First up, still no cycling, despite resting all day sunday work at the servo was a nightmare. The million or so squats i did on Saturday while screeding concrete meant my hamstrings were so sore i could barely walk, the cold refused to go away and then a tooth that has given me slight trouble on and off decided to come back "on" with a vengeance.
I had said tooth pulled out this morning (at the truly obscene cost of nearly $400!!) so at least that won't get in the way again.
Now, Big News time.
Back in early 2013 i read the story of Dick Poole, the man who thought he had broken the 1,000 mile record only to find he was a couple of yards short. That got me thinking, and eventually excited about the idea of breaking the current record. So i looked at attempting it in 2014 but realised having a support team for a 55hr non stop ride was going to take some serious funds and hahahaha.
I had said tooth pulled out this morning (at the truly obscene cost of nearly $400!!) so at least that won't get in the way again.
Now, Big News time.
Back in early 2013 i read the story of Dick Poole, the man who thought he had broken the 1,000 mile record only to find he was a couple of yards short. That got me thinking, and eventually excited about the idea of breaking the current record. So i looked at attempting it in 2014 but realised having a support team for a 55hr non stop ride was going to take some serious funds and hahahaha.
Eventually i decided beating the 7 day record would be achievable on a shoestring budget (2nd hand shoestring obviously) and i could use the momentum from that to somehow get the 1,000 mile to happen.
("Momentum"= "Can i please have some money to go on an adventure?")
And then Mrs LDR went and got pregnant so THAT plan went right out the window.
But be damned if i'm going to just shuffle into the obscurity of fatherhood without a blaze of glory first, so the 7 day record will have to do the trick.
The current record is 2,825kms, set last year by a pommy cycle mechanic.
Now there are MANY instances of people who have done significantly more than that over the course of 7 days, most notably the freakshow to end all freakshows, Christoph Strasser who covered over 4,800kms on last year's Race Across America in less than 7 days 16hrs.
But between Bruce Berkeley's effort and Pat Hawkins claiming the women's record in 1940, there are no mentions of any attempts at the "7 day record". So technically, nothing else counts.
Silly? Kinda.
The only shot at glory i've got in the next 3 months? Absolutely.
So all i was waiting for was to hear back from the people at Guinness, and the good news is that last week, 3 months after i filled out the application, they finally sent me the guidelines.
And that's where the bad news starts.
"The bike must be UCI legal and a signed statement from an official to confirm as much." Sure no problem.
"The number of laps completed must be noted in a logbook by the witnesses" (Laps? Witnesses?)
"The entire attempt must be filmed, the start, 2 minutes from every hour, any stoppage or rest, the point the record is broken and the end". (Hmm, that's a lot of filming, and am i gunna need a selfie stick when i'm out on the road?)
"Two 'master' stopwatches must be started by the witnesses at the start of the attempt" (who the hell are these "witnesses" they keep talking about?)
"There must be two independent witnesses at all times, working in shifts of no more than 4 hours at a time" (oh so those are the witnesses, but that's 4 people at the absolute minimum?)
And then it gets really out of hand-
"The event must be made on a pre-measured course that is perfectly level."
Taken on their own those requirements aren't particularly insane, extremely restrictive and expensive yes but they have an obvious reasoning. The problem is that as far as i can tell, the current record met NONE of those requirements. Berkeley rode on his own for the most part, didn't ride the same course each day, and by the end of the week he'd done over 16,000m of climbing.
That is not to cast any doubt on his effort of course, but rather to ask WHY THE HELL Guinness feels all that crap above (and plenty more i haven't mentioned) is necessary for anyone wanting to break the record?
I've said as much in an email to the Records Manager, so we'll see what they say. After some thought, i'm determined to go ahead with the attempt regardless of their response, and simply do it my own way.
Fair Winds,
LDR.
And then Mrs LDR went and got pregnant so THAT plan went right out the window.
But be damned if i'm going to just shuffle into the obscurity of fatherhood without a blaze of glory first, so the 7 day record will have to do the trick.
The current record is 2,825kms, set last year by a pommy cycle mechanic.
Now there are MANY instances of people who have done significantly more than that over the course of 7 days, most notably the freakshow to end all freakshows, Christoph Strasser who covered over 4,800kms on last year's Race Across America in less than 7 days 16hrs.
But between Bruce Berkeley's effort and Pat Hawkins claiming the women's record in 1940, there are no mentions of any attempts at the "7 day record". So technically, nothing else counts.
Silly? Kinda.
The only shot at glory i've got in the next 3 months? Absolutely.
So all i was waiting for was to hear back from the people at Guinness, and the good news is that last week, 3 months after i filled out the application, they finally sent me the guidelines.
And that's where the bad news starts.
"The bike must be UCI legal and a signed statement from an official to confirm as much." Sure no problem.
"The number of laps completed must be noted in a logbook by the witnesses" (Laps? Witnesses?)
"The entire attempt must be filmed, the start, 2 minutes from every hour, any stoppage or rest, the point the record is broken and the end". (Hmm, that's a lot of filming, and am i gunna need a selfie stick when i'm out on the road?)
"Two 'master' stopwatches must be started by the witnesses at the start of the attempt" (who the hell are these "witnesses" they keep talking about?)
"There must be two independent witnesses at all times, working in shifts of no more than 4 hours at a time" (oh so those are the witnesses, but that's 4 people at the absolute minimum?)
And then it gets really out of hand-
"The event must be made on a pre-measured course that is perfectly level."
Taken on their own those requirements aren't particularly insane, extremely restrictive and expensive yes but they have an obvious reasoning. The problem is that as far as i can tell, the current record met NONE of those requirements. Berkeley rode on his own for the most part, didn't ride the same course each day, and by the end of the week he'd done over 16,000m of climbing.
That is not to cast any doubt on his effort of course, but rather to ask WHY THE HELL Guinness feels all that crap above (and plenty more i haven't mentioned) is necessary for anyone wanting to break the record?
I've said as much in an email to the Records Manager, so we'll see what they say. After some thought, i'm determined to go ahead with the attempt regardless of their response, and simply do it my own way.
Fair Winds,
LDR.