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[Closed] Lands End - John O'Groats - is there a record?

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Well, is there?


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 12:40 pm
 mt
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Yes and it's less than three days (I fairly sure), can't remember exact but think the guy then carried to break the 1000 mile record. Chap was from Merseysde and think is name was Wilkinson, he is still rides in 100 mile TT. Am sure there will all the facts some place on the interweb.


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 12:44 pm
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definitely. Can't remember what. Set by 24hr time triallist type iirc


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 12:45 pm
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Yes. It is silly fast.

41 hours 4 mins 22 seconds on a recumbent.

On a normal bike, 44 hours 4 mins 20 seconds.

Joe


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 12:45 pm
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2001 Gethin Butler rode end to end in a record 1 day, 20 hours and 19 seconds.


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 12:46 pm
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fark me thats quick!


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 12:52 pm
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>2001 Gethin Butler rode end to end in a record 1 day, 20 hours and 19 seconds<

impressive - kinda puts all the willy waving that goes on STW in some perspective


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 12:54 pm
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IIRC Butler was national 12 and 24 hr time trial champion around this time.


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 12:56 pm
 mt
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That's put me right off having ago. Mind you I reckon being fit and fast is cheating, why can't the record be based on waste line, beer consumption and the nobblyist tires?


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 12:56 pm
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you fancying a shot at it jase ?

what about off road record 😉


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 12:58 pm
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I was thinking of doing it next year, although I don't think I'll be breaking the record.

Off road? It'd be good that.


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 1:01 pm
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have a look on the ctc website forums, there is a whole section devoted to it.

Mind you I reckon being fit and fast is cheating

i live a few miles from lands end, you can always tell when the summer is here as daily you see all sorts of people heading down the a30. its actually scary how utterly un-prepared some of the riders are, its not uncommon to see people pushing 69.99 catalogue bikes up the hills - and thats in just the first few miles.

On a normal bike, 44 hours 4 mins 20 seconds.

but what route? most people i see just head down the a30, horrible road after penzance. but from glancing at the ctc site the preferred option is to follow the coast roads, lovely but way more longwinded.


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 1:01 pm
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i fancied a crack at an end to end off road after my NZ trip but injury and now lack of time have put paid to it for this year.


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 1:02 pm
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Off road? It'd be good that.

You would, but it's a lot further.


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 1:04 pm
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2001 Gethin Butler rode end to end in a record 1 day, 20 hours and 19 seconds

Thats averaging ~ 23mph without breaks!


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 1:08 pm
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i think someone on mtbbritain did/tried it off road, pretty sure there is a story on the site. seem to recall he had probs in my neck of the woods, which is'nt surprising if you don't know your way around.

i've also got an old motorcycle greenlaning book in which a guy does it on said green lanes - in the days when there were green lanes of course!


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 1:12 pm
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it's 19.54 av (still extremely impressive) - lots of other records here http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/tech/OtherStuff.htm

ps andy wilkinson did a 100mile tt the other week on a hybrid in 3h42!


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 1:16 pm
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Ah I thought the route was nearer 1000 miles than that, explains it. Must surely mean no stopping for sleep/food at that pace.


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 1:19 pm
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Why rush? You're not going to break the record, so take the quieter back roads and enjoy the view. I took 12 days, averaging 75 miles/ day. That meant I'd finish by 5 or 6pm, leaving plenty of time for enjoyable evenings carb loading in the pub.


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 1:21 pm
 mt
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Steve Thomas bike journalist and snapper of some note did off road end to end years ago. I'm sure there was an article about some place.


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 1:34 pm
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as the tour of britain will never compete against the tour de france, why not swap it for something british and excentric at the end of the season.

Invite the pro pelaton over for a non-stop LEJOG race. Recon they could get under an day?
Would take some super organised and coopoerative riding, imagine a 200 strong chain gang going up the M1 hard shoulder!


