[Closed] West Highland Way double - an attempt this weekend

you're desparate for someone else to buy that bike so you don't have to 😉

Good luck to him with the ride - a really good challenge.

Good luck to him. Weather doesn't look too great though 🙁

I take it this will have to go down as a "supported" ride 🙄

I take it this will have to go down as a "supported" ride

not really. the van is a safety measure. I'll only be riding my bike to go and hide in a ditch with a camera. He won't be drafting me or anything like that.

Oh I know. It's just that there was a thread on here recently, started by someone claiming to hold the records database, suggesting that even all you are doing was somehow deemed as "support" because the rider had an emergency bale-out/safety option (not a stance I agree with btw).

wow I wish I could be awesome enough to get into the hallowed records database 😉

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😀 Good Phil!

Re. 'supported' it's got to be people riding with you and support van supplying food/drink, shirley?

Good luck Phil ... this is a tough challenge rode it in one direction on way to east coast and was happy I didn't have to make the turn at Fort William and ride back.

I think the rules people are having a go at weren't made by Steve but adopted from the US guys ... in those regards it would be considered 'supported' argument being your approach differs to one with slightly less regard for personal safety if you know you have a lift close by... anyway doesn't detract from the enormous task ahead.

The Spot link on the On-one site doesn't work for me. The correct one is [url= http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0MDKSjyUG6VkGrPVN0S2ERKUvpn8OvcHu ]here[/url].

cheers Shaggy.

On-One site now updated with the correct Spot URL.

Daisy Duke is doing it this weekend also. Starting at 7am, unsupported

Hope he doesnt mind me mentioning it on here 8)

Good luck!!

Daisy Duke is doing it this weekend also

the double?

Yep

cooool

He is my hero!!! swoon.....

He's off!

http://twitpic.com/auqmb6

Ben from our club (could be daisy duke on here) is doing the double this weekend aswell-after doing one way a couple of weeks ago!
Seems all the rage :0)

Spot tracker is not updating...?

Windy day here, cloud lowering, best of luck to them both..

My bad, tracker is working...

Phil is nearly off the nasty bit by Loch Lomond and is ahead of schedule.

Terrahawk is offering support by being sat in a pub miles away eating tatties and mince.

Good luck everyone.

I'll be offering support by sniffling manfully into a hanky, checking the feed and feeling sorry for myself.

Heading into Fort Bill soon. Quick McPoo with Lies in Maccy D's (yeah, 'course I'll buy something) then turn around and head for home.

goo on lads

Couple of miles from half way. No idea what the conditions are like or how long until the turn.

Previous record was 41 hours (I could be wrong, I'd had a drink when this was explained). He has been going for just over 11.

Target is 26 hours.

Terrahawk has seen him a couple of times and got some photos. Hopefully he can post a few on here once he has finished his own 10 hour training ride. They are not doing this together, Jason is just within an hour or so with the van should it all go "Kates Up".

I hope he does it, because that route needs a proper high standard record set on it.

Through Fort William in about 12h 30m.

By 'eck lad.

Doing an awesome job in some horrendous conditions... just seen him passing and flashed my lights in salute!!

Previous record was 41 hours (I could be wrong, I'd had a drink when this was explained).

Has been done in 38
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/west-highland-way-double-1

Seriously impressive

Back at Loch Lomond in 22 and a bit hours.

Weather - Rubbish
Phil - Knackered but still going strong

BTW Phil won Strathpuffer solo this year, so he knows what he is doing. Impressive stuff.

If he is at Loch Lomond already, he must be on course to smash the record.

Whilst Phil suffers Jason is tweeting pictures of his own epic task. http://twitter.yfrog.com/mm9s9vmj

Text update from Phil to Jason. He is out of the Loch Lomond bounder field. Back of the ride broken. One big climb left.

Jason is about to tackle his second breakfast.

wow I wish I could be awesome enough to get into the hallowed records database

Why don't you gents just step up and give self-supported riding a go instead of just being elitist and belittling about it. Put a few times down on here:
[url= http://www.bikepacking.net/ultra-records/ ]http://www.bikepacking.net/ultra-records/[/url]

You don't own these big (by UK standards) rides, and are far from the only ones out there riding them.

Eh?

Terrahawk, along with TwinklyDave, holds the record for the Trans Cambrain Way and The Way of The Roses.

http://imba.org.uk/where-to-ride/trans-cambrian-way/

http://wayoftheroses.info/news/story/ragley_riders_break_the_way_of_the_roses_record

Why don't you gents just step up and give self-supported riding a go instead of just being elitist and belittling about it.

OR we could all just stop being finicky about giving 'riding a bike for a long period of time' so many rules, regulations and excuses to behave in a 'elitist' way.

Jeez, it reminds of of the whole 'solo vs "super" solo' 24hr racing silliness that nearly started a while back.

You don't own these big (by UK standards) rides

Eh?

Right - what "support" has anyone given the person doing the riding? If it's merely being in a van somewhere in the highlands incase everything goes horribly wrong then it can be considered support in any meaningful sense. For many stretches of the WHW there is no road access and no mobile phone signal and the bits where there is both are so bloody easy to ride that nobody will ever have a problem on them.

If the guy in the van are preparing meals, fixing and swapping out bikes, towing the guy along - then it's a supported ride. Anything else is just nonsense.

Did the stupid interpretation of unsupported come from across the pond per chance? If so that might explain the pure knuckleheadedness of it.

Dont recall any of these arguement threads when the rob lee crowd were trying it with their full support crew and nutritionalists etc

Is it because they are about to finish with a tangible record that is 1 complete ride ?

Or is it just a case of phils face doesnt fit the picture to smash this record ? / has the wrong friends / is a gritty northerner

Right then... back to the OP.

Phil is comming up to the last check point now and is looking at a time in the region of 28 hours. That should get him in at about noon.

Go phil ! Pedal! Only big ring riding left !!!!

Fantastic effort that. Good to see a proper high quality record finally being set on the route.

Right - what "support" has anyone given the person doing the riding? If it's merely being in a van somewhere in the highlands incase everything goes horribly wrong then it can be considered support in any meaningful sense. <snip>

If the guy in the van are preparing meals, fixing and swapping out bikes, towing the guy along - then it's a supported ride.

I don't think Phil would argue about whether it was a supported attempt or not (or care, frankly!). He's got a mate in a van who meets him every now and again to check he's OK. The van has water/energy food in it and (horror of horrors) he had some porridge in Fort William that he didn't make himself.

Thus his ride is meaningless, futile and puny in comparison to anyone who has ridden it using only water they've dredged from the ground themselves, eating only the heather and thistles they pass on the way and not making eye contact with anyone they see en route in case they get a mental boost from it 😆

(In all seriousness though, it must be classed as a "supported" attempt and I don't think anyone worth listening to gives a flying f...)