PH does the (UK bit of the) Tour de France
Discussion
300 miles in 3 days sounds like a challenge... Cor logistics we'd need to find some support drivers to carry all our gear.... If there's hotels and food involved then that shouldnt be too hard.
The last time i did London to Paris Mrs M drove support and we agreed she'd never be more than an hour away, so she'd drive to something she wanted to see (museum, gallery, monument, restaurant, river bank for a read) and then move every couple of hours leapfroggingeach other, sometimes we saw her sometimes we didn't.
I'd think this would be even easier to do in the UK where there's more interesting sights in a smaller area.
The last time i did London to Paris Mrs M drove support and we agreed she'd never be more than an hour away, so she'd drive to something she wanted to see (museum, gallery, monument, restaurant, river bank for a read) and then move every couple of hours leapfroggingeach other, sometimes we saw her sometimes we didn't.
I'd think this would be even easier to do in the UK where there's more interesting sights in a smaller area.
Marcellus said:
300 miles in 3 days sounds like a challenge... Cor logistics we'd need to find some support drivers to carry all our gear.... If there's hotels and food involved then that shouldnt be too hard.
The last time i did London to Paris Mrs M drove support and we agreed she'd never be more than an hour away, so she'd drive to something she wanted to see (museum, gallery, monument, restaurant, river bank for a read) and then move every couple of hours leapfroggingeach other, sometimes we saw her sometimes we didn't.
I'd think this would be even easier to do in the UK where there's more interesting sights in a smaller area.
STOC Marcellus ?The last time i did London to Paris Mrs M drove support and we agreed she'd never be more than an hour away, so she'd drive to something she wanted to see (museum, gallery, monument, restaurant, river bank for a read) and then move every couple of hours leapfroggingeach other, sometimes we saw her sometimes we didn't.
I'd think this would be even easier to do in the UK where there's more interesting sights in a smaller area.
In principle I like the idea, and it's possible to do it quite easily carrying your own kit as long as you pack carefully. Obviously support cars etc is better for the full tdf effect.
The only issue is a lot of the roads used would be absolutely minging to cycle on when they're not closed.
P.s. It started in Leeds/Harewood house on day 1.
The only issue is a lot of the roads used would be absolutely minging to cycle on when they're not closed.
P.s. It started in Leeds/Harewood house on day 1.
I did a little recce of stage 3 today and gave this some more thought along the way. I had a lot of time on my hands!
The beauty of this is that it covers a fairly large part of England which means it's accessible to many more PHers than any given sportive. We can do as little or as much as you're able to (1 stage / half a stage / all 3). Anybody can ride 50-100 miles, it's a matter of pacing yourself. At the very least it'll keep people honest over winter and through the spring!
Beyond that I'm wondering, if we can recruit enough PHers, if we can take it further and do some good with this (beyond our own fitness). It's enough of a challenge that I think sponsorship isn't an unreasonable proposition. Rather than a small contribution disappearing into a large pot I wonder if we can make a big difference to one or two individuals. Perhaps we could raise enough for a hand-bike for an injured cyclist?
Then I thought about the PR value of a bunch of cycling car enthusiasts, particularly those doing some good for cycling. Maybe there's an opportunity for PistonHeads/Haymarket? Enough to justify helping out with a support car(s) from the PH fleet?
Logistics wise I'd suggest we travel to the hotel (deal to be done with Travelodge?) by train with a single bag each. That bag can then be transported by the support car to the stage finish or that nights hotel (maybe musettes with post-ride essentials at the stage finish). Then it's a train journey (bikes by rented Transit van?) to the hotel close to the start of the next stage for malted recovery beverages and pasta.
From looking at the PH Strava club leaderboards there are more than enough folk who are already riding these distances (and many more who could). In any case there's no need to be setting speed records and I'm sure we can divide into several groups at different paces. I did spot a couple of lovely lunch stops along stage 3 today
The beauty of this is that it covers a fairly large part of England which means it's accessible to many more PHers than any given sportive. We can do as little or as much as you're able to (1 stage / half a stage / all 3). Anybody can ride 50-100 miles, it's a matter of pacing yourself. At the very least it'll keep people honest over winter and through the spring!
Beyond that I'm wondering, if we can recruit enough PHers, if we can take it further and do some good with this (beyond our own fitness). It's enough of a challenge that I think sponsorship isn't an unreasonable proposition. Rather than a small contribution disappearing into a large pot I wonder if we can make a big difference to one or two individuals. Perhaps we could raise enough for a hand-bike for an injured cyclist?
Then I thought about the PR value of a bunch of cycling car enthusiasts, particularly those doing some good for cycling. Maybe there's an opportunity for PistonHeads/Haymarket? Enough to justify helping out with a support car(s) from the PH fleet?
Logistics wise I'd suggest we travel to the hotel (deal to be done with Travelodge?) by train with a single bag each. That bag can then be transported by the support car to the stage finish or that nights hotel (maybe musettes with post-ride essentials at the stage finish). Then it's a train journey (bikes by rented Transit van?) to the hotel close to the start of the next stage for malted recovery beverages and pasta.
From looking at the PH Strava club leaderboards there are more than enough folk who are already riding these distances (and many more who could). In any case there's no need to be setting speed records and I'm sure we can divide into several groups at different paces. I did spot a couple of lovely lunch stops along stage 3 today
The first 15 miles of stage 2 (York to Sheffield) are very dull. It's a flat, boring, and sometimes dangerously narrow A road with nothing to see once you leave York city centre. If you start at Knaresborough instead you would skip that bit entirely, although it would mean starting near the hills with very little pacing/warm up.
Best of luck though
Best of luck though
Would need lots of notice but in principle I'm in on the condition that we stop in Starbeck on stage 2 at the crossing which I manned for Le Tour for a photo!
Logistics wouldnt be too bad, stages 1 and 2 were fairly compact and you could base yourself in Leeds and not have too much travel around the area to the start and finish... London may be a bit tougher!
Logistics wouldnt be too bad, stages 1 and 2 were fairly compact and you could base yourself in Leeds and not have too much travel around the area to the start and finish... London may be a bit tougher!
It's definitely a big challenge, but that's the point. Bite off as much or as little as you need in order to make it challenging but achievable.
Stage 1: Leeds to Harrogate
200km and 2,750m climbing
Stage 2: York to Sheffield
200km and 4,000m of climbing
Stage 3: Cambridge to London
160km and 1,300m of climbing
I'm going to do it, even if it's a solo effort, so it will happen one way or another. If there's a way to get a bunch of PHers together and make a significant contribution to a fellow cyclist then so much the better.
Stage 1: Leeds to Harrogate
200km and 2,750m climbing
Stage 2: York to Sheffield
200km and 4,000m of climbing
Stage 3: Cambridge to London
160km and 1,300m of climbing
I'm going to do it, even if it's a solo effort, so it will happen one way or another. If there's a way to get a bunch of PHers together and make a significant contribution to a fellow cyclist then so much the better.
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