British Cycle Quest

[bikina]

just out of curiosity, how many of you have started, completed, or contemplated the BCQ run by CTC?

[PatrickP]

Its all on the BCQ part of the website - here's a link to the leaderboard
http://beta.ctc.org.uk/sites/default/fi ... rd2012.pdf

[bikina]

I've been on the site and got all the info, about to start the quest- just wondered if anyone else has done or is doing it?

[vjosullivan]

I'm sort of doing it. Bagged about half a dozen. Never sent any results in though.

[eileithyia]

Doing have 5-6 counties completed inc IOW, and odd ones ticked off in all sorts of other places, after a bit of a summer of upheavel need to set my mind to it again.

Started it tp give us incentive to get out about locally thru winter on those dull grey, nothing days that just aren't very inspiring. Then have had a couple of holidays where we have based ourselves centrally between points in a county, and used the hol/question points as way to cycle/explore that county.

[PatrickP]

Its a good way to motivate yourself to set out on a ride with a map exploring an area you don't know. I found it quite easy to bag the local ones as often I had a good idea of the roads in the area. When on holidays, B&B weekends away etc I look at the OS map and see if I can visit a few checkpoints. I'd recommend taking a camera along as well. Some of the checkpoints are well away from the road - be prepared for this.

[bikina]

I just did one locally to me and had trouble finding it, but perhaps that is my map reading skills rather than a less-than-obvious place...

[PH]

I've been doing it since 2006. I'm hoping to reach 100 questions answered by the end of the year. At which point I may send them off to be validated, though a lot are on incomplete cards and I'm not sure if they need to be complete before sending them in. Other than some local ones I've never done a ride specifically to collect them, instead whatever ride I'm planning I'll look to see if I can devise a route to include any. It does widen the the range of places I go and routes I take, and also sometimes takes me to places I wouldn't otherwise have known about or visited, for example I was at Whipsnade Tree Cathedral this morning. The interest of the questions does vary, some seem a bit mundane, yet every time I've ridden to one there's been something to make the ride worthwhile, I answered one such question last week, of no interest at all but the views from the top of the hill where the question is set are wonderful.

I'd recommend taking a camera along as well.

Me too, partly because I like to keep a record but also there are occasions when the question isn't there, The organisers will accept alternative evidence that you've visited the right place, a photo is ideal.

I just did one locally to me and had trouble finding it, but perhaps that is my map reading skills rather than a less-than-obvious place.

I've struggled to find a few, I wouldn't necessarily have an OS map of every area. I've recently bought a GPS and it's been brilliant for locating them, I think you can download them all on a GPX file, I've just been plotting them on Memory Map.
It's not for everyone and I can see why some people do few and stop. I think the UK is a great place to explore and by the time I've completed all 402 questions I expect to have seen a lot more of it.

[eileithyia]

I too would recommend taking a camera/phone with camera as have had an odd problem, ie could not get to one question due temporary closure of that area of the park while restoration building was goind on, but a photo would have proved the point that we were there. Also it is a nice way to record te rides as my son and I have been doing it is interesting to see how he has changed and grown in that time.

You do not need full cards to have those questions so far achieved on a card validated, we have a few disjointed ones from different areas due to being in the area for another reason; race or audax, they all got validated when we wanted our 50.

[Helen]

It took me 20 years! I'm now over halfway through the French quest...
Keep going!

[Daniel Fox]

I've been doing since 2005 and have managed to get about 75 so far.

When I started I lived in the midlands and it got me out and about there. I now live in scotland and it has got me to see a lot more of the country, with still many more to see.

It is going to get a bit trickier as the places to visit will be too far to visit on a day trip, but here are still about 20 within easy reach.

I take pictures of where I go, which came in handy when I used the wrong statue on the promenade in Rothesay!

You don't need to visit all the places in a county to send the card off.

[vjosullivan]

With six points in each county, it should be possible in the vast majority of counties - as a circular ride - in a single weekend with many counties being possible in a single day. That's speaking as a southerner though.

[StirlingCrispin]

BCQ was revamped back in the late 90s and I checked and re-set the questions for Stirling and Clackmannanshire.
Clacks is so small it just gets the one question (in Dollar) - grouped in with Stirling.
We were asked to ensure the location had to be open at all times and permanent- which why most of the questions are based on statues or plaques. My evil mind considered setting the Dollar question at Castle Campbell, at the end of a stupidly-steep road climb, but I figured my tandeming friends would not thank me.
I'd forgotten about all this until seeing this thread and it's good to see that the questions are still as I set them.

[fausto copy]

I started it a few years ago as an incentive to explore different areas when we were on holiday.
I've come across a few where the answers have disappeared and contacted CTC to let them know.
They used to just thank me for informing me of the problem and would look into it.
I never heard whether the clues have been changed. I suppose I could look on the website.
Didn't they change the format last year though?

Just lately, it's only when we've got back from somwehere that I discovered there was a clue there.
That's just down to an ageing memory, I'm afraid.

With six points in each county, it should be possible in the vast majority of counties - as a circular ride - in a single weekend with many counties being possible in a single day. That's speaking as a southerner though.

Aye try doing that from the western Pembrokeshire coast.

[vjosullivan]

One thing that I found, last year, was that many of the clues could be located (but not often answered) using Google Street View. When it works, it's a good timesaver allowing you to "scout" the location so that - when you turn up there in person - you can quickly answer the question rather than faff about.

(Don't tell anyone but there are some questions which can be answered entirely from home, just using Street View. Something which perhaps ought to be bourne in mind when new questions are set in the future.)