !
I looked out for you on the Porkers to say hello, and then Shawn told me you hadn't started when I reached the Winterbourne control. I think I was the only one who rode both rides this year. Is that right ? Did anyone else do it ?
It was tough to ride both and ride between them too. I only got 3 1/2 hours sleep all weekend and my legs feel odd to not be pedalling now. I was dragged round Porkers by andyp & gadget - for which I'm very grateful !
After the mist closed in after the climb out of Longbreedy I started to run out of steam and I was glad to get to Beaminster just to have a good feed. And after that, I was just happy to keep going. Porkers is a tough ride at the best of times, but with the extra miles and iffy weather it was obviously harder work for me this year. It's a great event though - one of my favourite rides.
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^ :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Top stuff!
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Wow, really just wow. I was struggling to ride back to Bristol after the Brevet let alone to Dorset to start another ride. Well done GPS and Zigzag (even though you didn't make the Porkers, it was hugely impressive just to get there and back home).
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And, GPS did the whole thing from/to home - the perfect way.
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well done GPS, i would have liked to ride it and was looking for a way to contact the organiser and ask whether it's ok to start later on my own an collect the card at one of the controls (via another rider). on the other hand i was happy to be done with riding and be able to have a hot long shower and cosy bed that night. thank you for the words of support everyone!
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Chapeau indeed.
I too have found myself on a farm track riding a DIY 200k planned via google maps heading down to Dorset.
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I did the double two years ago. Rode to Chepstow after work, then BC on Saturday. Made my way to Poole and slept in my sleeping bag on the way. Then grovelled around Porkers.
I caught the train home. I would have liked to have slept in Poole after Porkers then ridden home but that would have cost more money than a train home as well as a day off work I coud use for another ride.
Not an easy double!
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Chapeau GPS. When I saw you at Corscombe on the Porkers and you mentioned that you'd been hallucinating, I did wonder why... this explains everything - fantastic effort! :thumbsup:
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well done GPS, i would have liked to ride it and was looking for a way to contact the organiser and ask whether it's ok to start later on my own an collect the card at one of the controls (via another rider). on the other hand i was happy to be done with riding and be able to have a hot long shower and cosy bed that night. thank you for the words of support everyone!
My commiserations Zigzag, you looked in a capable shape when you set-off for the start of The Porkers.
Just for information, a rider can start a BRM event up to one hour after the official start time, although I'm not sure if the organiser has to remain at the start during this time. Before the logical arguments start - by implication the organiser would appear to remain at start for that time, but equally they could make cards available at departure by (say) attaching cards to a door at the ride departure.
Fortunately this is seldom an issue for me, as I'm always at the ride departure for at least an hour for my BRM events, either cleaning halls or getting prepared for another supporting event.
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Chapeau GPS. When I saw you at Corscombe on the Porkers and you mentioned that you'd been hallucinating, I did wonder why... this explains everything - fantastic effort! :thumbsup:
Cheers !
To be honest, I can't really remember much of that night - that's probably due to sleep deprivation too. It was an eerie night to be riding around Dorset in the small hours though. Trippy.
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Anyone up for this in 2018 ?
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Eh, tempting, but...
having done it two times (once I thought was 'enough', then a two year hiatus, and the second was 'really enough'!).
It really depends on the weather, and your physical condition.
One both occasions, I had a lift from Chepstow to Poole.
I did intend a third go (I think last year), but the forecast was atrocious for Porkers, and having had a rough (but good) Brevet Cymru, decided to call it a day.
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I'll take that as a definite 'maybe' then !
You dodged a bullet last year with porkers - the weather exceeded the worst predictions. Which must mean that this year's weather must be better - right ? :thumbsup:
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We had (at least) two more brevet porkers riders this year !
Which has got me thinking ... why not have a roll of honour for those who've managed this insane feat ?
I was thinking of a page listing all the riders willing to be listed. All I need to get started are names, dates and noteworthy extra info - such as 'rode fixed', 'rode between Chepstow & Poole' etc. ...
Any thoughts ? Any takers ??
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Sounds good :thumbsup:
Who was the other rider this year then? Hippy and..
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Shaun H rode fixed.
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Yes I rode both this year on 65" fixed, I drove between the two though! Not being fast enough on Brevet Cymru(22hrs) leaves 10 hours to ride to Poole(plus some sleep is required). Not so sure I would attempt this again though, I was very sleep deprived on Porkers and was getting the dozies overnight. Managed to finish Porkers in just over 25hrs then collapsed in the Poole Travelodge!!
Quite happy for my name to be added to any compiled list.
Shaun Hargreaves
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Cheers Shaun. Chapeau for doing it on fixed !
I think sleep deprivation is the biggest challenge with brevet-porkers. You start the weekend early on Saturday with the BC start and then don't get to bed again until well after midnight. So, by the time you line up at Poole on Sunday, you're already badly sleep-deprived and you then have to go right through another night. I was hallucinating the first time I did it.
It's so challenging, and there's so little reward except for the knowledge that you were up to it, that I don't think many people have wanted to ride it again, but I'd like to get some names and dates just to find out more.
I've got as far as researching domain names though and the leading contender is currently: brevet-porkers.fun ... how inappropriate.
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Names of people who've done both should be easy to scrape from the historical results pages.
Details of how they got between Chepstow and Poole, and whether they rode fixed, not so.
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Good thinking !
Thanks - I'll start trawling the results ....
