The participation ride 2006 - post-ride analysis and comment

The next project . . .

My GPS was the most useful gadget on this trip. It took me to my accommodation at the end of each night without fail.

I'd now like to see if I can produce GPS files like the ones you can download for this trip (click here) for the whole of the National Cycle Network (NCN). I have found the NCN great but poorly signposted. On this trip I had to give up on a NCN route 10 miles north of Glasgow due to poor signage.

The idea would be to produce such files using a PC (ie without actually cycling the routes) and then publish them on a website for cyclists to download. The website would also enable people to submit variations and files generated by actually cycling the routes.

I am currently researching the maps/programs I would need to get this project started.

Have you got any such files? Please comment on this entry if you have. Thanks.

The most telling statistic

Those of you who have read the account of the ride will know that Day 2 was the toughest (Stages 2 and 3). However, this hasn't come through in the stats published so far. The secret, I have discovered, lies in the total ascent of the day. This seems to be the best indicator of the 'toughness' of the day.

Interestingly, very few of the days were significantly more 'up hill' than others. This means that the fact that you freewheel down the other side of the hill is no compensation in terms of how tired you feel. It just serves to keep your average speed up.

Click on the image to see the stats. The total ascent on Day 2 was 6,460 ft. In comparison, Day 6, which included Shap, was 'only' 4,281ft. I climbed 35,500 feet in total (Mount Everest is 29,035 feet above sea level).

If you sort this data by 'Day Ascent' it puts the days in order of actual difficulty as experienced by me.

The final analysis

At last, all the details of all the stages of the trip have been posted and are available here.

There is one post per stage and each one contains:

• Title (inc start and finish location of the stage)
• A map showing the route (click to see full-size)
• A graphic showing the vertical profile of the route (click to see full-size)*
• A short narrative
• The downloadable tracklog file generated by the GPS (text format)
• A downloadable track file (Magellan MapSend format)
• Summary statistics of the stage

*All vertical profiles have the same horizontal and vertical scale to make them directly comparable.

All feedback would be gratefully received (use the comment feature).

Once again - thanks to everyone who supported me in this little project. It's been a fantastic experience.

Over and out.

Vertical profiles on their way

Sorry nothing has appeared on this page for a while. I am preparing the vertical profiles but it's taking a while with this sunny weather as a distraction.

This image is the profile from Day 2/Stage 2 - the toughest one of the whole ride - from St Wenn to Okehampton. Click on it to see it full size.

A couple of video clips and several photos have been posted up. The photos go straight into the album which you can get to by clicking on the lower picture to the right.

I have back-dated the videos to the date they were taken and so these haven't appeared on the homepage either. Click on the top right image to see these.

Sorry - I lied about the miles!

Here is a summary of the ride stats. Click on the image to enlarge it. The first thing to say is that going through my notebook I found a mistake in my total miles calculations (I put it down to low blood sugar!).

The total mileage was in fact 980 miles. Other highlights are:
- overall average speed: 13.60 mph
- time in the saddle: 72 hrs 2 mins 49 secs
- maximum speed: 46.4 mph
- maximum daily mileage: 129 miles
- minimum daily mileage: 64miles (last day)
- ride duration: 10 days

I will posting the vertical profiles for each stage shortly.

Where are your panniers?

This often-asked question highlighted one of the advantages of choosing a Moulton for this journey. I was travelling light and all my luggage was stowed 'in-line'. In bags and in the frame itself. This is shown in this 'walk around' the bike. This video was taken more than 800 miles into the ride.

A few additional points not made in this video are: 1) the pedals were reversible - flat on one side and with clips on the other. I was clipped in 99% of the time; 2) I was carrying a foldable tyre in the back bag which was fitted just north of Glasgow; 3) I had spare spokes taped to the rear triangle - look out for these in the video; 4) The zip ties stayed on the frame and formed loops and clothing was tucked underneath them - long velcro traps would have been better; 5) I had a pump clipped to the bottle holder on the underside of the frame; 6) If it had rained I had re-sealable polythene bags to wrap things up in.

[The video may take a few moments to load and appear below - if it doesn't appear you might also want to try and view the video directly on the YouTube site. To do this click here.]

The wind in the race to Hamilton - Stage 10

We had to 'race' to Hamilton on Stage 10 so that my son, Luke, could get the last train back to Norwich. At this point we had got separated. I was on the cycle lane and Luke was on the road. The wind was against us. The dialogue goes something like this: "Hi Luke. We should stick together in this wind. Let's join up at the end of this."

[The video may take a few moments to load and appear below - if it doesn't appear you might also want to try and view the video directly on the YouTube site. To do this click here.]

The post-ride diary

The intention is that some post-ride thoughts will be placed here once I've got the feeling back in my hands!