The Steven Abraham watch thread
Comments
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https://youtu.be/8Ie99xWerGM
A few quick words from Steve the weekend before last. Pretty rough edit, but some stuff on how things are going currently and some stuff on Steve's history (like turning up to the 24hr after having ridden the Crackpot 1000 a few days before! (the Crackpot is a legendarily tough 1000km in Wessex)).
Much of it shows how smart Steve can be in making the most of whatever the conditions throw at him. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of roads and weather patterns.
Tough miles at the moment!
Great thanks for posting that, a very interesting insight into the man's personality. Interesting to see how he copes with it mentally.
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Long-distance cyclist Steve Abraham stopped by police for riding on an A47
Read more at http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/long-distance-cyclist-steve-abraham-stopped-by-police-for-riding-on-an-a-road-203275#witzWGBL6HlKJt8x.99
Interesting one this.
Not deliberately unkind to Steve, but I can see why he was stopped - he does have that kind of zoned out look about him!
edit: it still wasn't right to be stopped, he has the right to ride anywhere....Insert bike here:0 -
Agree he has the right to ride there, but I honestly think the police had his best interests at heart.
Question for the locals, would you ride along there in dark, in December at 10pm? I'm not familiar with the road.0 -
Once the evening rush hour has subsided it's not that busy, but it's still not a road I'd want to cycle along at night. But I can see why Steve might want to use it in pursuit of the record...
I think the time triallists on roads like the A11 and A1 are taking greater risks.0 -
Norwich born and bred here... as Keef says it's not that busy at that time of night but for me the issue is more that motorists just wouldn't expect to see a cyclist on that road at any time of day, let alone late at night, and if you suddenly come across something you're not expecting..! If it were me I'd stick to the inner ring road, street-lit all the way round the city and far enough out of the centre to avoid the drunks... each to his own though eh?
I did almost have a coronary when I saw that he'd ridden along the A47 between Wisbech and King's Lynn a couple of weeks ago when there are plenty of traffic-free back roads running parallel to it, and again between Swaffham & Dereham when the B1145 runs west-east across Norfolk a few miles to the north of the A47 and is a beautiful quiet road to cycle along.0 -
....but with eating sleeping and basing out 205 miles as day, I suspect he doesn't have a great deal of time for in depth route planning.Bianchi Infinito CV
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What were the totals at he end of 2015? Has the record gone to Kurt?0
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What were the totals at he end of 2015? Has the record gone to Kurt?
Kurt finishes riding on 9/1/16. He should surpass Tommy Godwin's record tomorrow.0 -
Despite having his ankle broken in March, Steve has ridden 63500 (ish) miles in 2015.
I believe this is the 4th highest ever distance ever ridden in history. Quite something.
He is currently on his second attempt, which started in August. He has had some challenges with stomach issues and adapting to a new diet which has made for some shorter days (in relative terms!) and puts his current attempt into a difficult place. But he is still confident and still plugging away at it.
Tomorrow, Kurt should surpass the Tommy Godwin record and become the person with the greatest distance ridden in a year. He has only a few days left of his year and will probably add 1000 miles to the record, which shows just how good that record was. Kurt has ridden so consistently and battled against his own challenges, but usually with good humour.
A massive chapeau to Kurt. Words begin to fail me thinking about how hard this year has been (for both Kurt and Steve, as well as Miles who's attempt has now ended). I have ridden 200+ mile days for like 4 days in a row and that is more than enough for me! The thought of doing it for 365 days?!? Amazing.0 -
Great achievement by Kurt, it shows just what a record Tommy Godwin set that Kurt hasn't smashed it despite the advantages of modern tech, recumbents, favourable weather etc.[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]0
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A record is a record and chapeau to the effort, but riding a recumbent on flat roads in good weather for most of the year make things easier. Higher average speed means less time on the road and more time to recover. Lovely weather aside (some are luckier than others), a recumbent is not a bicycle, it is similar in some respect, but it is not a bicycle as we know it... it would not be allowed in many races and competitive events, so I am not quite sure how Kurt's record can be put in the same box with Tommy's or with Steve's attempt.
