CCCC2CCC(CrudCatcherCymruCoast2CoastCharityChallenge)

Gazlar

Hello Scuttling tribe

I am plotting an assault of the north to south Wales coast to coast in September of this year and would like to open all or some of the ride to you orrible lot. There's been a bit of interest so far so here's the details we have at the mo.

Riding from Mon 23rd of Sept until the Saturday of that week.....stopoffs and finer details of the route are in the planning stage. We have a support vehicle to carry kit and supplies.

The ride itself spans from Conwy to The Gower, 268 off road miles with nearly 9000m total climbing. Bunkhouse/hostel sleepovers en route.

Because of the severity of the route, physically it'll require a commitment to get in proper peak fitness as the schedule is tight and we can't afford to carry people. Also we welcome people joining us for part of the ride but please be aware as its point to point riding you would have to sort out transport for yourself for that, even a days ride will be about 50 miles.

There is a charity mentioned but not confirmed.

So yeah, this is the basic premise and ill now open the floor to comments and questions

Clank

I'm in.

Gazlar

Clank wrote:

I'm in.

Didn't feel a thing ;o)

The Northern Monkey

I'm also in. Can't beat a bit of double penetration.

thekickingmule

When do you need confirmation by? If I can improve my fitness by then, I'm in.

Gazlar

Id say ill book the hostels by mid may/June but that's why its mentioned now so people can gauge fitness etc. Will need to keep numbers to a level so accommodation can be found and there's room in the van for kit.

The Northern Monkey

Whats the route?

Is it the Sustrans National Route your're looking at? Holyhead to Cardiff highlighted in yellow..

miss notax

I'm really interested too but replied in the less scary forum

welshkev

Hmmmm interesting. I'm a maybe

I know a guy who's done it in less than 20 hours, he's also done it there and back in less than 48!!!!!! Check out Dave Buchanan. I could probably get him to come and give us s brief of what to expect

Gazlar

The Northern Monkey wrote:

Whats the route?

Is it the Sustrans National Route your're looking at? Holyhead to Cardiff highlighted in yellow..

No its the Sarn Helen old Roman road from Conwy to Swansea/Gower there is a sustrans Sarn Helen route too which could be useful if we need to shortcut and make up time but the original is more rugged and off road


Good response so far though

The Northern Monkey

Gazlar wrote:

The Northern Monkey wrote:

Whats the route?

Is it the Sustrans National Route your're looking at? Holyhead to Cardiff highlighted in yellow..

No its the Sarn Helen old Roman road from Conwy to Swansea/Gower there is a sustrans Sarn Helen route too which could be useful if we need to shortcut and make up time but the original is more rugged and off road


Good response so far though

Ahh superb!!

That sounds good... looks tough though!

miss notax

Looks brilliant 8)

thekickingmule

I'm definitely up for it, and I'll get out on the bike more this year, so it should be a yes from me.

If that picture is downhill, then no worries. If it is uphill, then many, many worries!

lawman

Will have to see how uni and shizzz works out, but if I'm free then I'll be there

Gazlar

If it was easy it wouldn't be fun. But yeah it looks tough and interesting, that's why ill be planning in shortcut options should we get delayed or collectively find the going tough and need short easier sections. There is also the option of starting on the Sunday and adding an extra day but important conscious of making it too long a time commitment for ppl.

Think 45 miles a day is ok, start early and plot on

thekickingmule

I recon start on the Monday, that gives us the weekend before to prepare for it, and the following Sunday to recover before returning to work (in my case, anyway).

45 miles a day should be nicely doable. The IOM E2E was about 32miles if I remember rightly, and most people finished that in around 5 hours (or 6 for me, but I was in pain!) so I think that's doable.

The Northern Monkey

can we end the ride here?

123oldman

Now this looks like fun!
Will have to do the necessary checks for that week, defo interested though!!

jimothy78

No way I could even contemplate somthing like that - good on you for giving it a bash. I may well join up with you for a day's ride when you get nearer home, though, when you're nice and tired out

cat_with_no_tail

So it's basically like doing a race-pace End 2 end, 6 days in a row? :shock:

I'm not mental, and for that reason, I'm out.

Good luck to those doing it though. I'll throw in some sponsor money at some point.

Gazlar

The Northern Monkey wrote:

can we end the ride here?

Unfortunately not as cardiff isn't swansea but might have to nip and have that on the Monday morning afterwards

Gazlar

Some pics and a blog to have a browse of
http://members.multimania.co.uk/garyjoh ... /#Cyclists

Btw Clank you wouldn't happen to have gpx files when you've plotted the route would you?

thekickingmule

Cat With No Tail wrote:

So it's basically like doing a race-pace End 2 end, 6 days in a row? :shock:

I'm not mental, and for that reason, I'm out.

Good luck to those doing it though. I'll throw in some sponsor money at some point.

