The Beacon Message Board

Big thanks to Philip for organizing and the rest of the swivel eyed loons for the company. Especially good to see was the first seven or so riders going into Weston in beacon tops, sort of like a lead out train, just in slow motion. I ended up with 118 miles at 16.1. I could get in to this cycling lark!

keith wrote:I ended up with 118 miles at 16.1.

Only 118?!? You didn't succumb to the temptation to let the train take the strain at Yatton station, did you?

118 miles Keith? Did you take a shortcut on the way back? In all seriousness though good luck to yourself & Ian on your upcoming tour & don't forget to post your progress on the message board when you get the chance.

Cheers for organising a great day out Phil, and also for leading the pack for the vast majority of the day.

The Cateye was showing 225 miles by the time I got back to my place, so I'm well pleased with that.

Time to sort out all those receipts and get the ride validated by Audax.

Fab day. Can't really say more than what has already been said. Thanks Phil.

martin mc wrote:118 miles Keith? Did you take a shortcut on the way back? In all seriousness though good luck to yourself & Ian on your upcoming tour & don't forget to post your progress on the message board when you get the chance.

Oops must have been getting a bit punchy. 218 miles hope I haven't made the same mistake with the route planing.

Thanks Phil for organising yesterday! Great day and I really enjoyed it.
Greg... I kept my gillet on as it was one less thing to carry. I had half the house in the back of my bike and rock for the kids too! Lol

Thank you all for a superb days riding, especially Phil for organising. Thanks to Greg for lending me a Beacon shirt, thanks to everyone for your friendly welcome.

My photos from the day can be viewed here:
http://tinyurl.com/mgzzqxs

If anyone associated with the ride would like their own copies of those images, they can be downloaded using this link, which will remain active for two weeks:
http://we.tl/cO4eGVpbDZ

George wrote:My photos from the day can be viewed here:
http://tinyurl.com/mgzzqxs

If anyone associated with the ride would like their own copies of those images, they can be downloaded using this link, which will remain active for two weeks:
http://we.tl/cO4eGVpbDZ

Cracking shots those George, thanks

Great photos, George. My camera phone snaps are here: http://sdrv.ms/14kUsiy.

Well done everyone.

Big congratulations to all of you, you need to make a plaque with all your initials and names on!

Did any body mention that a lady gave birth in the car park of the Black Horse as we were about to depart . I was a little apprehensive myself but nothing that bad .Just wondered if any body heard any thing on local radio etc.

I haven't heard anything more, but there was an ambulance heading up the hill from Northfield fire station as we left, so they got there pretty quickly. Not the best start to life though, being born in the car park at Wetherspoon's.

Many thanks for all the compliments from everyone but I must compliment you.

I rather suspect that one individual was coughing and spluttering that none of you would succeed in completing this epic journey. Far from it! In some cases, not only was it a double century a first single century. Most people rode in excess of 200 miles in order to complete their round trip from home. At the outset of the day, I chuckled at the amount noise and banter coming from participants with a realisation that the volume would be significantly lover on the return portion home. It was but there were few complaints or fears expressed about completion.

Roy e-mailed me today with regard to his journey home from Gloucester. Fear of triggering an old injury, he thought it prudent to return home.

For next year I am proposing a new event, facial cheese grating. Whilst riding to WSM 'had to be done', I have to say that the route has little to commend it in terms of interest, scenery or attraction. However, if some one else wishes to adopt this mantle then they are welcome.

keith wrote:Especially good to see was the first seven or so riders going into Weston in beacon tops

Sorry I failed on this front. I couldn't find it the night before and gave up as it was getting late. Believe me that I was conscious of this all day.

--

A really good ride and like others have said here, thanks to Phil for putting so much of his own time into making this ride what it was and to the guys who slogged on the front all day and everyone else for just being great company. I had a really good day out although my constant whining may have signalled the contrary.

I am so pleased I was able to join in on this expedition and be part of it. Well done to everyone that took part in it.

This may sound really narcissistic but congratulating someone for something that I see as an amazing feat and the realisation that I did it too makes it feel doubly special for me. Thanks guys.

One question remains though. When will I be able to sit down again without it feeling as though there's something between my legs?

Just to add my thanks to Phil and indeed everyone for the camaraderie which made the day and ride more manageable that I ever thought it'd be. It was true as Phil says that a lot of people had never ridden this distance before (including me...my longest had been 130miles), and yesterday proved that there a fair few Beaconites that can do this, especially when there is a group of us.

This leads me to think that Beacon riders should pick one 300km audax each year, perhaps a more scenic ride than through Avonmouth, and all enter en masse...a sort of yearly Weston experience....we know we can do it now, and that's the biggest uncertainty many of us had before yesterday.

That will excuse Phil from organising anything else, we can just tag along on an organised audax from the aukweb calendar. whaddye think?

I just realised that the 'flash' around my new tyres - which normally takes weeks to go - has all gone from just one ride.

