Bb200 Waffle Thread.

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redefined_cycles
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Re: Bb200 Waffle Thread.

Post by redefined_cycles »

When is it that Stu normally emails out the gpx files?? Is it totally last second or a couple weeks in advance :???:
ssnowman
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Re: Bb200 Waffle Thread.

Post by ssnowman »

redefined_cycles wrote: Thu Oct 03, 2019 9:53 am When is it that Stu normally emails out the gpx files?? Is it totally last second or a couple weeks in advance :???:
He said it will be out tomorrow.
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redefined_cycles
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Re: Bb200 Waffle Thread.

Post by redefined_cycles »

Thanks Ssnowman. :smile:
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dlovett
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Re: Bb200 Waffle Thread.

Post by dlovett »

ssnowman wrote: Thu Oct 03, 2019 9:53 am
redefined_cycles wrote: Thu Oct 03, 2019 9:53 am When is it that Stu normally emails out the gpx files?? Is it totally last second or a couple weeks in advance :???:
He said it will be out tomorrow.
Hopefully first thing as I have to work tomorrow afternoon.
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Ian
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Re: Bb200 Waffle Thread.

Post by Ian »

ssnowman wrote: Thu Oct 03, 2019 9:38 am What was so bad about 2014?
I didn't say it was bad, just tough :-bd
Read my blog on the route: https://ianbarrington.com/2014/10/14/be ... -200-2014/ (was linked incorrectly in an earlier post). Re-reading it now, it doesn't see so bad - 60 mins carrying bike through dense vegetation? Pffft.... piece of cake :lol:
But as it followed three years of the same route, I think everyone had got comfortable with that and Stu really raised the bar.
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Re: Bb200 Waffle Thread.

Post by larsmars »

Asposium wrote: Thu Oct 03, 2019 9:26 am
Ian wrote: Thu Oct 03, 2019 8:48 am Seriously though, while 2014 was the toughest year....
2014 was worse than 2018?? :shock:
2014 was my first ever long distance ride. What a baptism by fire that was. Weather was mostly clear, but quite cold at night with nightmarish bog trots. My blog post here.

2018 was certainly wet and windy, but quite warm. Weather aside I would say it was not nearly as hard as 2014.
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Re: Bb200 Waffle Thread.

Post by slarge »

2014 was fun in a type 3 kind of way. There's a photo somewhere of me up to my chest in tussocks with my bike above my head. Granted I'm not that tall, so it was knee high for most others, but that section did go on a while. Then a little rideable bit where it all got better and relief set in, then it got bad again. There's another photo where Stu was called a clint (in sticks on the ground). I think the spelling wasn't quite right.

But, it was the same for everyone. The bad bits were in daylight, and the only people who didn't suffer were those who didn't turn up. So it was a good one in my head. Stu felt guilty for the next couple of years and made it more rideable.

There's quite a few people who have never done the event who have heard of it, and it does have an air of daunting mystery surrounding it.....

This year will be fun as well. Just the right amount of weather beforehand to soften the ground and keep your bike clean, and we still don't know where we're going (except round in a big circle). What's not to like?
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Re: Bb200 Waffle Thread.

Post by ssnowman »

So, 2014 was all about too much hike a bike on trails that didn't exist on the ground!
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Wilkyboy
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Re: Bb200 Waffle Thread.

Post by Wilkyboy »

Richard G wrote: Wed Oct 02, 2019 2:52 pm Yeah, I broke my rib on my handlebars and smashed off the shifter with my knee. Not going too fast on that occasion; lost my entire front wheel in a muddy puddle.
I hit the same puddle, which threw me straight off — full face-plant. No real harm, but lost a lot of bottle after that.

Unrelated, the V-brakes on my 1996 ProFlex got Welsh-gritted and a new set of inserts disappeared in about 20km, so I abandoned on safety grounds (i.e. no brakes).

