GBDuro

[fatbikephil]

Bit of dotwatching here:-
https://www2.followmychallenge.com/live ... 3971,14.02
A few 'names' including Mark Beaumont getting back to his self supported roots plus Howard Perkins who used to post on here quite a bit.

[voodoo_simon]

Keeping an eye on it as it goes close to where I live (although I imagine a lot of people would say that!).

Went out last year to cheer Angus on (from a distance!), the other riders went through in the day whilst at work

[voodoo_simon]

Angus...

[substandard]

Know quite a few people doing it. Rode out to the bridge on Sunday to chase some dots

Did the event on my fatbike in 2019, it’s a great route.

[pistonbroke]

Anyone know what's the situation with this? Unless the followmyride link on the first post has broken, the event seems to have ground to a halt in Fort Augustus. The event website seems woefully short on info, possibly due to the organisers actually taking part in the ride.

[ScotRoutes]

viewtopic.php?t=20420&start=25

Cut short due to bad weather.

(Go figure)

[pistonbroke]

Sorry, missed that post. I suppose it highlights the nightmare of running these long distance events, so many variables outside the organiser's control.

[mattpage]

Anyone know what's the situation with this? Unless the followmyride link on the first post has broken, the event seems to have ground to a halt in Fort Augustus. The event website seems woefully short on info, possibly due to the organisers actually taking part in the ride.

I assume the final stage hasn't started? Fort Augustus is CP3.

[pete68]

I think scotroutes is getting confused with the Great British Divide race, which was a few weeks ago. Stage 4 of gbduro starts at Fort Augustus on Monday at 8am.

[ScotRoutes]

I think scotroutes is getting confused with the Great British Divide race, which was a few weeks ago. Stage 4 of gbduro starts at Fort Augustus on Monday at 8am.

Ah. That'll be it!

[pistonbroke]

So has the format changed then? I assumed it was a non-stop ride/race from Land's end to John O'Groats that the machine named Lachlan Morton blitzed last year.

[Dave Barter]

So has the format changed then? I assumed it was a non-stop ride/race from Land's end to John O'Groats that the machine named Lachlan Morton blitzed last year.

Yes it’s a stage race now.

[fatbikephil]

It's a bit of a strange format really with the fast riders having to wait for the start of each stage whilst the slower ones get no recovery time.... Last year they did it as one stage and the year before when Lachlan Morton did it you could decide when to start each new stage - not clear how that worked.....

Angus Young looks like he's had three days to recover so I suspect he'll push through to the end.

[voodoo_simon]

It's a bit of a strange format really with the fast riders having to wait for the start of each stage whilst the slower ones get no recovery time.... Last year they did it as one stage and the year before when Lachlan Morton did it you could decide when to start each new stage - not clear how that worked.....

Angus Young looks like he's had three days to recover so I suspect he'll push through to the end.

I think the trouble with the Lachlan method is that he went so quick, so arrived at the checkpoint before the race organisers, which caused a few problems for Lachlan (finding somewhere to sleep).

IIRC, that year they had up to 36 hours to start the next stage but I could be wrong on the timing

[fatbikephil]

Ah yes just read the dotwatchers report - he went to a hotel up the route instead but back tracked to the CP so the stopped time didn't count to his total.

I do fancy doing this but I've had a look at the rules and entry requirements.... you have to 'tweet' your start photo and a photo at each CP plus the end, have strava running live to track your progress and to prove you stayed on route. Given that I don't use strava, don't take a smart phone on long routes and wouldn't go on twitter if you put a gun to my head, it looks like I'm out..... What's wrong with submitting a gpx track like all the other ITT's do?

[jameso]

..... What's wrong with submitting a gpx track like all the other ITT's do?

Their way of doing it makes it all instant online w/o needing spots etc, that has to be part of the appeal to followers and sponsors alike. There's already a fairly major filter in place with their no-fly entry approach, it'd be a shame if the social media aspect put someone who was able to get there by train off but I suppose it's a way to keep numbers low. I think it's developed into a good event model - free for riders, non-profit, low entry numbers yet with enough social media impact that the sponsorship value can covers running costs or support their aims, plus very low impact event in terms of flights/transport etc.


Drifting OT but edit to add, it's an interesting point the other way round too - would you get a valid FKT on many of the ITT routes from time-stamped location images as an alternative to spot use which isn't cheap? It's more open to route deviations but if a respected rider said they'd met the rules and had the time stamps I'd take that at face value. A GPS or Spot trace doesn't show up some of the rule deviations that happen either so we're generally backing up a claim that's taken on trust to some extent.

[ScotRoutes]

would you get a valid FKT on many of the ITT routes from time-stamped location images as an alternative to spot use which isn't cheap?

No. If there is no check on intermediate points along the route then I don't see how it could possibly work. Lee Craigies HT550 error would be a classic example. Huw Oliver skipped a bit of the Cairngorms Loop last year (also accidentally) while setting a FKT.

[jameso]

Sorry, yes I agree, more of a rhetorical question that the organiser states what's ok in the event. I think it's a shame if a flat GPS battery for a few hours/miles could scupper an ITT or race result but if that's the rules, that's the rules.

[voodoo_simon]

You’d be gutted getting that close

https://bikepacking.com/news/angus-youn ... b-failure/

[fatbikephil]

His freehub siezed? Shorten the chain, ditch the derr and ride it fixed!

[whitestone]

Sorry, yes I agree, more of a rhetorical question that the organiser states what's ok in the event. I think it's a shame if a flat GPS battery for a few hours/miles could scupper an ITT or race result but if that's the rules, that's the rules.

Most events do have some variation on "the rules". The TDR allows motorised transport away from, and back to, the route to fix mechanical issues, most ITTs don't.

Flat GPS battery (or <cough>not turning the bloody thing on, <?cough> ) might make a difference, might not. It would depend where it happened, the only way you'd get from Shenevall to Carnmore is via the HT route for example, all other land/water based options are longer and slower. A bit of common sense can be applied from time to time.

[jobro]

His freehub siezed? Shorten the chain, ditch the derr and ride it fixed!

Poor Angus. Perhaps he wishes he had taken your advise or somehow managed to get to a bike shop, because he's now been disqualified for using a dotwatchers bike to continue. At first this seemed to be ok as it fell into the realm of "the kindness of strangers" but the organisers have decided the chap who loaned him the bike wouldn't have been there if the race wasn't on.

Difficult decision to make and at the end of what would likely have been a record breaking ride. Well done Angus.

[fatbikephil]

Aye he must be gutted - still finishing with a DQ like that is better than scratching...
Good on Mark Beaumont though - I always thought it was a bit of a shame he did the RTW record supported after having previously got it self supported so good to see he's gone back to his roots.

[voodoo_simon]

Disappointed for Angus He doesn’t have much luck with this race

[pete68]

It's a lot simpler than it sounds. You don't need live strava tracking. You need a tracker (spot or in reach) strava only to back up any bits that get missed by the tracker. And it's v easy to post a timestamped photo on Instagram. It's a simple way for riders to record their finish time. Last year's race was one stage due to covid although I personally think that works better. I'm pretty sure when Lachlan won it was stages like this year.