Watership Down 15th Jan

[Dave Larrington]

In article <[email protected]>, Alan Holmes
([email protected]) wrote:
>
> "Dave Larrington" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > In article <[email protected]>, Alan Holmes
> > ([email protected]) wrote:
> >>
> >> "MartinM" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> >> news:[email protected]...
> >> >
> >> > Alan Holmes wrote:
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >> I sometimes pace cyclists to see what speeds they are travelling at,
> >> >> and
> >> >> it's surprising how fast some of them travel, it's very common to pace
> >> >> someone at 25 + mph
> >> >
> >> > FSVO common, the only time I see cyclists riding at that speed is on
> >> > TT's
> >> >
> >> >> But, of course, i cannot be sure my car speedometer is really very
> >> >> accurate!
> >> >
> >> > sorry to disappoint you but you did not ever ride anywhere at 29.5 mph
> >> > average; think back, reconsider the journey and it will become
> >> > apparent.
> >>
> >> If you work out the distance from South Ealing to Stow-on-the-Wold, you
> >> will
> >> find it is very close to 84 miles.
> >>
> >> And I left South Ealing at 2.00 pm and arrived at the hostel before it
> >> opened, the normal opening times of YH is 5.00 pm.
> >>
> >> As to people travelling at 25 mph or faster, I suggest you try pacing
> >> some
> >> who appear to be going at a fair speed, or indeed any speed, and then
> >> make
> >> the comment.
> >
> > My fastest-ever race performance saw me averaging 28.7 mph for 45
> > minutes. On an indoor velodrome, on a very reclined, tail-faired
> > recumbent. With no luggage at all, not even a water bottle. Spending
> > most of the race doing bit-and-bit with two other riders, one of whom
> > has won the championship three years running and competed in Team RAAM
> > last year. I doubt even Mr Armstrong or Fat Boy Ullrich could do Ealing
> > -> Stow o/t Wold at that speed.
>
> I have only given the facts, the time starting, arriving, and I leave it to
> you to work out the distance.
>
> And there is still the motorist who informed me I was travelling at 30mph.

For how long? Downhill? Following wind? Accurate speedometer?

When racing here: <URL:http://www.bhpc.org.uk/maps/CastleCombeMap.jpg>

I am normally travelling at about 30-32 mph roughly from where it says
"Pits" as far as the left-hander just before Quarry, but that's slightly
downhill and with a following wind. On the first lap of the race,
before sanity kicks in, it's more like 38 mph. /Average/ speed for the
duration, however, is rather less - 23.4 mph for two hours, 25 mph for
one - last year.

--
Dave Larrington - <http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/>
Every establishment needs an opposition.

 

[dkahn400]

Alan Braggins wrote:

> In article <[email protected]>, Alan Holmes wrote:
> >
> >I have only given the facts, the time starting, arriving, and I leave it to
> >you to work out the distance.
>
> About 77 miles, says Google Maps, but it would be a bit further not using
> the M40.

Autoroute makes it 71-and-a-bit miles by the shortest route. Excluding
motorways increases it to 74-and-a-bit, but that still leaves a lot of
A40 in the route. Unless Alan was very careful to work out the shortest
possible route 80 to 85 miles sounds entirely reasonable. It's not the
distance I'm sceptical about.

--
Dave...

 

[Simon Brooke]

in message <[email protected]>,
dkahn400 ('[email protected]') wrote:

> Alan Braggins wrote:
>
>> In article <[email protected]>, Alan Holmes wrote:
>> >
>> >I have only given the facts, the time starting, arriving, and I leave
>> >it to you to work out the distance.
>>
>> About 77 miles, says Google Maps, but it would be a bit further not
>> using the M40.
>
> Autoroute makes it 71-and-a-bit miles by the shortest route. Excluding
> motorways increases it to 74-and-a-bit, but that still leaves a lot of
> A40 in the route. Unless Alan was very careful to work out the shortest
> possible route 80 to 85 miles sounds entirely reasonable. It's not the
> distance I'm sceptical about.

No, nor me either. 85 miles is quite doable, given time.

--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; Madness takes its toll. Please have exact change.

 

[Alan Holmes]

"Dave Larrington" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>, Alan Holmes
> ([email protected]) wrote:
>>
>>
>> And there is still the motorist who informed me I was travelling at
>> 30mph.
>
> For how long?