Came back last year and got around in a little over 25 hours on a new bike. The wind was annoying, but the crotch-deep river crossings were a bit of a larf :wink:
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Re: Bb200 Waffle Thread.

Post by dlovett »

I found this tussock/bog map on the internet from the 2014 ride.

ImageScreen-Shot-2014-11-02-at-15.56.56 by Duncan Lovett, on Flickr
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Re: Bb200 Waffle Thread.

Post by Wotsits »

I was another one who had a baptism of fire on the 2014 event..
The longest i'd ridden before then was 75km, & that was with an unloaded bike. It was like SAS training, where they try to break you, but if you pass the test you are reborn stronger :lol:
For me it's all about the extended ride, however far you can go, through the night. There's no shame in not reaching daylight on the other side though! If a rest means you'll be able to complete the route, then get some sleep. That's were i disagree with some other comments above about noobs not bringing enough gear to have a comfortable sleep..
Comfort, fueling & the right mental attitude, for me, are so important in this event. For example, i always take a brew-kit, as i find a hot drink in the early hours really perks me up. On the 2014 event i did this a couple of times, this both gave me the opportunity to have a rest, & prevented me from getting too cold..
Last edited by Wotsits on Thu Oct 03, 2019 11:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Bb200 Waffle Thread.

Post by Bearbonesnorm »

For those who didn't frequent this place in 2014, perhaps a little background would prove interesting?

The BB200 started life in 2011 and for that year and the following, the route remained the same and in 2013 the route was reversed. It was obvious that times were dropping and people were generally learning and getting faster. Remember, nothing like this had been done outside of the US, so the whole thing was a learning curve for everyone.

The route served its purpose well but after 3 years there seemed to be a feeling that it perhaps didn't offer the same level of challenge that it once did. The 2014 route was devised to answer that call and it didn't fail to do that. it was made intentionally harder but it completely surpassed the sum of its parts - to the point that some people stopped talking to me afterwards and still don't.

I did feel somewhat guilty afterwards (although my intention was never to inflict such suffering as occured that fateful day), so I had some badges made for all those who took part :wink:

Image

Plotting a 200km route that's challenging enough yet kind of enjoyable with enough interest to make the bad bits easier to forget, yet still containing some of the stuff that makes the BB200, the BB200 isn't as straightforward as it might sound. There's things like rider safety, landowners and RoW to account for so the reasons for including certain things but not others might not always be obvious.

Anyway, things generally settled down after 2014 - some years are probably tougher or faster than others and some years I'm surprised by how many people enjoyed a route I wasn't sure they would. Strangely, I always feel a little anxious when a route's released because contrary to how it may appear in both fact and myth, I actually want people to have a good time ... I understand 'good time' may only happen in retrospect :wink:
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Re: Bb200 Waffle Thread.

Post by redefined_cycles »

I think this might be a good time to enquire... whats type 3 fun (as mentioned in a previous post).. is it when you almosy hate every bit of it but feel satisfied only after the shower that you have on the 3rd week post ride ending??... or is it more complex than that
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Re: Bb200 Waffle Thread.

Post by ssnowman »

redefined_cycles wrote: Thu Oct 03, 2019 3:17 pm I think this might be a good time to enquire... whats type 3 fun (as mentioned in a previous post).. is it when you almosy hate every bit of it but feel satisfied only after the shower that you have on the 3rd week post ride ending??... or is it more complex than that
My understanding is that it's neither fun at the time, or in retrospect.
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Re: Bb200 Waffle Thread.

Post by RIP »

And possibly even in prospect as well - some people go into things knowing it's going to be desperate. Quite a few of [us] on here spring to mind in fact funnily enough :smile: .
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Re: Bb200 Waffle Thread.

Post by Dave Barter »

I'll leave this here for the newbies https://vimeo.com/108784812
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Re: Bb200 Waffle Thread.

Post by RIP »

Not seen that before Dave - lovely stuff! Actually, I turned the picture off and just listened to the cracking soundtrack - Undertones and swearing, what's not to like :-bd
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Re: Bb200 Waffle Thread.

