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I'm sure as I start typing this he has his haters on here, merely by association with radio 1 but it's all for a good cause. Taking on quite a challenge for a bloke who fannies about on the radio, he will be climbing the three peaks and cycling between them which is 500 miles in just 5 days, and it could become quite interesting especially if some of this "snowmaggedon" bollox actually occurs.
Will he switch to a fat bike?
Good luck to him.
It was allegedly -20'C at the top of Snowden when he got there. I am not sure if that included windchill (I suspect it did), but that sounds like a challenge...
More interested in Zoe Ball riding from Blackpool to Brighton.
Good luck to him. He's going to suffer horribly at various points.
more interested in Zoe Ball riding from Blackpool to Brighton.
Why?
Sounds a lot easier...
I like Greg. Doesn’t take himself seriously, is down to earth and genuinely likeable IMO. Impressive shizzle if he pulls this one off in shitty conditions.
I did this challenge a couple of years ago in the summer time. It was tough going then so will be brutal at this time of the year. Good on him, not a huge fan but fair play if he completes it!
Big hairy did you do it in the 5 days? Seems a big ask to me. How long does each ascent/descent take. Howver I'm never road cycled so dont really know what's achievable each day.
100 miles in a day isn't particularly hard, five days in a row and climbing three mountains sounds pretty hard. Doing it in winter sounds relatively brutal.
Think about what's its like walking down a flight of stairs after a big ride... Except those stairs are Ben Nevis and the ride has lasted 5 days
Wrightyson, yeah over the five. Had a swim in the one of lakes near Keswick to make it a triathlon.
Snowdon was the easiest of the climbs. We ran that one with the intention of running the rest. Scaffel was a bitch. We went in from the east side so the cycle was easier which meant we only had time for about 30 miles on the bike after that day. Needless to say there was no more running up the hills.
We were lucky with the weather (wind mainly) and there were no real massive hills on the bike leg.
I’d heard that the record time for doing this was something like 72hrs! Five days was fine for us, two of us stronger riders could’ve done it quicker but we were a team of four all doing it for charity.
It's definitely impressive, especially since he isn't a cyclist. He sounded absolutely frozen at the end of the ride today, a bit broken sounding like someone who'd just done a 5 lap stint at the Strathpuffer. Riding in serious cold is hard, as we all know. He must be drained.
If he gets to the top of Nevis in this weather then well done that man
I've been following this since hearing about it.
Strikes me as a hell of a challenge if it was done on a nice spring day with no wind and a touch of cloud cover.
In the current conditions I wouldn't be going up any of the mountains!
I’d heard that the record time for doing this was something like 72hrs!
Try just over 37hrs. One of my cycling friends (Ross Malpass) took the record last summer. In that time he only had 20minutes kip 😳 His before and after pics were slightly different I can tell you 😂
Here's a write up of Rosses record breaking attempt
https://medium.com/@rmalpass/national-3-peaks-challenge-cycling-record-874211c1e200
"It was allegedly -20’C at the top of Snowden when he got there. I am not sure if that included windchill (I suspect it did)"
Wind chill is largely bollocks to allow soft lads to pretend things were right tough.
Fair play to him, seems like a good guy and it's a serious challenge. 140 miles and climb Scar Fell Pike today apparently. Based entirely on the fact that his road bike has Speed Play pedals, he would appear to be a "proper" cyclist too.
Spin - I hope you're joking. Wind is an insidious bastard and relatively low windspeeds can have a significant effect on you.
ElShalimo - No not joking. Yes, wind has an effect on increasing cooling rates but windchill is a pretty crude measure. If you say -11 and windy most folks are going to get the idea that it will feel brassic, why try to slap a figure on it by using one of a number of different equations which yield different results? And how does comparing it to a relative still temperature help especially given that most people in this country haven't got a clue what -20 and still feels like?
Just finished reading Hempleman/adams book, he would definitely disagree with you regarding windchill having no effect.....
Wind chill is largely bollocks to allow soft lads to pretend things were right tough.
The voice of a guy who has never been out in the Cairngorms in a winter storm....
@ Wrightyson, did you miss the bit where I said 'Yes, wind has an effect on increasing cooling rates'?
"The voice of a guy who has never been out in the Cairngorms in a winter storm"
Quite a conclusion to jump to that. Rest assured that it's wrong.
My issue with windchill is that it's an attempt to put a seemingly objective number on a subjective phenomena (perceived temperature) and that most people don't understand either the rationale behind it or what the comparative still temperature feels like.
Right, let's not turn this into yet another pissing contest. Go on, just this once...
It's a bloody impressive acheivement, however you look at it. And in current conditions it must be brutal.