For this record to be taken seriously, there need to be stricter rules than just total mileage.
Just my thoughtsleft the forum March 20230 -
Saw steve this morning heading up towards Chichley. Popped him a wave. He looked happy with it all.Insert bike here:0
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Tend to agree with Ugo that Kurt has set a record but perhaps hasn't beaten Tommy Godwin's record.[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]0
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Steve's announced he's withdrawing from the challenge
he's not getting enough miles in. Theres some more info on his fb page and a link to a video where he look genuinely gutted. 0 -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHSjqrp ... e=youtu.be
Aww man, he's properly gutted
Comes down to that bloody moped rider really!0 -
Longer video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9agB46 ... e=youtu.be
"If it wasn't for the moped I might have just scraped it" [the record]
"I just wasn't fit enough going into it, I expected to get fit along the way and it just didn't happen"
"You get fit from recovery not from training and there wasn't enough recovery"0 -
Not just gutted: he looks proper knackered as well.
Been following Steve, Kurt, Bruce and Kasja elsewhere and it'd become increasingly obvious that Steve wasn't going to make it, but I kept hoping that Steve had something up his sleeve.
Steve, should you ever read this, I doff my hat to you for the courage to take on such a challenge and the even more difficult decision to abandon it.
I hope you'll take the time to reflect on the experience and have another go in the future - FWIW, I believe that you can take the record.A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject - Churchill0 -
Crapaud wrote:
I hope you'll take the time to reflect on the experience and have another go in the future - FWIW, I believe that you can take the record.
In another country... here weather is crap, roads are crap, motorists are crap... someone living in Florida is at a clear advantage... he might have 5-6 days in the year when there is a storm and he can't ride and that's it... no winters, no ice, no crap roads, no constant up and down, no traffic... you can't compareleft the forum March 20230 -
I doubt he'll try the year record again. That's like a once in a lifetime type thing. But he's already said he's going to be back on the bike again soon. I'm sure he'll be something else just as mad soon enough.0
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I never realised he used a recumbent! Basically, that's him disqualified the moment he set off. For the same achievement as the original Tommy record, on a recumbent on carefully selected American roads, he'd need to do something like twice the miles.ugo.santalucia wrote:A record is a record and chapeau to the effort, but riding a recumbent on flat roads in good weather for most of the year make things easier. Higher average speed means less time on the road and more time to recover. Lovely weather aside (some are luckier than others), a recumbent is not a bicycle, it is similar in some respect, but it is not a bicycle as we know it... it would not be allowed in many races and competitive events, so I am not quite sure how Kurt's record can be put in the same box with Tommy's or with Steve's attempt.
For this record to be taken seriously, there need to be stricter rules than just total mileage.
Just my thoughts0 -
AFAIK Kurt didn't ride a recumbent all the time, or even most of the time, but did sometimes, and yes, to my mind it means he didn't break the record on a bicycle.0
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presume you've all seen the news? Steve has decided to abandon his attempt. Still the 4th longest distance ever cycled in a year. Chapeau.Insert bike here:0
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It was not a great surprise to the news I had in my inbox this morning, but it was upsetting nonetheless.
He has achieved much in this last year and a bit, including being the record holder within his age group for the UMCA HAMR. Despite having his ankle broken, he rode 63608.7 miles in his first attempt, which is an average of 174.27 miles per day!
He has posted on YACF and seems to be in reasonable spirits despite what must be a crushing disappointment. He'll have a lot to work through over the coming weeks and days, physically and mentally, but I think he will be fine. There's some discussion on some touring somewhere sunny to relax for a while.
Unless someone takes the record into the stratosphere (remember Kurt 'only' added 1000 miles onto the record!), I have no doubt that Steve will give this another go. I suspect he will tackle it less in his randonneur style and more in his time trial mode (remember he is a 450 mile 24 hour rider, so plenty quick enough).
Anyway, for the moment, I am pleased he is in what seems to be reasonable health and spirits considering. I look forward to seeing him on the road soon and I am just so proud of what he has achieved and how many people he has inspired over the past 13 months in particular.0 -
As has been said, Chapeau to the man, he should understand that the esteem in which he still held by many of us for doing the record attempt properly and coping with everything thrown at him.Trail fun - Transition Bandit
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marcusjb wrote:It was not a great surprise to the news I had in my inbox this morning, but it was upsetting nonetheless.
