2011-08-20 - M25 Orbital Ride

Did they make it?

Ive been wondering/ worrying myself...

Course we did... How could you doubt us?!

Started Dartford 6.30am, finished Ockendon station about 10.45pm. Original plan was to cross the Thames and get the train from Dartford, but unfortunately South Eastern are shit and the last train was 11 - we weren't going to make that, so we had to finish on the north side of the Thames.

We started with 9 riders, ended with 4. I have 161 miles on my computer for yesterday, about 153 of those were the ride itself.

It was epic :)

Massive props to Oli (and John) for the route and navigating/leading.

As for the ride itself?

Having done the SE/north sections on the reccies but not the south-west/west/north-west bit, my overall impression of the M25 is it surrounded by some lovely countryside in the SE/NE sections (Kent/Essex), south-west London is car dependant and slightly depressing, the West London section is pretty minging and the north-west section is a bit twee.

I think the nicest bits of the route for me were that lovely lane in Essex which is quite twisty and hilly (I think it's where we saw the fallow dear, spybot could confirm) and some of the lanes in Kent.

Awesome, well done! :D

Itsbruce and myself made it to Potters Bar at the 120 mark but LDN commitments pulled us off the ride.

I can't say what an amazing and truly epic ride it was. Longer thanks to all and pics to follow

It was a shame you two had to head off knowing you could have finished it, but sometimes you've got to worry about non-cycling stuff (boo!).

Will look forward to seeing the photos, I didn't take any (need to get better at that).

I woke up early this morning so went for a ride to the bakery to buy some croissants. I might not cycle anywhere for the rest of the day...

Did they make it?

Sort of.

about ten miles from the Dartford crossing we realised there wasn't enough time to make it over the crossing and get the last train from Dartford at just after 11, so instead we picked up a different 11pm train from Ockendon with about 150 miles ridden.

^ Tom I'm assuming that's you, didn't actually get your username?

Technically we did, the QEII bridge and either side of the crossing is the A282, not the M25. So in answer to the question did we circumnavigate the M25, yes we did!

This may be a technicality, but it's a technicality I'm sticking to :)

It was a shame not to do the crossing in the 4x4 though. That bit is fun.

awesome you guys. propeaux.

did anyone garminify the route? what abouts total/average times, etc.

(fighting off the datan3rd....)

nice one boys!!!

For those who missed this, I'll be going out and doing the route in a few weeks after Fox has done his Essex rides.

Yup - i'm Tom.

I think Dropout was GPSing the route as we went. I was just looking at the route in the OP and it seems we varied from it in a couple of places. But 153 miles in 16 & 1/4 hours is 9.4 mph including stops. Obviously we were quite a bit faster than that on the road.

Was awesome riding with you all. A truly epic ride. I think the northern half had nicer tarmac.

Great riding with you Tom. It was good to have someone at the end who hadn't been involved in planning/recceing the route!

Dropout left the GPS switched on for the train journey back, so I think that messes everything up? (#dontdogarmins)

My stats from Dartford-Ockendon also include Fenchurch St-home (about 3 miles) so aren't precise (should have taken my computer off for that bit) but I've got:

Trip distance: 155.43
Timed trip (moving): 11h 16min
Max: 33.7
Average (moving): 13.7

If John could email me the GPX file from the Garmin I could sort that out.

ace work lads.

gutted i missed this.

round of applause all round!

^+1

well done oli et al

There is a word for people who do a full orbit in one day: lunatics. Wish I could have been a total lunatic, rather than three quarters of one, but the slow start and evening commitments forced me out. Amazing route. Will write more later.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2602/3748210140_4df7f08135.jpg

http://www.cyclestreets.net/location/18369/cyclestreets18369-size640.jpg

http://maninblue1947.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/01-j-dartfordtoeynsford_200510.jpg?w=470&h=352

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1337/699036411_0f0b84e973.jpg

http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/34256517.jpg

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http://www.airport-int.com/upload/image_files/news/3009/british_airways_heathrow_to_las_vegas_direct_flights/british_airways_boeing_777.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5178/5522949862_7bca92be57.jpg

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http://cache.virtualtourist.com/0/4165286-where_to_eat_South_Mimms.jpg

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That was fun...

Pleasure riding with you guys yesterday. Just a pity we took so long - I guess we stopped too often (myself included...) but on the plus side no one bonked and I think we got faster as the day/night progressed.

We had some great long descents and rolling lanes, but more importantly ate wild blackberries and Jackie's almond tarts. Whooshing around the lanes in Essex in the dark was an unexpected delight.

Thanks to everyone who turned up and extra special thanks to those who finished and helped navigate. Perhaps we can try and be a bit better organised next year.

oh, and garmin stats can >>>>>>>>>>>>>>

it will be embarrasing. Does anyone actually care?

i care.

one day i'll be able to do something like this, well done.

great pics.
as for stats: i guess mostly interested in the route that eventually got followed. esp. if it manages to find its way up here as a .gpx file (or similar).

Ha! wonderful picture storybook there, Spybot. ^^^^^ Humorous reference to the demise of my waterbotle under Mr Couldn't Careless' van wheels! I've no idea if the pink deer was the Upshire muntjack or the Upshire fallow but I can vouch that Essex deer are altogehter more glitzy.

As others have said, this was a challenging undertaking and though we didn't end up on the Queen Elizabeth bridge, punching the air, we came so close for it not to matter. I'm properly pleased with how it all worked out.

Thanks so much Ollie for ironing out the crucial route-planning detail and to Fox for the printing and additonal route knowledge.

Yes, next time we should be more millitant about stopping locations and duration, so as to get round it all before dark. but there's probably only 90mins available to shave off it.

150+miles fixed over variable terrain on a 70"+ gear nch. Hugely impressed by what you did there, Ollie and I actually have a prize for you (prizegiving @SE drinks, Tues)!

But it wasn't all about the mileage. The sights and location knowledge I've gained through reccying and riding this have led me to a satisfyingly smug feeling that by encircling the Big Smoke I've overcome its sometimes overwhelming influence on my imagination. Too big to think about has now been tamed. I can look forward to choosing where to take my leisure rides with some decent expectation of what will lay that way. London's outer space, claimed.

And who wouldn't want to enter the Lion's lair of South Mimms service station only to find that at the heart of the snarling car threat there's nevertheless has a place for cyclists to sit on the decking in the sun with refreshment purhasing opportunities a-plenty?

..But it wasn't all about the mileage. The sights and location knowledge I've gained through reccying and riding this have led me to a satisfyingly smug feeling that by encircling the Big Smoke I've overcome it's sometimes overwhelming influence on my imagination. Too big to think about has now been tamed. I can look forward to choosing where to take my leisure rides with some decent expectation of what will lay that way. London's outer space, claimed...

+1 well put!

Exactly. And no I didn't care about stats. For me it was about doing it (i.e. finishing it).

Still wish I'd done it fixed (especially now I find out there's a prize!) and given how I felt at the end/this morning I suspect I could have done, but just glad to have done it really.