The Fridays Tour

[Flying Dodo]

My concern is the A508, which I'm going to have to take a look at early one Saturday morning

The A508 isn't too bad, although when we did Andy's charity pootle to Trafalgar Square before Christmas, he and Rob did have a bus get a bit too close. However, it didn't have lots of traffic on it, even at the A14 junction. Generally it's very straight, which does make it a very boring road to be on to be honest with some long, not too steep drags up. The lanes on the east are better, although of course then the hills will be shorter but steeper. Depending up on which route you use, the lanes could have less climbing overall.

 

[srw]

Judging by the conversation I had with my PhD supervisor today I'll be unlikely to get a week off until september

Academics don't live in the real world (at least I know my supervisor didn't). Mens sana in corpore sano and all that - tell her that a week away from the books will be worth any number of all-nighters. If one of my members of staff told me they weren't planning on taking any holiday between now and September I'd tell them not to be silly - and I bet your supervisor will have a number of "conferences" lined up.

 

[rb58]

Midnight start has my vote too. At the moment, I'm still planning to ride from LE (it's a box I need to tick) to arrive Thursday evening, so Friday will be a rest day before heading off on the next leg.

 

[Aperitif]

Midnight start has my vote too. At the moment, I'm still planning to ride from LE (it's a box I need to tick) to arrive Thursday evening, so Friday will be a rest day before heading off on the next leg.

Later, there will be a talk entitled "Ross, on why."

 

[Becs]

Academics don't live in the real world (at least I know my supervisor didn't). Mens sana in corpore sano and all that - tell her that a week away from the books will be worth any number of all-nighters. If one of my members of staff told me they weren't planning on taking any holiday between now and September I'd tell them not to be silly - and I bet your supervisor will have a number of "conferences" lined up.

I'm already skiing next week and have had the best part of 6 months off ("working from home") to look after my mother so he's been pretty good so far! I'm now essentially doing a 2 and half year PhD and trying to get 5 papers written before 1st october when I start my new job - no rest for the wicked! If the mouse gods are smiling I may still get away for this ride but it depends how quickly they make mouse babies! I was hoping for a september ride as a break between submitting and starting the new job be ce la vie!

 

[dellzeqq]

Midnight start has my vote too. At the moment, I'm still planning to ride from LE (it's a box I need to tick) to arrive Thursday evening, so Friday will be a rest day before heading off on the next leg.

at first I thought this was completely bonkers, but if one takes the most economical LEJoG to be 875 mile, LeHPCJoG at 955 miles is only 80 miles longer. Good luck!

 

[dellzeqq]

Later, there will be a talk entitled "Ross, on why."

or Ross Goes To Cromarty

 

[Aperitif]

or Ross Goes To Cromarty

'Kin Ross...gets in everywhere, that bloke.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Later, there will be a talk entitled "Ross, on why."

Every morning you'll have to shout "We stir! Ross!"

 

[dellzeqq]

up north it'll be 'Ee stir Ross!'.

It's the Paris trip that worries me. 'Biff Ross!'

 

[Flying Dodo]

And while riding up from Dungeness is an admirable intention, it involves cycling through some very grotty bits of London, possibly in the rush hour, so I am not doing that.

Dungeness to HPC would be just under 80 miles, mainly on quiet lanes (until you get to London of course). I don't think it would be a major problem with the traffic. Allowing for a 9 am departure, you could easily be at HPC for 4.30 pm. If anyone specifically wants to do the full length of the UK by adding on another day before the start, on the Friday, I'd be up for looking at this.

 

[frank9755]

at first I thought this was completely bonkers, but if one takes the most economical LEJoG to be 875 mile, LeHPCJoG at 955 miles is only 80 miles longer. Good luck!

That is surprising at first but, on reflection, England gets pretty narrow with the Severn bridge only being 100 miles west of London, so it must be right.

The other semi-surprising finding is that London-JoG, which sounds like a long way, is less than twice as far as London-LE (333 miles, from my house)

Midnight start has my vote too. At the moment, I'm still planning to ride from LE (it's a box I need to tick) to arrive Thursday evening, so Friday will be a rest day before heading off on the next leg.

What route are you taking, Ross?

 

[mmmmartin]

Dungeness to HPC would be just under 80 miles, mainly on quiet lanes (until you get to London of course).

You are absolutely right. Your use of the phrase "until you get to London" puts a bit of a damper on the ride up from Dungeness. Also, I live in Kent and have been to Dungeness and ridden on the roads between there and London loads of times - and ocasionally I ride to work in London - so that doesn't really appeal to me. I'd rather go for the iconic start of a FNRttC. Not to mention how I'd get my campimg kit from Dungeness to the start of the ride. Loading up the audax bike with tent, etc etc and riding to London doesn't get my vote.

 

[Flying Dodo]

You are absolutely right. Your use of the phrase "until you get to London" puts a bit of a damper on the ride up from Dungeness. Also, I live in Kent and have been to Dungeness and ridden on the roads between there and London loads of times - and ocasionally I ride to work in London - so that doesn't really appeal to me. I'd rather go for the iconic start of a FNRttC. Not to mention how I'd get my campimg kit from Dungeness to the start of the ride. Loading up the audax bike with tent, etc etc and riding to London doesn't get my vote.

Ah, in that case, how about an alternative.

Leave your camping stuff at home and rather than Dungeness, start from Broadstairs (potententially the most south-easterly point in the UK), follow the coast along, then do the Whitstable FNRttC route in reverse. If we set off early enough, then you'd get to HPC way before 4.30, then you get the train back home before the 4.30 ban on bikes, have a rest, pick up your stuff and then get the train back to London for the midnight start.

Simples.

 

[Sketchley]

Hi All,

Mrs Sketchley is happy for me to do this so looks like I'm coming. Going to have be serious with the diet between now and then, shedding a couple of stones will make the hills much easier....

Re Friday midnight start, it is a Friday's tour so this does get my vote. One thought though if you found a good place to do it, could people who did not want to do the midnight start simply start the ride at breakfast the following morning?

Chris W