Richmond Park 3-lap challenge '16 - The Resurrection

london-red
london-red Posts: 1,266
So, after missing a year completely, I thought I'd start the RP3-lap challenge once more. I know Strava does this automatically, but I'm a traditionalist and like it... Same rules as always, copied from the 2014 version.

We understand the Royal Parks and the police are receiving an increasing number of complaints about inconsiderate cyclists in Richmond Park. Pedestrians for whom cyclists will not stop, and motorists who are overtaken in “close call” situations complain about how reckless cyclists can sometimes be. We're not accusing anyone here of doing so, but please be mindful of this when you are attempting a fast lap. If you encounter traffic or pedestrians/deer near to the road, do not take risks. Abort and if necessary start again or visit when there is less traffic. The last thing we want to see is traffic calming measures introduced into the park. Thank you for your understanding.

Guidelines:
1. 3 continuous laps of RP, anti- or clock-wise (or a mixture), with the general view that anti is easier/safer.
2. Start, rolling or standing, where you like and finish at the same place.
3. KEEP IT SAFE. Squeezing through that gap might make all the difference in beating your PB, but far better you live to fight another day and improve even more. In the red mist of the 3rd lap it is VERY easy to forget this and indeed to annoy the hell out of other RP users. To this end, attempts are best made very early at the weekend, mid-morning/mid-afternoon during the week and just before dusk.
4. Given '3' above, feel free to comment on the traffic, suicidal deer or even the horrendous westerly. The reader can adjust his/her impression of the time and it might dissuade you from roundabout madness.
5. Most of us try to avoid drafting. You might not be able to help it in traffic, but you'll be losing more from the traffic than you're gaining anyway.
6. In the entry feel free to mention : your bike (TT/shopper etc), your weight (seems to be a tradition) and even your 'type of rider' (sportive, racer, audax, tri) - it's becoming a tradition to add your power data here also/instead; and, in the text, perhaps your aim for the year .
7. Please add your post to the previous list, and try to make sure you use the most recent list, so we don't lose entries. Remove your old entry and put your new one in time order, emboldened for easy viewing.

Here's an early season marker for those of us who don't play with the race snakes in the low 50s/high 40s :lol:

---

London-Red................anti..........Fat........1:01:45........Jan...........Amateur..........road bike

Comments

  • london-red
    london-red Posts: 1,266
    I guess I'll be using this as my own personal 3-lap page then :lol:

    Pretty pleased with the time - although there was a cross/head wind up Sawyers, a nice wind-assisted section from Kingston to Roehampton Gates certainly helped.

    London-Red................anti..........85kg........00:57:38........Mar...........Amateur..........road bike
  • philbar72
    philbar72 Posts: 2,229
    it should get filled up tomorrow, whilst fairly cool it looks like perfect conditions. I might give it a go.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,177
    Strange how this has become so unpopular... it must be as folks can no longer time themselves and need to deconvolute data from a Strava profile :-)
    left the forum March 2023
  • marcusjb
    marcusjb Posts: 2,412
    Good to see it back - I always liked it as a measure of progress throughout the year, and over the years. I rode my first geared laps of the park in about 18 months the other day, they were not fast ones (well, I've never done truly fast ones!), but there's room for improvement. I will hopefully start to get my mojo back and ride more laps and get a time on the board.
  • london-red
    london-red Posts: 1,266
    I always like it until the race snakes start getting involved and one starts seeing one's time sink like a proverbial :)

    I've had a target of 56.00 for about 10 years now. Closest I've got is 56.57. This year...
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,177
    London-Red wrote:
    I always like it until the race snakes start getting involved and one starts seeing one's time sink like a proverbial :)

    I've had a target of 56.00 for about 10 years now. Closest I've got is 56.57. This year...

    Warm evenining in June-July with light winds is your best bet. After 7 PM there is little traffic and there is light until after 9 PM. You need warm air and possibly not too high barometric pressure. You can easily shift a minute in the right conditions
    left the forum March 2023