IMHO to say otherwise, or to try and and play down the scale if the challenge is real ****tery.
I've got no negative comment to make on the guy's achievement, sounds like hard work at any time of the year. I was just commenting on the use of wind chill figures it being something that many folks totally misuse / misunderstand.
OK, even without a pissing contest over windchill.
This morning on Snowdon is was -12C and F6/7. Assuming not much has changed in 24h can we agree that is F***ing cold. And followed by an 80 mile bike ride, and 140miles today, climbing Scafell tomorrow in similar conditions, more bike riding, and then Ben Nevis in the sort of conditions usually associated with "Idiot climbers have to get rescued off Ben Nevis" headlines in the Daily Mail. Thats some achievement, whether he's a STW approved "proper cyclist"* or not.
*let's be honest, how many of us "proper cyclists" took a look at the forecast this week and havent even commuted in by bike let alone planning a single century ride?
Hopefully he has a competent team with him on the hills. Top of Ben Nevis in these conditions is a dangerous place, especially if visibility is poor.
BBC Weather is actually pushing wind chill and 'feels like' quite a lot, so while people may not be aware how it's derived they are more aware of it. And i wouldn't assume "If you say -11 and windy most folks are going to get the idea that it will feel brassic" judging from the number of kids I saw pushed out the door in the last few days wearing basically the same as they had on last week (OK, maybe -11 would, but zero plus an easterly might not) .
Yes, unlikely anyone's going to get frostbike walking to school but it's not being 'soft' to dress you or your kids appropriately, and if a 'feels like' estimate helps that, all's good. I don't know if that correlates to people REALLY knowing what -6 'feels like' on a calm day but it might help.
*let’s be honest, how many of us “proper cyclists” took a look at the forecast this week and havent even commuted in by bike let alone planning a single century ride?
I was just thinking exactly that, put the bike safely on the turbo on Sunday thinking there was no way i was risking icy roads. Although actually here its no worse than normal so I'm just being a wimp
Hopefully he has a competent team with him on the hills. Top of Ben Nevis in these conditions is a dangerous place, especially if visibility is poor
Llanberis MRT accompanied him up Snowden.
OK, even without a pissing contest over windchill.
well all I know is that when you get to the top of a hill in the lake district when it is blowing a gale, you try pretty hard to find some sort of structure to sit behind so you can eat your lunch out of the wind, and the difference in temperature between being in the wind and being out of it is often pretty big.
I used to hear bits of Greg's late night show as it was after something else I had recorded, and based on that I wouldn't mind if the temperature drops really low and it snows incessantly for the whole week. Although at the end of yesterdays ride when he made that phone call into the studio (I had it on the car) he sounded a bit more normal.
Thumbs up from me. Decent bloke, proper hard challenge, compounded by the fact that it's Feb and this particular week has some minging weather. I'm pretty sure he won't be bothered he's not on an approved mountaineer/cyclist list - his endeavour has far broader appeal than that.
Looking out of my office window right now it looks like it would be great fun for 10 mins on a fat bike or similar, then I would come back in side. The thought of cycling in it on wide open countryside makes me think **** that, then add, ok let's go climb up some pretty dangerous mountains at this time of year and I have the upmist respect for him. I genuinely will be very surprised if they complete in the 5 alloted days.
I hope nobody objects to me dumping this here for a minute or two....I think it has some relevance, albeit tenuous ....
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/twintowers540miles
Wondering if they're letting him cycle across the central belt during a Red weather warning from the Met Office. Utterly horrendous conditions.
Qudos for getting to and up Scafell Pike today.
https://www.sportrelief.com/news-and-tv/gregathlon
Did Scaffell Puke today, no comment about whether he got to Abbington though
Bloody hell, thought they'd have pulled this. Hat!
Given the pics ive seen its very impressive to get along any of the roads
It's all over, for now :
Complete respect for getting this far. Sometimes the most unlikely people show tremendous character. I couldn't have done what he's done.
you try pretty hard to find some sort of structure to sit behind so you can eat your lunch out of the wind, and the difference in temperature between being in the wind and being out of it is often pretty big.
Sometimes that's not enough, having lunch freeze as you eat it due to windchill was character forming. Strangely that was in the Cairngorms.
Well done to Greg James for getting as far as he did and his H&S advisors being brave enough to allow him to go this far.
H&S advisers? It’s a lot to do with a chap called Greg White. He’s an utter legend and one of the funniest blokes I’ve ever gone drinking with. He does almost all of these celeb events, taken along as a trainer, coach and organiser plus doing a fair bit for himself. He’ll push through almost anything, and somehow has the engine and inspiration to pull others along with him.
also has some very intretesting stories about some pro cycling teams!