Post by whitestone »

Dave Barter wrote: Thu Oct 03, 2019 6:50 pm I'll leave this here for the newbies https://vimeo.com/108784812
It's been a while since I'd seen it - love the miming :-bd
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Re: Bb200 Waffle Thread.

Post by RIP »

"miming" - best bit :smile:. If only Marcel Marceau had done BB200 the world of mime would have taken a whole new direction...
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Re: Bb200 Waffle Thread.

Post by slarge »

Type 3 fun - if you imagine wading naked through stinging nettles, then Type 3 fun would be when you look back 2 years later and have a laugh at yourself while asking "why on earth did I do that?"

It won't kill you, but you can't imagine why you would ever want to do it.
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Re: Bb200 Waffle Thread.

Post by Escape Goat »

I wonder if I'm ahead 1 hour, will I get it before anyone else hehe. :roll:
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Re: Bb200 Waffle Thread.

Post by redefined_cycles »

slarge wrote: Thu Oct 03, 2019 8:48 pm Type 3 fun - if you imagine wading naked through stinging nettles, then Type 3 fun would be when you look back 2 years later and have a laugh at yourself while asking "why on earth did I do that?"

It won't kill you, but you can't imagine why you would ever want to do it.
Good explanation. That means thankfully mine will remain type2 throughout then :-bd cos I've set up a charity page to raise for Human Rights (mainly the prisoners being tortured and without trial in Guantanamo Bay but the charity does othwr work too)...

If anyone wanted to sponsor me a coupke of quid then it be here https://givebrite.com/c/cage/bearbones200 :smile:
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Re: Bb200 Waffle Thread.

Post by Alexinthepeaks »

Newby Question - is the dropping of a "Cache" frowned upon? I see there is little resupply from Barmouth onwards and i can happen to cross the route on my travel down on Friday night.
I was thinking of stashing a bottle of water and some food which might perk me up at 3am, but didnt want to do something like that if its not in the spirit? I would be interested to hear peoples thoughts...
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Re: Bb200 Waffle Thread.

Post by sean_iow »

No cache allowed, that would give an advantage to locals/people crossing the route on their way there.

As with all these type of events, once it's past the time the shops shut then getting supplies is an issue. If you ride straight through then it's likely to be 12 hrs without any open shops. It's just a matter of carrying more with you.
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Re: Bb200 Waffle Thread.

Post by whitestone »

Alex, this is from http://selfsupporteduk.net/ I've emboldened the relevant "rule"
Generic Rule-set

For a ride to satisfy the self-supported philosophy, it must comply with the rule-set listed below, and for the development of new routes a rule-set must be based around these key elements. Any other details related to the route or specific rules are up to the vision of the route director, normally the first person to step up and time-trial the route.
    [*]Complete the entire route, under your own power - no drafting
    [*]Be completely self-supported throughout the ride - absolutely no support crews, absolutely no gear sharing
    [*]Only use commercial services that are available to all challengers - no private resupply, no private lodging
    [*]If you have to leave the route, you must re-join it at the exactly same spot
    [*]No caches of any kind
    [*]No pre-arranged support, which means before you begin your ride - e.g. booking a B&B, arranging to meet a vehicle
    [*]No travel by any motorized means during your ride - by all means do so if necessary, but understand if you do your attempt is over
    [/list]
    Some events add to or modify the above (notably the TDR which allows you to get motorised transport to and from the route in case of mechanical breakdown) but the list above is the accepted/expected behaviour.

    Resupply is one of the things you've got to consider and be prepared to modify as you progress. Get to a resupply and you've the choice: Can I get to the next one before it closes? If not then stock up here, otherwise push on and hope you don't have a mechanical :wink: Look at the distances involved between the two obvious resupply points on this year's route and figure out that tipping point at the first. That might have a bearing on when you set off in the start window.
    Last edited by whitestone on Mon Oct 07, 2019 11:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
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