My rear tyre is still inflated today too! Odd that is was deflating for 30-40 miles and then just seemed to stabilise for the next 150 odd.

Entries for the Mersey RC 24hr on 20/21 July close 25/6/13.See you there?.......

laurence_cooley wrote:My camera phone snaps are here: http://sdrv.ms/14kUsiy.

Thanks for sharing those, Laurence; they really tell a story, and I'm pleased to have some souvenirs of the places I never got round to snapping myself.

Animal wrote:I must admit to being somewhat relieved to see Alan Weaver come through unscathed after a scary health issue a couple of days before the off.

I'll be 100% honest in saying that I didnt think that I would be riding it.

Hearty congrats to you all, and well phil for conjuring a Beacon tradition which looks to continue; of course you were spoilt by the weather . May beat it down in another year, so cherish the trip. I am asking permission now for all your pictures to be set to music for the 2013 DVD ? And if you had specific tunes in your head as you rode along then let me know. Love the seafront beacon jerseys. Tricoloured invasion!

I'd like to say Led Zepp or AC/DC but the truth is that we went past a park somewhere in the Avon area that had a festival going on with the likes of Billy Ocean Go west and other names from the 70s and 80 so I was stuck with the real thing, and You to me are everything, in my head for the next few miles

keith wrote:I'd like to say Led Zepp or AC/DC but the truth is that we went past a park somewhere in the Avon area that had a festival going on with the likes of Billy Ocean Go west and other names from the 70s and 80 so I was stuck with the real thing, and You to me are everything, in my head for the next few miles

Fun fact: My dad once decorated the interior of Billy Ocean's house.

chalkie wrote:Hearty congrats to you all, and well phil for conjuring a Beacon tradition which looks to continue; of course you were spoilt by the weather . May beat it down in another year, so cherish the trip. I am asking permission now for all your pictures to be set to music for the 2013 DVD ? And if you had specific tunes in your head as you rode along then let me know. Love the seafront beacon jerseys. Tricoloured invasion!

Apologies for the jersey non-compliance from me. I did have a Beacon top in my back pocket but I forgot to put it on for the photo. You could always photoshop it in, since you're going to have to correct the colour of Philip's shorts anyway.

chalkie wrote:Hearty congrats to you all, and well phil for conjuring a Beacon tradition which looks to continue;

Quite happy for the run to continue but I would like to hand the arrangements over to a new volunteer.

WorcsPhil wrote: This leads me to think that Beacon riders should pick one 300km audax each year,

This is a tradition exercised by Derby Mercury, a club which is very similar in profile to ourselves. They use Everyone Rides to Skeggy in May for a 300km ride.

Unfortunately, since the demise of the original Elenith, there are no 300km audaxes that start within convenient distance from Birmingham. The nearest and easiest is A Rough Diamond from Tewkesbury but it starts at 6am. Based upon this year's events, I have listed the following events within an hour and half of Birmingham/North Worcs:

The Dean from Oxford in March: Too early in the season for many. It is also 'x rated' and therefore very basic without guarantee of cake stops.

Yr Elenydd from Shrewsbury in April: One of the toughest early season events. A great ride and highly regarded but considerably harder than The Elenith. Nic Vipond is still shaking with fear after test riding a third of the route earlier this year. Possibly too early in the season for some.

Everybody Rides to Skeggy from Alfreton in May: Regarded as the easiest 300 in the UK unless it is windy. 300km of flat riding across the Fens to Skegness along pleasant lanes. For a 6am start, the start is possibly too far without an overnight stay.

A Rough Diamond from Tewkesbury in August: Again an early start but this ride affords entrants with a bail out option. It is a figure of 8 route starting, crossing-over and finishing in Tewkesbury. It is mildly hilly but scenic. Mark has a good reputation at organising audaxes. To me, this seems like the most attractive.

Given my experience on The Snow Roads, I could not commend it highly enough but it is an unrealistic expectation for Beacon members to travel all the way to Angus for a cycle ride!

Limp Bizkit - 'Rollin'

http://instagram.com/p/aJwgosJ712/

http://instagram.com/p/aJxqOrJ73W/

http://instagram.com/p/aJztbdp76P/

Not sure if this will be viewable.

Just as a matter of interest, but I was talking to someone from the Bromsgrove Oly last night at the Redditch town centre race about the Weston run.
It would seem that a few of them actually rode it back in 2010, starting at 04:30 from Speeds and returning home at 21:30, so it much matches our time.

Fun fact 2 I once kissed a girl less than e hours after she had snoged Paul Weller almost makes me the 4th member of the jam

Pedlo Mudguardo wrote:http://instagram.com/p/aJwgosJ712/

http://instagram.com/p/aJxqOrJ73W/

http://instagram.com/p/aJztbdp76P/

Not sure if this will be viewable.

Nice pictures, Nick. Are copies available?

Regarding an annual get-together:

I have mixed feeling about it. Part of me thinks 'great!' and part of me thinks 'do I really want to do that every year?'

