C5ALIVE Forum
C5Alive General Category => C5 Chatroom => Topic started by: Umpa on 05, August, 2009 - 10:56:15
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At Amberly I spoke to a man (I forget his name sorry) who did the lands end john o groats on an eclectic bike. He told me that they might be holding a London To Brighton run around September 2010.
As its the C5's 25th year - I figured it would be an awesome thing to do. Its not the first time L2B has been done on a C5 - in fact our very own Karl (Booboo) has done it, but as its the 25th I was hoping that it would be done again.
Waddya say guys / Gal's - lets face it the next time a major birthday comes up we'll all be to old to take part - so its a once in a life time celebration !
There are many things to sort out - finance is one of them, it costs a fair bit to do an event like this so I doubt it will be a totally free event, just for a start there will be batteries - support vehicle / fuel costs etc. Given that we have over a year to prepare (and start saving) - who will take up the challenge and set the C5 in a good heading for the next 25 years ?
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As someone who quite fancies a long distance C5 trip, L2B sounds like a great idea, so i'll put my name down ;D
You might find aswell that if it is for charity, then people are happier to spend a bit of money organising it :)
Daz
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I forgot to mention about charities, its early days yet but I was thinking that too. It might be that we could all support one - or each our own. My choice would be Diabetes UK.
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Add me to the list of unfit L2B wanna bees !!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm happy to support your charity Umpa - if we stick with one we will make a bigger impact for them.Regards the cost if poss can we get a rough idea from our L2B veteran (Karl) so I can start finding a sponsor.
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I agree with Marty in sticking with just one main charity, rather than spreading it out per person.
Helps stop any confusion when contacting people for sponsership / donations etc. Also, the charity might be more happy to help promote the event either by advertising on their site, or donating material such as badges, balloons etc if they are the only one.
I recently emailed Karl as i was after a bit of info regarding lejog and L2B.
I'm sure he wont mind ;D , i've copied the reply i got ...L2B bit... below.
The May 2007 London-Brighton "c5alive" run was about 64 miles, and involved
seven c5's on the road looked after by a large support van carrying over 60
car batteries plus a spare C5,tools,snacks etc. We also had Ray (aka
"c515mph" on the forum) following in his estate car as a "fend off" vehicle
to stop traffic rear-ending the slow moving convoy of seven c5's. The
support van would meet us at pre-determined "rest stops" that were five
miles apart, where we could take a toilet break, swop batteries, grab a
drink etc. Stops were limited to 10mins if possible, once we set off the van
would wait a while before driving ahead to the next rest stop. Ray stayed
with the group of C5's with a couple of the spare batteries, and a few tools
in case of emergencies, in the back of his car.
The journey went well, with the first half (London-Crawley) only taking
about four hours. We had a c5 break down with a broken gearbox in Coulsdon,
but it was placed in the van and we carried on with the spare. The half way
rest stop at my place in Crawley took about 90mins because we had to repair
the damaged C5 in case it was needed later on (which it was...).
The second half of the journey, Crawley to Brighton, took forever and was
the most demanding part of the day. We were all tired and so were the
batteries. We basically ran out and ended up using half charged batteries.
It was the second half of the day that made me vow never to repeat the
experience. The physical effort of all that pedaling was also taking its
toll, and some of those hills never seemed to end ! Several C5's, mine
included, began to overheat and cut out.
Eventually we did crawl our way into Preston Park, Brighton - but it left me
completely exhausted. I was however also left with a huge sense of
achievement and still look back on the event with a large amount of pride.
Daz
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Yeah it's not going to be easy, but we have enough time to get fit(er).
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It isnt just fitness, you'll also need to prep your C5 - full service, new tyres,tubes & brake cables and ensure you have a cooling fan fitted. Plus at least 8 batteries for each c5. This is to try and reduce any potential breakdowns to the absolute minimum.
Not wanting to put too much of a dampner on this guys, but staging the last L2B cost me and Mark (previous owner c5alive) approx £1k :o This was made up of catering costs on the day (plus previous night for those staying over at my place),van rental, diesel, servicing the c5's and purchasing essential additional batteries/accessories etc. Not to mention time/fuel for planning & checking the route, and my electricity bill for charging all those batteries...
I'm not saying dont do it, just look at all the aspects of what's involved before deciding.
Sponsorship was impossible to find even before the credit crunch, and media interest was also minimal.
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We could always pedal the 64 miles to keep costs down :D
Daz
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Karl, when you did the run, what kind of roads were you driving on ?
Were you able to stick to cycle paths at all or was it mostly playing with the cars on the main roads ?
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Yeah I figured it will be expensive, but we have the time to save. I don't want anyone out of pocket on this, it's going to have to be a team effort both financially as well as physically.
Well it's early days, and I'm not sure how to go about doing this, I am hoping Karl will do this and put his vast experiance in organising events in to play.
I just want to say - I don't want anyone to feel pressured in to doing the run. Like the tv advert says " you don't have to fly to be in thr RAF '
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Karl, when you did the run, what kind of roads were you driving on ?