Abuot 3/4 of a mile

Downhill?

On the flat.

Following wind?

Can't remember, it was a long time ago, and I was more worried about him
staying close behind me for that time.

Accurate speedometer?

No idea, but how many are?

>
> When racing here: <URL:http://www.bhpc.org.uk/maps/CastleCombeMap.jpg>
>
> I am normally travelling at about 30-32 mph roughly from where it says
> "Pits" as far as the left-hander just before Quarry, but that's slightly
> downhill and with a following wind. On the first lap of the race,
> before sanity kicks in, it's more like 38 mph. /Average/ speed for the
> duration, however, is rather less - 23.4 mph for two hours, 25 mph for
> one - last year.

I wasn't 'racing'!

Perhaps you should get a heavier bike!

Alan

>
> --
> Dave Larrington - <http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/>
> Every establishment needs an opposition.

 

[Simon Brooke]

in message <[email protected]>, Alan Holmes
('[email protected]') wrote:

>
> "Dave Larrington" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> In article <[email protected]>, Alan Holmes
>> ([email protected]) wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> And there is still the motorist who informed me I was travelling at
>>> 30mph.
>>
>> For how long?
>
> Abuot 3/4 of a mile

Alan, this is getting tiresome. As has been pointed out to you
repeatedly, no-one, either now or in the thirties, can sustain the
speeds you claim to have sustained, even under perfect conditions. In
1939 the hour record stood at 28 miles - in a perfectly flat, indoor
velodrome, on a perfectly prepared, stripped down track bike. It now
stands at 30.8 miles (again, under velodrome conditions), despite the
efforts of many supreme athletes to push it further. No-one in the world
has ever cycled faster than that, alone and unpaced on a diamond frame
bike, for a sustained period.

Except, you claim, you. One can give you credit for a faulty memory for
only so long; you have had plenty of time to say 'I'm sorry, I must have
made a mistake'. But no, not you.

So I'll put it to you in plain words.

You are a liar.

--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; All in all you're just another nick in the ball
-- Think Droid

 

[Alan Holmes]

"Simon Brooke" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> in message <[email protected]>, Alan Holmes
> ('[email protected]') wrote:
>
>>
>> "Dave Larrington" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>>> In article <[email protected]>, Alan Holmes
>>> ([email protected]) wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> And there is still the motorist who informed me I was travelling at
>>>> 30mph.
>>>
>>> For how long?
>>
>> Abuot 3/4 of a mile
>
> Alan, this is getting tiresome. As has been pointed out to you
> repeatedly, no-one, either now or in the thirties, can sustain the
> speeds you claim to have sustained, even under perfect conditions. In
> 1939 the hour record stood at 28 miles - in a perfectly flat, indoor
> velodrome, on a perfectly prepared, stripped down track bike. It now
> stands at 30.8 miles (again, under velodrome conditions), despite the
> efforts of many supreme athletes to push it further. No-one in the world
> has ever cycled faster than that, alone and unpaced on a diamond frame
> bike, for a sustained period.
>
> Except, you claim, you. One can give you credit for a faulty memory for
> only so long; you have had plenty of time to say 'I'm sorry, I must have
> made a mistake'. But no, not you.
>
> So I'll put it to you in plain words.
>
> You are a liar.

You are entitled to your opinion,

I have just put the facts.

Alan

>
> --
> [email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
>
> ;; All in all you're just another nick in the ball
> -- Think Droid
>

 

[MartinM]

Ever seen Groundhog Day?:

135. James Annan
Jun 14 2004, 11:32 pm show options

Newsgroups: uk.rec.cycling
From: James Annan <[email protected]> - Find messages by
this author
Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2004 08:32:56 +0900
Local: Mon, Jun 14 2004 11:32 pm
Subject: Re: first metric century
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Alan Holmes wrote:
> I
> had travelled 84 miles in 2 hours 50 minutes, which was an average of
> (if my arithmetic is up to date) 29.5 mph. Bearing in mind that the bike
> was loaded for a fortnights holiday, self catering and clothing for that
> time, primus stove, paraffin, meths, water container, milk and etc, that
> wasn't a bad average, especially as the trip was across the Cotswolds.


Oh, I remember you. You popped in here a few years ago with your
ridiculous exploits, impervious to reason, and insisted that you really

had done this journey at that impossible speed.

