With everyone having a stab at XXXX Way doubles, I wondered if anyone had done the Trans Cambrian Way double ... ?

Not aware of any attempts, but I suspect there will be an attempt this year. I am surprised how few single attempts there have been on the TCW. I am only aware (from STW and other forums) of about 6 single attempts.
I've done the single, but rode back the next day on the road (which with the hill out of Newtown may have been harder than the off road route!).
If you're thinking of having a crack at it, I'd be happy to support or pacemake.......

Is John Houlihan's time for the single still the quickest?

If you're thinking of having a crack at it, I'd be happy to support or pacemake.......

No plans but It's something that's sat quietly at the back of my mind for quite a while

Is John Houlihan's time for the single still the quickest?

I believe the best current one way time is 12h 10m total ET, East to West. I'd hazard a guess that west to East would be harder / slower. A sub 24hr double would be a real feat

I'll work on doing it one way in under 12 hours first I think...

Just been having a look at the route in Tracklogs. Looks like a good challenge. Seems to me like there shouldn't be too much in the way of boggy nastiness to slow you down. Works out at just under 104 miles, with about 15k ft of climbing.

Seems to me like there shouldn't be too much in the way of boggy nastiness to slow you down.

There's enough

@pedalhead - fancy a singlespeed head to head*?


*let me get some fitness back first though

Fight, fight, fight, fight...............

s8tannorm wrote:

Seems to me like there shouldn't be too much in the way of boggy nastiness to slow you down.

There's enough

Ugh, Welsh marshland, my favourite

@pedalhead - fancy a singlespeed head to head*?

heh funny you should say that, although I was thinking more of a nice fast ride with company as a precursor to an ITT, but that's probably my total lack of competitiveness showing! Sounds like navigation is a bit tricky on the route so I'd quite fancy a ride to suss it out...though if it happens to be a quick one... :D

Sounds like navigation is a bit tricky on the route so I'd quite fancy a ride to suss it out...though if it happens to be a quick one...

What I lack in fitness could be made up with sharp navigation then?

I wouldn't mind a pop at it if we have a dryish spring and before the Cairngorm Loop, but that gives me less than 8 weeks

21/22 April?

I could definitely use some sharp navigation skills! That weekend is clear for me at the moment...I've put a note in the family diary that I may be doing this :)

SInglespeeds at dawn on 21 April it is then

In the meantime, I'll just go off and a) get fit again and b) research the TCW route...

FYI

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

GPS routes/maps/info etc

Ian wrote:SInglespeeds at dawn on 21 April it is then

In the meantime, I'll just go off and a) get fit again and b) research the TCW route...

Sounds good Ian, should be fun! We can discuss logistics nearer the time.

Cheers FF, that's where I downloaded the three individual day routes from, and then stitched them together into one file.

Just downloaded the route - haven't stitched them together yet.
I know a good majority of the route, especially the western half, less so the eastern half.

Quick analysis:

104 miles; 4600m ascent; 44.5m ascent/mi

For comparison, the BB200 was 131 miles, 6160m ascent and 47.1m/mi, 17 hours 28 mins.

At BB200 pace, it'll take 13 hours 51 mins. Therefore need to ride 16% quicker*, or stop less

* Edit: I should have at least 16% less weight on board though.

Yup, sounds challenging! Might have to adopt the Pro Tour on-the-bike peeing technique to save time

To save you the hassle of stitching it together, here's one I made earlier.

have fun, will have to tick that one off one day soon

To save you the hassle of stitching it together, here's one I made earlier.

Thanks for GPXing it too - means I can look at it on my Mac :)

I rode it in October a few years ago - strong headwind all day on day one and rained off and on. Really quiet out there as well. We didn't have to much trouble with navigation really - just took it steady and made sure we knew our way. Took us (well me) about 7 hours to Rhayder and a couple more into the Cwmystwyth Valley. As we had a train to catch - as we didn't want to miss the climb out of Newtown! - we cut day two a little short.

Would like another go but I would be happy to do it one very long day or with a short bivvy stop. Can't imagine doing it in 12 hours. Was that Dave Buchanan? I think JH's time has been beaten.

Blackhound wrote:Would like another go but I would be happy to do it one very long day or with a short bivvy stop. Can't imagine doing it in 12 hours. Was that Dave Buchanan? I think JH's time has been beaten.

Googled it just now. Jason Miles and Dave Powell have done it: http://40psi.wordpress.com/2010/08/03/t ... a-good-un/ and http://www.twinklydave.com/?p=711
They claim 9 hours 51 mins, but thats just the riding time, not the total elapsed time (12h 10m). To be fair though, JH's time is reduced from 13h 30m to 12h 25m for time spent taking photos. Perhaps fair enough, but I imagine an estimate. Therefore, we have 12 hours 10 minutes as the time to beat.

Ian wrote:Quick analysis:

104 miles; 4600m ascent; 44.5m ascent/mi

For comparison, the BB200 was 131 miles, 6160m ascent and 47.1m/mi, 17 hours 28 mins.

At BB200 pace, it'll take 13 hours 51 mins. Therefore need to ride 16% quicker*, or stop less

HOLY CRAP!

i've been thinking about having a crack at this one but i think i'll take my time (i'm more of a mosey-er than a sprinter) and enjoy a night (or two) out under the stars.

am keen to hear how it goes though - should be fun.

If your quoting a record time for a route it has to be the actual time taken surely. otherwise you can stop and rest for hours and refuel in comfort.

I'm with you there numplumz ... I can never understand it when people quote their actual time spent riding, rather than the whole time start to finish.

Agreed, and in real sports events it doesn't work that way.