Record attempt scheduled

[Mick F]

You have a PM

[Simmy]

I love stuff like this.

I live between Wigan and Bolton so I've seen a few attempts as they pass nearby. Chris " hoppo " Hopkinson attempted LEJOGLE a few years ago, James McDonald cracked it with a new record last year. Saw them both pass.

Missed Jasmine's attempt due to timings and it was mid-week so I had to work.

Ian chose a pretty different route though the north west, missing Warrington completely, dropping from Nantwich through the back roads, Culcheth through the middle of Wigan then the usual Preston, Lancaster, Shap etc.

I went out about 11.30 last night to see him pass and I " leapfrogged " him and saw him pass 3 times. I was hoping I'd catch him at some lights and have a quick chat but they were all green......He was about 10-15 mins behind at that point but the night must have caught him as the roads got steeper.

Big respect to get that far in that time. I remember watching Ben Rocketts LEJOGLE on You Tube ( I wasn't into cycling then ) and he took 24 hours to go from Lands End to Lancaster.

[philvantwo]

The dvd of John woodburn ride is available from Bromley video for £12.99. Don't know what time he'd have done with equipment that's available today plus he had to use Bonar bridge, I rode both ways in 1990 and they were building the new bridge then, I think it cuts about 18 miles off the route. The late John Woodburn was 45 when he broke the record at an average speed of 18.5mph. Good dvd to watch.

[Mick F]

My first one was in 1994. The bridge was built then of course though I remember before it was built. I also remember the Old A9 before the Kessock bridge was built and you had to go through Beauly, Muir of Ord and Dingwall etc.

If people went up the west coast back then, they had to go right round Loch Leven before the Ballachulish bridge was built. They had to turn right at Glen Coe village and go right round the loch via Kinlochleven.

Driven the old roads many times back then in the 1970s.

[Paulatic]

Here is a summary of the Ian To attempt.
His training in a room of 35C obviously didn’t help with the heat of Southern England and whenever I cycled through the night I’ve always found them cold.
This is the second successive attempt on the record to end with stomach troubles. (JM did too) Makes you wonder what modern day fuelling entails. He had posted weeks before the event he was going to eat sausages
We had a lovely Southerly wind here all day Saturday shame it wasn’t the same down country. Can anyone remember the wind Gethin had?

[thirdcrank]

Perhaps the key word there is "demoralising" and I know eactly what he means: during long hours in the saddle there's too much time to think and the nagging unfairness of trying to beat a record set "with a raging tailwind" seems to have played a part. (Not that I've ever attempted a cycling record.)

The recent crash injuries cannot have helped, especially after another crash during the attempt. Riding with the runs is terrible. If he needed that much Loperamide (AKA Imodium) he must have been in a state. And so on.

I think that feeling cold during the night is a normal part of the working of the body clock. Anybody who has worked nights will be familiar with it as all the body's systems shut down for the night. Whenever anybody has come on here asking for advice on an all-night ride it's something I've mentioned.

" ... lessons have been learned ... " which bodes well for another go.

Hats off to anybody who can ride that distance in a day in any circumstances and admiration with brass knobs on for doing it in such physical discomfort.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
If such is pivoting on the help from tail winds then it might never happen / much placed on luck.
Bit like the lotto.
From some experience in cycling almost nonstop (many 24hrs some 30 hrs) its a fine line between dicky tummy, right food, wrong food, loss of appetite after 12hrs results in force feeding, which is then almost certainly regurgitated..................
I wish him well with further attempts.

[Mick F]

Wind.
That is always the key to a fast ride.
Two days after his tailwind, it was a headwind and is still a gentle noreasterly.
https://www.windy.com/?51.496,-0.122,5

[philvantwo]

Excellent website that is Mick F! I can't see any point in setting off for an attempt on the record unless there's a 15-20mph tailwind.

[horizon]

Is there a standard say 48 or 72 hour ride (with all the verification) that you could do so that you would always have something to be proud of but not necessarily break a record? I'm just wondering if the limit has been reached and from now on it's luck (or road changes) but you still need a target. Does it have to be the record?

[1982john]

Is there a standard say 48 or 72 hour ride (with all the verification) that you could do so that you would always have something to be proud of but not necessarily break a record? I'm just wondering if the limit has been reached and from now on it's luck (or road changes) but you still need a target. Does it have to be the record?

Not sure but 'something to be proud of' is just going to be relative to the individual. I guess in running they have the 3-hour marathon mark which indicates you're a high standard runner.

Lejog - 870 miles - inside a week a bloody great effort in my book. Especially if you're unsupported. But unless you intend on breaking a record you're not going to get any media attention or sponsors.

[Cyril Haearn]

Excellent website that is Mick F! I can't see any point in setting off for an attempt on the record unless there's a 15-20mph tailwind.

Are any of the records valid, were any set in neutral conditions?

[tatanab]

Are any of the records valid, were any set in neutral conditions?

All the records are valid. Many RRA records are place to place and return e.g London-Bath-London and so have little or no assistance from weather. http://www.rra.org.uk/index.html?ifrm_1 ... place.html There are also regional RRA recordshttp://www.rra.org.uk/index.html ... 0info.html which are much more local such as Birmingham to Oxford and back.

[fastpedaller]

Are any of the records valid, were any set in neutral conditions?

Neutral conditions could never occur - the weather doesn't respect record attempts!

[Cyril Haearn]

Are any of the records valid, were any set in neutral conditions?

Neutral conditions could never occur - the weather doesn't respect record attempts!

I think LeJogLe or JogLeJog would come closest to a fair contest, on average