Oddly enough, I'm listed on both this year, but rode the BC as a route check several days beforehand.
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Ah, that's something else scraping the results won't tell you...
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SR Steve (Stephen Ralph) and Rob Gray did the double first IIRC. I think one or two others did it with them. They used a van to get between the two events.
Mike Kelly and I did it the year after. I think that was 2014. Mike caught the train between the two but still ended up having to ride about half the distance. I rode between the two (95 miles), stopping for a sleep near Bradford on Avon. Not exactly a flat ride between the two events either.
Jasmine Muller did the alternative version last year, LWL-Porkers. I'm not sure there's much in it which double is hardest.
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Thanks TG - I'd assumed it'd all started many years before that. All great info !
Dare I ask - did you ride it fixed ?
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No, I rode with gears. The fixie was put into retirement in 2013, but will be making a comeback soon, though probably not on an Audax this year, but you never know.
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Toby did the BC / Wu'ze 400 combo in 2010.
http://www.aukweb.net/results/archive/2010/listride/?Rider=1380
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I've finally created a page detailing who's done it over the years: https://adultmale.wordpress.com/brevet-porkers/
Please let me know of any errors or additional info that might be interesting / useful to know ...
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So, two weeks to go ... Who’s in ?
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I'm up for another go. Ride down to Chepstow then probably sleep in my sleeping bag before BC. Then do BC and hopefully get a few miles down the road before sleeping in my sleeping bag again and carrying on to Poole. Hopefully make the start of Porkers in time and maybe catch a few naps in my sleeping bag during Porkers. Got a room at Travelodge in Poole for £36 for after Porkers. So an early night then ride home the next day.
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I'm up for another go. Ride down to Chepstow then probably sleep in my sleeping bag before BC. Then do BC and hopefully get a few miles down the road before sleeping in my sleeping bag again and carrying on to Poole. Hopefully make the start of Porkers in time and maybe catch a few naps in my sleeping bag during Porkers. Got a room at Travelodge in Poole for £36 for after Porkers. So an early night then ride home the next day.
That's about the same distance as LEL or LEJOG... :o :o
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Yup - sleep's the big issue with this. I'm aiming to be as well-rested as possible before the BC and get round it as quickly as I can without wrecking my legs for Porkers - so I can get some decent sleep before setting off to Poole. I'm hoping to get to Corscombe in time for a decent sleep too ... We'll see how all that goes !
I just hope the weather's ok ...
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Hope those doing the double are having a good first half!
...just loading the Porkers onto my Garmin and noticed (probably because bikehike doesn't have it as a right of way) that on the first leg the official track takes us up the A35 to the next junction, but there's a little cycle-only left that we can take here: http://bit.ly/2Y00pVw (http://bit.ly/2Y00pVw) which rejoins the route in about a km, and is much nicer.
Also heading on to Portland on the A354 it's well worth turning right onto the cycle path here: http://bit.ly/2DMMmLu (http://bit.ly/2DMMmLu) it has a good surface and although will take a few seconds longer at either end will spare you multiple close/punishment passes at the pinch points along the beach road that have been put in to stop dangerous overtaking.
I'll be running my tracker which will put dots on the map every 10 minutes http://bit.ly/andrews-tracker (http://bit.ly/andrews-tracker) somewhere towards the back of the field. See everyone tomorrow!
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So - TG & I did it this year ... unless there was anyone else ... ?
Both rides were cold overnight & I never got to take any layers off. All good training I suppose !?
That's possibly the last one I do. I'd rather just be able to enjoy Porkers in its own right - it's a cracker !
There were only 30 or so starters for Porkers and 150-ish for BC. I know Porkers is limited because of the overnight controls, but given the choice I'd always ride Porkers. It's special ... just can't think of any other way to describe it !
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From TG's Strava... one of the funniest things I've read in a long time ;D :thumbsup:
I spent some time in Mc Donalds trying to have a dump but wasn't having any success. I thought it was probably dehydration, so drank all the water from my bottles and had another go and still nothing. It would have been ridiculous if I never made the start of Porkers in time because of this!
I ordered 2 large coffees for both hydration and the caffeine, which can have a laxative effect. I did manage to get some out, which was enough to get me comfortable enough to ride again. I pocketed a wad of toilet paper incase things improved.
Lo and behold! just before Shaftesbury I found a hedge and emptied my bowels with ease, which was a big relief. That and the effects of 2 coffees worth of caffeine, meant that I just made the start of the Prokers with 5 minutes to spare, and then we were off...
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I'd always ride Porkers. It's special ... just can't think of any other way to describe it !
The one I rode with you in 2017 was 'special' ... special in a very wet, very cold, kind of way ;D ;D ;D
I plan to be back next year (instead of BC, not, as well as)
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I'd always ride Porkers. It's special ... just can't think of any other way to describe it !
The one I rode with you in 2017 was 'special' ... special in a very wet, very cold, kind of way ;D ;D ;D
I plan to be back next year (instead of BC, not, as well as)
Hm, yes - that year was a bit too special for my liking. I hope you get to experience Porkers in good weather - the sunset over the Blackdowns was quite something this year.
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So - the combo is back on for this year after the covid hiatus etc. ..... who's in ?
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So - the combo is back on for this year after the covid hiatus etc. ..... who's in ?
the only way I'd be up for this combo, is if someone was driving a tour bus between Chepstow and Poole so I could sleep on the way.
But that isn't very Audax.