You didn't. There neve has been, and probably never will be, a human
capable of that feat. It's not close enough to reality to be remotely
plausible.


Being generous, I suppose it is possible that you simply misremembered
some aspect (either the distance or the time, or the mode of
transport!). Either that, or you just made the whole thing up. Your
call. In any case, it didn't happen.


James

 

[Mark Thompson]

> You are entitled to your opinion,
>
> I have just put the facts.

Were you riding a motorbike? Serious question, because it's the only
sensible answer to the riddle.

 

[James Annan]

MartinM wrote:

> Ever seen Groundhog Day?:

He's been around a few times:

http://groups.google.com/group/uk.rec.cycling/msg/fde92dcfcbe3b116?hl=en&

Actually he's in my kf right now to cut down on some of the noise. He's
generally harmless enough, but totally off his trolley on this one
point. He'll get bored and bugger off eventually.

James


>
> 135. James Annan
> Jun 14 2004, 11:32 pm show options
>
> Newsgroups: uk.rec.cycling
> From: James Annan <[email protected]> - Find messages by
> this author
> Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2004 08:32:56 +0900
> Local: Mon, Jun 14 2004 11:32 pm
> Subject: Re: first metric century
> Reply to Author | Forward | Print | Individual Message | Show original
> | Report Abuse
>
>
>
> Alan Holmes wrote:
>
>>I
>>had travelled 84 miles in 2 hours 50 minutes, which was an average of
>>(if my arithmetic is up to date) 29.5 mph. Bearing in mind that the bike
>>was loaded for a fortnights holiday, self catering and clothing for that
>>time, primus stove, paraffin, meths, water container, milk and etc, that
>>wasn't a bad average, especially as the trip was across the Cotswolds.
>
>
>
> Oh, I remember you. You popped in here a few years ago with your
> ridiculous exploits, impervious to reason, and insisted that you really
>
> had done this journey at that impossible speed.
>
> You didn't. There neve has been, and probably never will be, a human
> capable of that feat. It's not close enough to reality to be remotely
> plausible.
>
>
> Being generous, I suppose it is possible that you simply misremembered
> some aspect (either the distance or the time, or the mode of
> transport!). Either that, or you just made the whole thing up. Your
> call. In any case, it didn't happen.
>
>
> James
>


James
--
James Annan
see web pages for email
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/julesandjames/home/
http://julesandjames.blogspot.com/

 

[Alan Holmes]

"Mark Thompson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>> You are entitled to your opinion,
>>
>> I have just put the facts.
>
> Were you riding a motorbike? Serious question, because it's the only
> sensible answer to the riddle.

NO, but I did foret to say I had a rocket stuck up my backside!

Alan

 

[Alan Holmes]

"Mark Thompson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>> You are entitled to your opinion,
>>
>> I have just put the facts.
>
> Were you riding a motorbike? Serious question, because it's the only
> sensible answer to the riddle.

Further, if I had been riding a motorbike I would have expected to do it in
about one and a half hours.

Alan

 

[MartinM]

Just got my route sheet by the wonders of modern thingy; seems similar
to the usual route on the way out but less so on the way back, see you
all there; I am thinking large amounts of fried trans fats at Popham
(46.5km). I am going to clean my bike (you have been warned).

 

[Mark Thompson]

>> Further, if I had been riding a motorbike I would have expected to
>> do it in about one and a half hours.

> Just got my route sheet by the wonders of modern thingy; seems similar
> to the usual route on the way out but less so on the way back, see you
> all there; I am thinking large amounts of fried trans fats at Popham
> (46.5km). I am going to clean my bike (you have been warned).

Hmm, either you've replied to the wrong sub-thread or your warning was
about the /type/ of bike you're bring rather than it's state of
cleanliness..

 

[MartinM]

Mark Thompson wrote:
> >> Further, if I had been riding a motorbike I would have expected to
> >> do it in about one and a half hours.
>
> > Just got my route sheet by the wonders of modern thingy; seems similar
> > to the usual route on the way out but less so on the way back, see you
> > all there; I am thinking large amounts of fried trans fats at Popham
> > (46.5km). I am going to clean my bike (you have been warned).
>
> Hmm, either you've replied to the wrong sub-thread or your warning was
> about the /type/ of bike you're bring rather than it's state of
> cleanliness..

no not at all, have just cleaned the bike (1) and taken it for a test
ride and got an average of 29.5mph (using the Holmes *TM YHA touring
speedometer) ;-)


(1) skog (TM) now assured for Saturday.