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 3:18 pm
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I did it in exactly two months, (which has to be some sort of record) but I did have to eat a lot of fish and chips, drink loads of beer and take quite a long detour to manage that.
Still, I reckon I easily had a world record amount of fun doing it, loads more than Gethin Butler...


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 5:40 pm
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I did it in 13 1/2 days, weighed 17 stone, did about 5 hours a day longest day 7 hours = 105 miles. had a dawes audax bike and kept everything light!
tis easy to roll along at 15 mph enjoying the views and then spend afternoon / evening in distilleries etc... I started in the north and road home towards lands end (lived in plymouth at the time). recommended way round and easier on fitness levels as you get better the longer you ride. Cornwall is HARDER then scotland


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 5:48 pm
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Stu,
I thought Scotland was harder than Cornwall, but then I did stick to the coast and ended up doing the Bealach Na Ba with full touring kit. There isn't a hill like that anywhere in the southwest. I know, I've checked! The roads in Cornwall/Devon are busier though, which certainly doesn't help.
Oh, and I think I weighed 17 stone all in, with bike and luggage included.


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 6:01 pm
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http://www.rra.org.uk/


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 7:04 pm
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i'm sure it's been done faster by some nutter motor-pacing all the way, but google isn't helping.

have i imagined this?


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 7:22 pm
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This is an interesting read! http://www.windcheetah.co.uk/record.htm

The 41 hr time included a 1 hour break to change a wheel! It quickly stops any ideas you might have about breaking the record when you see the size of the backup team and all the help he had. Flippin impressive though - first 100 miles took 4 hours!

how much are these recumbent things...


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 7:32 pm
 nuke
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Interesting read that site Horatio. Shame about the unauthorised design change on the axle. Not wishing to low the tone but this stood out...

[i]This huge fluid intake also meant a huge output... We rigged up a special condom connected to a metre-long tube to provide relief for Andy without having to stop. The tube exited the Windcheetah at the rear of the fairing.[/i] 😯


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 7:39 pm
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surely he had a huge food intake too - what happened to that??


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 7:42 pm
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...bigger pipe I guess


 
Posted : 01/07/2009 8:32 pm
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The off-road route was posted by CTC a year or so back, after a couple of members did it (you'll need to read, not just download the GPS). For the future, a couple of nutters are, I believe, thinking about seeing just how quickly it can be done.

AIUI, offroad it's about 1200 miles, with 120,000 feet of climbing - loosely, the same as doing 3 or 4 mountains, or the whole SDW, every day for a couple of weeks.

On-road is pretty well covered.


 
Posted : 02/07/2009 1:39 am
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Cornwall is HARDER then scotland

A mate at work did it earlier in the year and said the same thing.


 
Posted : 02/07/2009 6:23 am
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just been reading some of the records and apparently its been done on a motorised bar stool as well!! i'd like to see a picture of that, how did he steer it?!


 
Posted : 02/07/2009 8:42 am
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I did Lands end to Dover hugging the coast 3 weeks ago. Going to do lands end to J o' next year. Hell of a lot of peopls doing the route when we were there - national cycle week maybe helped.

Also a lot of £69.99 specials having epic fails, why do these folk think they will last for 900+ miles!

I've done a fair bit of riding in Scotland & let me tell you, Cornwall is more brutal. Either straight up or straight down & nothing inbetween.

The climb out of St Austell along the A30 is 16% and about 2 miles long, oooh sweet memories.

I plan to use panniers next year, a rucksack is not a good idea at all!!


 
Posted : 02/07/2009 8:54 am
 MrK
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i knew of a couple of guys who did it on BMXs a couple of months ago. maybe they got a record for using that form of bike?


 
Posted : 02/07/2009 9:21 am
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I believe the reason they seem to do it Cornwall to Scotland is that you are effectively going west to east and that is the 'usual' direction for weather and winds in the UK.

Can't think of many things worse than a 1000 miles of head wind!!!!


 
Posted : 02/07/2009 10:12 am