Without wanting to sound as if the first of those parts has won the day, I do have a few ideas on possible future re-runs.

The atmosphere that made last weekend's ride such an experience was, I feel, down to three things:
a) The element of tradition
b) The camaraderie created by doing it all together as a group
c) The sense of achievement associated with doing a distance that some had never done before and others had rarely done before

Any plan for an annual re-run needs to try to retain those three elements, or it will soon fizzle out.

The problem with most established audaxes is that they use hilly courses, and I think we would find it very hard to keep a large group together on a hilly course. The amount of time needed to complete the course might also become an issue, especially when you add on travel to and from the start.

One idea that crossed my mind (but which I haven't investigated in any detail) is to still go to Weston, but to start further south, so that you can afford to take a less direct and therefore more agreeable route. You could, for example, start somewhere around Worcester (sounds a selfish suggestion, but I can't help it that Weston is my side of Brum) and stay west of the Severn, cross on the suspension bridge from Chepstow and then weave along the side of the estuary. It wouldn't be flat as such, but it needn't be excessively hilly either.

birmingham - cardiff bay would be scenic, but lumpy. 104miles each way. wud certainly film and photo it for out-journey.

fun fact 3 keith - i once went out with the sister of Jo Callis of Human league fame.
fun fact 4 Green gartside of scritti politti was at Leeds poly with me, as was Mark Almond.

namedrop namedrop lol

all musical thoughts being noted. thx

From: Andy Anderson of Bromsgrove....

Hi folks, hope all is well.

Thought I'd share a couple of pictures of the certificate my dad got when he completed the Birmingham to Weston Super Mare and back reliability trial in 1956.
My dad passed away back in 2001 and it's taken me since then to remember where I put his certificate ... fortunately I found it at the weekend.
Dads name was Robert Anderson but often referred to as "Rock or Rocky", he was born and lived all his life in the Catshill / Bromsgrove area.

How fantastic it that!!

Incredible if done today with carbon bikes and good lights in summer.

In March in 1956 beyond fantastic.

This is my medal for completing the 1954 Weston and back in under 15 hours.

Midnight start from Rubery, on a February night. Returned just after 2.00pm Sunday 14 hours 6 minutes



http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MhtFqo82hSY/U ... ke+041.jpg

Excellent!

It looks like this was pretty popular when it happened a few years ago? Was it popular with the Beacon CC and would it be something to target for next year, similar challenge to the Beacon 300k of this year.

Maybe something to do on the Summer Solistice or around that date?

I might be keen to organise if there was interest from others...

Chris

caashford wrote:It looks like this was pretty popular when it happened a few years ago? Was it popular with the Beacon CC and would it be something to target for next year, similar challenge to the Beacon 300k of this year.

Maybe something to do on the Summer Solistice or around that date?

I might be keen to organise if there was interest from others...

Chris

It was great fun and we had a big turnout but "it was a slow car crash" to quote Alan Weaver. The ride was hard going along a tedious route with insufficient suitable cafes. The closing section to Weston was along a dangerously busy and diesel choked main road. We left at 6am and did not return until 12am, some eighteen hours later. The general conclusion was, "nice to do it once but never again" hence it was never repeated. By recollection, there has been some suggestion of more southerly starting point with the route tracking through the Forest of Dean as an alternative to the A38. The A38 could also be avoided on a return via the Vale of Berkeley's lane but both options add some considerable mileage if starting from Birmingham.

The Beacon's Brecons 300 to Hay-on-Wye, Tal-y-bont, Monmouth and return is provisionally set for Sunday 28th May but subject to approval by Club Runs Sec, Phil Richards. However, if you want to lead another Weston ride, I am sure that your offer would be taken up.

This is route that I did back in the summer, albeit it one way HERE A little bit further and certainly a lot quieter than the A38, but certainly a lot more climbing as well. And in truth I don't think that I would relish the thought of turning round at Weston and then heading back on the same route!!

I think that main problem when we did it was the group was just to big, and as such the café stops killed it for us. Then on the return leg, because the station café wasn't doing food, it threw everyone out. With some people choosing to stock up with food (crisps and chocolate!) there and others deciding not to, which meant for another food stop at Gordano services and yet another one at Gloucester.

I've done Weston and back twice before that and on both occasions have been back home before it was dark, but that was using the A38 both ways.

I'm only ever going to do this if it's done in January or February. Starting at midnight. Let's bring back the 50s

Tim wrote:I'm only ever going to do this if it's done in January or February. Starting at midnight. Let's bring back the 50s

It was only a matter of time wasn't it, before someone suggested doing this!!

Philip, be great if there is a 300kms club run at the end of May. It was a highly successful day this year, so why not.

Always looking to discuss the next step...I was thinking of a 2-day club run, 250kms to the Welsh Coast, a social night in the bar, then a 250kms ride back. 500kms - almost a Proclaimers song.

Relaxed pace, mountain roads...

Might be pushing the boundaries, but is there any appetite for such nonsense in 2017?

I'm hungry for nonsense