He has achieved much in this last year and a bit, including being the record holder within his age group for the UMCA HAMR. Despite having his ankle broken, he rode 63608.7 miles in his first attempt, which is an average of 174.27 miles per day!
He has posted on YACF and seems to be in reasonable spirits despite what must be a crushing disappointment. He'll have a lot to work through over the coming weeks and days, physically and mentally, but I think he will be fine. There's some discussion on some touring somewhere sunny to relax for a while.
Unless someone takes the record into the stratosphere (remember Kurt 'only' added 1000 miles onto the record!), I have no doubt that Steve will give this another go. I suspect he will tackle it less in his randonneur style and more in his time trial mode (remember he is a 450 mile 24 hour rider, so plenty quick enough).
Anyway, for the moment, I am pleased he is in what seems to be reasonable health and spirits considering. I look forward to seeing him on the road soon and I am just so proud of what he has achieved and how many people he has inspired over the past 13 months in particular.
Well said.0 -
It was a massive effort by Steve and i dont think he can be too disheartened with what he has achieved considering his accident. If it wasnt for that i am sure he would have smashed it.
Well done Steve if you ever read this, you are a true inspiration!My winter bike is exactly the same as my summer bike,,, but dirty...0 -
Very sad news! Still an amazing effort though.0
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Rigga wrote:marcusjb wrote:It was not a great surprise to the news I had in my inbox this morning, but it was upsetting nonetheless.
He has achieved much in this last year and a bit, including being the record holder within his age group for the UMCA HAMR. Despite having his ankle broken, he rode 63608.7 miles in his first attempt, which is an average of 174.27 miles per day!
He has posted on YACF and seems to be in reasonable spirits despite what must be a crushing disappointment. He'll have a lot to work through over the coming weeks and days, physically and mentally, but I think he will be fine. There's some discussion on some touring somewhere sunny to relax for a while.
Unless someone takes the record into the stratosphere (remember Kurt 'only' added 1000 miles onto the record!), I have no doubt that Steve will give this another go. I suspect he will tackle it less in his randonneur style and more in his time trial mode (remember he is a 450 mile 24 hour rider, so plenty quick enough).
Anyway, for the moment, I am pleased he is in what seems to be reasonable health and spirits considering. I look forward to seeing him on the road soon and I am just so proud of what he has achieved and how many people he has inspired over the past 13 months in particular.
Well said.
covers it perfectly0 -
I wonder if he had the right support, in terms of coaching, physio and diet.
First thing that strikes me looking at the video is: he doesn't look like someone who cycles 200 miles a day, seems definitively chunkier than I would expect, maybe even bloated... 12 hours a day on the bike, easily need 6000-7000 calories a day... hard to eat that much and get some decent rest as well... easy to over-eat as well, without supervision... hard to eat 7000 calories a day of nutricious, good quality food if you don't have a lot of money to spend and someone to cook it for you. Easier to eat a pack of pasta, a loaf of bread and three cans of beans, but it's not the way forward.
I guess the romance of these attempts is the lack of big sponsorship and the amateurish feel around them, but it's hard to do that much for that long without professional help 24/7left the forum March 20230 -
ugo.santalucia wrote:I wonder if he had the right support, in terms of coaching, physio and diet.
First thing that strikes me looking at the video is: he doesn't look like someone who cycles 200 miles a day, seems definitively chunkier than I would expect, maybe even bloated... 12 hours a day on the bike, easily need 6000-7000 calories a day... hard to eat that much and get some decent rest as well... easy to over-eat as well, without supervision... hard to eat 7000 calories a day of nutricious, good quality food if you don't have a lot of money to spend and someone to cook it for you. Easier to eat a pack of pasta, a loaf of bread and three cans of beans, but it's not the way forward.
I guess the romance of these attempts is the lack of big sponsorship and the amateurish feel around them, but it's hard to do that much for that long without professional help 24/7
Apply the context to the original record!“Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring”
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