Were you able to stick to cycle paths at all or was it mostly playing with the cars on the main roads ?
The London-Crawley section of the run was easiest in that we used a mixture of the bus lanes,cycle paths and main roads. Starting early on a Sunday morning helped, when London is at its quietest :) But you do still have to contend with fast moving traffic in several places.
Crawley-Brighton section was the most scary ,with fast moving fairly narrow "B" roads - hence the absolute need for a "fend-off" vehicle. Plus the hills are a lot worse, so the convoy of C5's slow right down.
Again, this isnt scare tactics, just want everyone to be fully aware of what they will be facing :-\
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This is a great idea, i can't say at this point if i would be able to attend if it went ahead, but i'm sure if it was for charity then it might bring the costs down maybe, people alway like to help out for a good course, what if Brooklands was involved ? I would like to do London to Brighton, so we will have to talk more at future meatings.
Retro Andy.
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While googling i came accross this site :
http://www.freewebs.com/cycleroutes/ (http://www.freewebs.com/cycleroutes/)
Just wondered how it compares to yours Karl ?
Daz
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While googling i came accross this site :
http://www.freewebs.com/cycleroutes/ (http://www.freewebs.com/cycleroutes/)
Just wondered how it compares to yours Karl ?
Daz
That route looks quite interesting, mine went the other side of the A23 - might take a drive along it and see what the hills are like...
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does it have to be l2b i no its famous and all that but what about cambridge to hunstanton or something along those lines its around the same miles but all flat all on easy roads just an idea guys but will be up for it werever it is
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Alan if you wish to take a trip to Sunny Hunny then pop in for a coffee i live in Kings Lynn and i will join you the rest of the way.
Retro Andy
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does it have to be l2b i no its famous and all that but what about cambridge to hunstanton or something along those lines its around the same miles but all flat all on easy roads just an idea guys but will be up for it werever it is
That is an interesting point - on the "old" c5alive forum the idea of repeating L2B was discussed. At the time, we ended up deciding not to because it had already been done.
I quite like the idea of a different venue for a long distance run and, as Alan says, Norfolk is flat which appeals to an old,unfit codger like me ;D
Plus any route that eases the strain on our aging C5's should be worth considering.
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well i am very happy to help sort something out this end and i will look into routes any one else have any ideas ps sunny hunny its slef is a bit cheesey but there are plenty of cool spots around
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its 83km from cambridge to hunstanton and a quick route thingy said l2b was 74 so thats only 11 more km's
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Distance: 61.74 miles it would take 4.6 hours if we went non stop at 15mph so call it 8 hours including piss stops and break downs. having done this route by car millions of times it is flat and the A10 is the only bit of rough road we will have to do but it is all flat until you get to hunstanton the it is a hill down to the beach so all in all a cool route but if anyone else has a better idea or start and end place let us know we can way up pros and cons retro Andy should know the norfolk side well and i know the cambridge side well so should work out OK
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If Hunstanton is taking the route too far,then the finish point could be at Sandringham, it would make the route about the same as L2B and it could be an ideal event, perhaps joining a Cambridge and the Royal Run 3 into 1 ?
Retro Andy.
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sounds good to me
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Hey guys - this is not just any long distance run - the L2B is a historic run done by vintage vehicles. And at 25 the Sinclair C5 becomes a vintage Vehicle - thats the whole point in it. You can go on a long distance run at any time - anywhere - for any reason. This is a special event.
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thats true just came up with more ideas
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My own preference is for London to Brighton guy's (even if I do live on the Cambridgeshire borders) - even though it will be tougher.
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I dont mind, but I agree that London to Brighton seems more the right route due to previous historic rally's etc, if one goes ahead either way I would like to be involved if possible.
Retro Andy.
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It goes without saying that I'm well up for it - I have already started to train for it - 12 miles yesterday (really hilly) - before distaster - more to follow in another thread :)
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well does anyone fancie cambridge to sandringham warm up run
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Hey Alan, good idea but as it's not part of the L2B route maybe you should start another thread and post details.
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It goes without saying that I'm well up for it - I have already started to train for it - 12 miles yesterday (really hilly) - before distaster - more to follow in another thread :)
I go to work and back every day on my bike or C5 since April, so i'm doing about 6 miles a day, but will have to start doing a few more if a London to Brighton run goes ahead.
Retro Andy
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I can see why there is the enthusiasm for another L2B , it is a "traditional" type of challenge and must admit I didn't appreciate the significance of the "classic vehicle" status. The original C5 L2B really caught my imagination, just like the idea of a repeat run seems to have hit the spot with a few others here.
The Cambridge run sounds exciting as well - it's just a question of fitting it all in 8)
For the immediate future I need to concentrate on the up and coming Brooklands meetings - September 20th 2009 and January 10th 2010.
Once these are completed I can take a more detailed look at another L2B run.
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Result !!! Karl is interested :)
was talking to a guy at work that cycled this for wwf. He says Ditchling becon is bad. I've never heard if it, did you go up it ?
