Route advice needed for race against Tube

Do not even think about the North Circular

It's a tough one because the central line is one of the only decent tube lines and the fact that he does not have to change lines makes it alot faster than it would otherwise be.

get someone to pick you up in a van :)
na, could be do-able

if it's door to door i think you can do it.

I reckon this is doable and should be a laugh.
I would go straight down Kensington Road Left into Hyde Park straight through to Lancaster Gate, Up Sussex Gardens, accross Edgware Road onto Marlybone Road - Definitely through the underpass onto Euston Road - Pentonville Road, Left onto Upper Street - Right onto Essex Road then onto Balls Pond Road straight accross Kingsland into Dalston. Dalston Lane - Homerton High Street. Join A106 after the East Cross Route. Then the rest of the way I am not 100% but up to there the roads are busy can be flown down

+1 to this route over the embankment

Alternatively, I regularly do this route from Knightsbridge to Balls Pond Rd in less than 30 mins, even 6pm on a Friday night, and I am not particularly fast or suicidal
Knightsbridge, Hyde Pk Corner Tunnel, Piccadilly, Shaftesbury Ave, Theobolds, Rosebury Ave, Angel, Essex Rd, Balls Pond
Lea Bridge Rd from there…

I work in the South Ken area, and would be happy to do this first leg with you...(or whichever route you decide)

if it were like finsbury park, you would have a chance, any further out then you will struggle.

if we did do the nth circular we should do it freewheel so we casn scooch lifts at 60mph hang on to the back of a truck or pickup we might win then

Do it Epping to South Ken, it's downhill then.

yeah, there are a couple of drags heading out from woodford to epping. need to work hard there cos the tube will get along pretty quickly. mikec's route would be the way to go i reckon. maybe use his legs too ;)

do it the other way - house to office. = downhill, no?

if it were like finsbury park, you would have a chance, any further out then you will struggle.

Optimist

Ok, a few more clarifications: He has a choice of either walking up to Notting Hill Gate or getting the Circle / District round there before getting on the Central. That gives us some room for manouver.

It is true that doing the race back in the morning would give me the downhill advantage. But, i think it'll much harder to co-ordinate any kind of assistance from my willing domestiques.

At the moment I am favouring mikec's route over tomasito, simply because Shaftesbury avenue is a suicidal car park when it's bad - it could hold me (us) up for ages.

Jonny has also suggested doing mile end road to stratford, then leytonstone ... Any good knowledge of that route that anyone can share, in comparison to mikec's.

I think will go and start the same thread on Rolallapaluza CC forum as well - we could end up with a pretty nifty peleton going on here. Jos to drag me the last mile? What Pete will think when we all rock up to his quaint Epping village will be interesting...

Oh and let's hope for great weather.

i will assault him on the tube, to help.

EDIT: or dress up as a BTP office and hold him over a fake oyster card.

what time do you think you'll be heading off?

possible route map-linky http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1973179

Ok, a few more clarifications: He has a choice of either walking up to Notting Hill Gate or getting the Circle / District round there before getting on the Central. That gives us some room for manouver.

It is true that doing the race back in the morning would give me the downhill advantage. But, i think it'll much harder to co-ordinate any kind of assistance from my willing domestiques.

At the moment I am favouring mikec's route over tomasito, simply because Shaftesbury avenue is a suicidal car park when it's bad - it could hold me (us) up for ages.

Jonny has also suggested doing mile end road to stratford, then leytonstone ... Any good knowledge of that route that anyone can share, in comparison to mikec's.

I think will go and start the same thread on Rolallapaluza CC forum as well - we could end up with a pretty nifty peleton going on here. Jos to drag me the last mile? What Pete will think when we all rock up to his quaint Epping village will be interesting...

Oh and let's hope for great weather.

You will be going up hill through Hyde Park and obviously Pentonville Road up to the Angel, then it is completely flat until you get out of Hackney. Don't know from there though

The A104 is surely most direct route from Leabridge Road; I have done it a few times on Saturday mornings and a fast, constant pace can be maintained. It may be unpleasant in heavy traffic.

edit: there is some climbing around the loughton area, afaik, but nothing serious.

Another advantage of doing mikec's route is that I know it pretty well, as far as Balls Pond Road.

what time do you think you'll be heading off?

possible route map-linky http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1973179

This maps looks about spot on.

The main uphill is the actual drag into Epping, through the forest. This is where I will need some serious help, but is the easiest bit to do in a chain gang. Obviously help and encouragement through town will be of vital importance as well.

As for getting times and dates sorted, I may have to leave that until everything is sorted. But for now, let's assume it's the 26th. I'll put it tentatively in the LFGSS calendar in a couple of days time.

I am REALLY looking forward to this.

If I could be bothered to do the maths I'd work a good spread bet on this, but I can't. Anyone else want to work on that?

I reckon the Embankment, Mile end rd route will be quicker. You are looking for long straight stretches with minimal stopping. So:

Kensington rd, then Constitution Hill and the Mall. All the way down the Embankment, then onto Mile end rd. Leg it through Victoria park, onto the Eastway, then left down Orient way onto Lea Bridge rd. You can get some serious speed along quite a few stretches of that route, regardless of the traffic.

I'm not sure how much help a group will be on busy roads though. I mean, are you really going to be wheel sucking the guy in front going 25mph down Lea Bridge rd at 6pm? They might be useful for moral support, though, in which case I'm available for Eastside duties. Just say when.

That ride is going to be equivalent to being quite a bit faster than doing a ""25" in less than an hour. Only because a 25 is done without stops, and you will have to stop/slow at least a couple of times. If you pull this off, you're a legend.

Now this next idea is a bit evil, and requires balls that I have not got....but does anyone know where hundreds of traffic cones can be borrowed from, for a day? If you coned off the more difficult (time-wise) parts of the route, you'd be quids in. Nobody from the Road and Traffic people ever communicate with anyone else, so all road-cones are always accepted as "official".

i cyled to epping once a while ago, i think it took about one hour from hackney, and even though we were taking it easy, i'd say it will take you around 1 and a half hour,if you don't get lost.

Yeah but if he DOES use Circle Line he's fucked. That thing hasn't moved in 27 years! ;)

I have confidence in you winning it, based on the walk your mate has to do at each ends. Maybe we could dress up as pushy london lite/londonpaper distributors and hold him up?

I just find this whole idea so fabulously British.. can someone bring a portable film camera?