 

[Dave Larrington]

In article <[email protected]>,
MartinM ([email protected]) wrote:

> no not at all, have just cleaned the bike (1)
[snip]
> (1) skog (TM) now assured for Saturday.

Fool! Now we shall ALL be a-visited by You Know Who!

Actually the forecast doesn't look too bad at the moment, but rain is
forecast for Friday, thereby ensuring a nice supply of fresh skog(tm)
all over the place.

--
Dave Larrington - <http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/>
If you are choking on an ice cube, simply pour a jug of boiling water
down your throat and presto! The blockage is almost instantly removed.

 

[Tim Hall]

On Wed, 18 Jan 2006 15:35:22 -0000, Dave Larrington
<[email protected]> wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>,
>MartinM ([email protected]) wrote:
>
>> no not at all, have just cleaned the bike (1)
>[snip]
>> (1) skog (TM) now assured for Saturday.
>
>Fool! Now we shall ALL be a-visited by You Know Who!
>
>Actually the forecast doesn't look too bad at the moment, but rain is
>forecast for Friday, thereby ensuring a nice supply of fresh skog(tm)
>all over the place.


I shan't be there, on account of going to Wales to gol up hills, drink
copiously and dress as a pirate.

Howsumdiver, my fiends Keith and Jane plan to be present on their v v
nice Roberts tandem. There is also a possibility that some more
fiends of mine, Colin and Sally will be there on their Pino.

Tim
--
Blue Witch laughed at me

 

[MartinM]

Summary, great ride, great route, great weather.
A rude awakaning at 0555 (should have been 0530 but the cheap alarm
says no) and a quick and very frosty dash over to Three Bridges for the
train to Havant. It had just got light by the time I got off the train.
Have done this vague-ish route 4 times now (including at 4am) but this
was the best so far. I met a PBP vet on the way up to Denmead. After
the start (well organised as usual, note to self) a steady climb up the
South Downs then along the spine for a fair while. The crystal clear
sky enabled me to see all the hard riders spread out ahead as. Lots of
skog (TM) but also plenty of dry road to avoid it, although I appear to
have discovered a new brake block material that wedges itself between
the tyre and mudguard . Passed a Pino (never seen one before) and
another tandem and introduced myself as an acquaintance of Tim Hall,
seems you were the inspiration for its purchase, a seriously nice piece
of kit BTW.
The usual route to and through Alresford and before long we were at
Popham; quite simply the best tea stop ever. It was a busy morning as
loads of light aircraft, including a few that were less airworthy than
Daves' Trice, took off and landed. Best one was a Russian (? or
Chinese) WW2 fighter. Nice pasties too.
A quick zap up to Overton for an info then all new ground, a steady
skoggy (TM) climb up then a long flat bit which ended abruptly after
Alresford. The South Downs climb was less brutal than the old route and
soon we were on the last drag from the Meon Valley. Arrived back at
1415 with some other token Sussex club riders.
Notables met, Dave L, Not Responding (in very natty gear I must say)
Mike K Smith (sorry didn't have time to stay longer, had to get home
for Mrs M to go on a girl's night out) and Hummers from acf.
Next time down that area will be the 200k in March (hopefully without
the snow).

 

[Dave Larrington]

In article <[email protected]>,
MartinM ([email protected]) wrote:

> Summary, great ride, great route, great weather.

Yep. I even donned my sunspecs after Popham!

The first leg, though, was this: Bloody Hard Work. I think my average
speed for the Denmead - Popham leg was the lowest I have yet posted in
an audax and had they sited a control at the top of Old Winchester Hill,
2/3 of the field would have been out of time...

The forty-odd km from Overton to Soberton were also on last August's
Summer 200, which I remembered to have been rather nice, in a Whizz-
Hurtle sort of way. A bit up and down, but less relentlessly so than
the outward leg. And although the P+nct+r+ Fairy seemed to be unusually
active, this was the first ride since the Golden Tints 200 in October
where I haven't had to open the toolkit, though I /should/ probably have
made of something pointy to remove the dried skog(tm) under the rear
mudguard, which was making 'orrible noises in my left ear all the way
back from Overton.

--
Dave Larrington - <http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/>
Like Kant, it is my wish to create my own individual epistemology. But I
also wish to find out what is for pudding.