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There is a really mean hilly area in to Brighton ( that might be it ). It was part of the classic Mini L2B route but they changed it as, due to the volume of minis, lots and lots kept overheating. They now use a different, flatter route in through the town .... and past the Lady Boys of Bangkok :o :D
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I think you guys are referring to Ditchling Beacon, a legendary hil that is absolutely huge and cannot be done on a sinclair c5.
Read this gents account of climbing the hill on his bicycle;
http://roadsofstone.com/2007/06/28/153-the-green-monster-ditchling-beacon-and-the-london-to-brighton-bike-ride/
Like minidaz and the mini run, we wimped out of doing the beacon and went for a route that passes closer to the windmills - the downside is it brings you out at Pyecome onto the four lane stretch of the A23 where it meets the A27 :o...
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Perhaps it could be London to nearly Brighton :D, but seriously if it goes ahead than I will take it as it comes, dont know if my heart will agree, but there's worse ways off going.
Retro Andy.
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What a wonderful write up. We should give the hill a miss again lol
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Can't we rig up a pulley system at the top of the hill to make the climb easier.
Retro Andy
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Spoke to a senior manager at work today and put out a feeler for some sponsorship. He is going to look into it - I think we need to cover the cost of a support vehicle - batteries - spare tyres etc - Karl any rough idea of cost at this early point ?
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..depends on what level of support is being offered, for example the last L2B was about £1k. This figure includes supplying all the necessary batteries (about 64 for use by seven c5's) - they were then sold off at a loss by the previous owner of c5alive,which is something I couldn't afford to do.
Then there was the hire van and fuel (around the £200) and catering for about a dozen people on the day , plus those that stayed overnight were fed an evening meal and breakfast. Fuel costs from my place to the start point, and again from the finish point back to my place ferrying c5's and batteries about. Not forgetting prepping, modifying and repairs (we were very lucky and only went through one gearbox)
It all adds up :-\
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Yeah it was an expensive job back then ! But I'm prepared to pay my whack, as I'm sure others are.
I really hope we can do it, and it would be even better if you did it too Karl. I'll do it alone if I have to, but I would much rather it be a club effort & no one is out of pocket is a must.
I have just had the house re-pointed and so have not been on my c5 for a week or so ! - I'm having withdrawal !!
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I gave him a rough estimate of £2000 so it might be a way forward. Fingers crossed.
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That would be fantastic, lets hope it all goes well. My works made another 16 redundent yesterday :( we lost a lot of good lads.
Thats 32 in 4 months gone. I'll keep going untill they tell me not to. Aerospace - its down the pan !
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..... My works made another 16 redundent yesterday :( we lost a lot of good lads.
Thats 32 in 4 months gone. I'll keep going untill they tell me not to. Aerospace - its down the pan !
....Angie has been looking for work since being made redundant in August mate, it's not any better down here in the "affluent" south :-\
Like you say - just got to keep on going and hang in there for as long as you can.
Apologies for the thread drift ;)
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Hang on in their mate - hope you stay employed.
My thoughts for L2B
I was wondering if we could get Adam 'santa' Harper involved. Maybe 'employing' his services for the day i.e we could pay him a fee to be our engineer following in the support vehicle and he could bring a selection of stock items IE gearboxes etc for rapid repair. Hopefully if we can get sponsorship this would cover this and we would pay him for any items required replacing. Hopefully get the press involved as it is a 25 year / charity run and 80's seem to be in at the moment as well as drawing on Adams past high profile.
It would good also to promote C5Alive as the organiser and draw on they many media contacts already made.
Me feeling is that members would like to do the run but worry about damage to vehicles - if the repairs could come under the sponsorship budget then it would make it more appealing.
In need to put a good case in writing to work and over possible funding areas so any comments would be appreciated.
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Hope Angie finds something soon mate- must admit I have been hanging on like a loose tooth as have a number of my friends but seem to be a little better now- tough times at the moment - lets hope it starts lifting soon.
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I need to move the possibility of some funding for this event to the next level at work so anyone seriously 'up for it' please confirm on this thread - thanks.
Regards Radiomarty ::)
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Was there a selection of dates mentioned for this ?
It's still something i would like to do, but would hate to commit and then find the date clashes with something.
Daz
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We can work on a suitable date for everyone wanting to do it (Prob in Sept) just need to know numbers at the moment to see if it is a 'goer'.
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Cool, Sept would probably be a good month for me :)
Daz
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Ok thanks Daz will count you in
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So Far :
Radiomarty
Umpa
Minidaz
Boo Boo
Anymore ?
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Well I have checked the meetings rosta and I think this is a non starter. Its a shame because of all the times it should be done this is it. Still there are plenty of other good events lined up so 2010 should be a fun year all the same.
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My thoughts would have been to coincide with the BVS L2B, usually held in July each year - but for 2010 I think they are shifting it to September which could clash with Brooklands (my favourite event).
Same as happened in 2009, the events list for this year has filled up quite quickly and I expect there are still a couple more meetings/runs/shows yet to crop up.
In a strange way, having too many events on the go is quite a good thing as it shows c5alive is continuing to do well 8).