Surely it's not race pace though, as you can do an extra 10 miles of riding, but maybe take another 5 hours. So 45 miles in 10 hours, rather than 32 in 5. Half the speed, which in my opinion, is great

Go ooooooon, you know you want to!

The Northern Monkey

Gazlar wrote:

Some pics and a blog to have a browse of
http://members.multimania.co.uk/garyjoh ... /#Cyclists

Btw Clank you wouldn't happen to have gpx files when you've plotted the route would you?

That looks brilliant. Definatly up for this... just after my Birthday too lol.

Gazlar

Right so so far

Definitely

Gazlar
Clank
Miss Notax
NorthernMonkey
Ste-T

Probably/Possibly
KickingMule
Oldman
Tudj
Welshkev
Lawman

To be edited as time goes on

miss notax

Regarding the charity element of this, does anyone object to me setting up a group sponsorship page for Cancer Research UK? It's a charity that means a lot to me personally, and one that has probably supported and helped more people than we realise

cat_with_no_tail

thekickingmule wrote:

Cat With No Tail wrote:

So it's basically like doing a race-pace End 2 end, 6 days in a row? :shock:

I'm not mental, and for that reason, I'm out.

Good luck to those doing it though. I'll throw in some sponsor money at some point.

Surely it's not race pace though, as you can do an extra 10 miles of riding, but maybe take another 5 hours. So 45 miles in 10 hours, rather than 32 in 5. Half the speed, which in my opinion, is great

Go ooooooon, you know you want to!

You've got to be realistic about it though. You're not going to want to be in the saddle much more than 7hrs a day if you're sustaining it for 6 days straight. Say you set off at 9am each day, ride until 1pm, hours rest for lunch etc, then back on again arriving at your destination around 5pm. It's easy enough doing it for a day or 2, maybe even 3. But after that I could see it being seriously tough for those who have failed to prepare properly. Last time I did the E2E in 5hrs, I needed almost a weeks recovery before I could even look at the bike again. That's without factoring in horrible weather, massive headwinds etc.

It's fully do-able of course. Just that as Gaz said in this OP, it's going to require a serious investment of time and energy from those wishing to do it. Certainly more time than I'd be able to 100% commit to anyway.

I am however planning on doing a 24hr marathon in summer, and 3 laps of the TT course on open roads before that. So I've met my challenge quota for the year anyway.

Gazlar

Well sat CWNT even with catchup routes its going to be really hard and fair play for saying you can't commit to having the right fitness.

Looking into a couple of group training rides, maybe one pre may so keeps can assess their relative skills and fitness

The Northern Monkey

Cat With No Tail wrote:

thekickingmule wrote:

Cat With No Tail wrote:

So it's basically like doing a race-pace End 2 end, 6 days in a row? :shock:

I'm not mental, and for that reason, I'm out.

Good luck to those doing it though. I'll throw in some sponsor money at some point.

Surely it's not race pace though, as you can do an extra 10 miles of riding, but maybe take another 5 hours. So 45 miles in 10 hours, rather than 32 in 5. Half the speed, which in my opinion, is great

Go ooooooon, you know you want to!

You've got to be realistic about it though. You're not going to want to be in the saddle much more than 7hrs a day if you're sustaining it for 6 days straight. Say you set off at 9am each day, ride until 1pm, hours rest for lunch etc, then back on again arriving at your destination around 5pm. It's easy enough doing it for a day or 2, maybe even 3. But after that I could see it being seriously tough for those who have failed to prepare properly. Last time I did the E2E in 5hrs, I needed almost a weeks recovery before I could even look at the bike again. That's without factoring in horrible weather, massive headwinds etc.

It's fully do-able of course. Just that as Gaz said in this OP, it's going to require a serious investment of time and energy from those wishing to do it. Certainly more time than I'd be able to 100% commit to anyway.

I am however planning on doing a 24hr marathon in summer, and 3 laps of the TT course on open roads before that. So I've met my challenge quota for the year anyway.

Bloody roadie wimp

Nah I see where you're coming from, but I need a challenge and something to work towards!
I have the Wentwood Enduro coming up so training has already begun.

Did the Brecon - Cardiff Taff Trail (52 miles) route before xmas with literally no training in around 4-5 hours and felt fine afterwards.

Remember this is as much about fitness as it is ensuring you eat the right fuel and enough fuel.

I should be able to help if anyone needs advice regarding what to eat etc if required as its what I have my degree in lol.

miss notax

The Northern Monkey wrote:

I should be able to help if anyone needs advice regarding what to eat etc if required as its what I have my degree in lol.

Oh good. Can you tell me what to eat to enable me to ride 45 miles a day off road, for 5/6 consecutive days, please?

cat_with_no_tail

speedballs, and lots of them.

and Tiger blood. Drink lots and lots of Tiger blood!

It's true, Charlie Sheen told me.