100 Miles of Nowhere: Inner Circle, Regents Park, London
I just got a video race report from frequent commenter BuckyTheDonkey, who — along with friends Peter, Tom, and Colin did The 100 Miles of Nowhere on the Inner Circle of Regents Park in London.
Here’s what BuckyTheDonkey had to say about the event:
The course was 160 laps of the Inner Circle in Regents Park, one of the main parks in central London. Tom figured out a vertical gain of 7 metres a lap, so a surprising 1120 metres in all! ;-)
We had a great time in perfect conditions although I think we all underestimated the mental challenge of doing something so repetitious – the 70-90 mile period was pretty tough (every kilo a prisoner!). Very glad it’s over but we’re unanimous in being very glad that we took part!
The real reason I wanted to post this right away, though is that the video is so fantastic:
I tell you, BuckyTheDonkey makes riding around in a circle 160 times look like fun.
If you did the 100 Miles of Nowhere, be sure to send in your photos, stories (keep ‘em short), and videos. I won’t be able to post all of them, but I will definitely do my best to get up some representative samples.
Nice work, Charlie, Peter, Tom, and Colin!
Comment by Dr. Lammler | 05.23.2009 | 6:45 pm
I took photos but, alas, that pesky lens cap.
Comment by Phil | 05.23.2009 | 6:57 pm
Awesome.
Comment by Linda | 05.23.2009 | 7:11 pm
God bless you all; wish I could have done this.
WIN SUSAN
Comment by Mikeonhisbike | 05.23.2009 | 7:16 pm
That was a great video. I completed the challenge this morning while watching the first season of 24. I’ll send a picture.
Comment by WheelDancer | 05.23.2009 | 7:31 pm
My lack of employment was the lens cap preventing me from entering this event but having just landed a position, I’ll be signing up for the next Fatty sponsored race!
Congrats to all the winners!
Comment by Michelle | 05.23.2009 | 7:31 pm
I’m going on my ride Monday morning. Pathetic thing is it will be my second ride of the season. I am so thrilled to see what others are doing – my ride will be lame, but I am excited to be part of something so cool! Win Susan!
Comment by Joe Rosario | 05.23.2009 | 7:32 pm
Outstanding video! Looks like you chaps had a blast!
Comment by Rob M. | 05.23.2009 | 7:36 pm
Great Video.
Your zooming in with satellite photos to the map is brilliant.
Congratulations on the ride and on the video.
Comment by Gregg3333 | 05.23.2009 | 7:39 pm
Great video!!!!! Wish the music was a bit lower so that I could have heard you all talking a bit.
Comment by Jamieson | 05.23.2009 | 7:53 pm
Great video guys – I’m going to shoot for the 100 tomorrow afternoon/evening.
Comment by Carly | 05.23.2009 | 8:11 pm
Wicked! loved the video- can’t wait to see more!
Comment by fattyfan | 05.23.2009 | 9:10 pm
Ha! Here’s a link to ours – best part – Google Map spells “Atlanta” wrong! How funny is that? http://www.plus3network.com/routes/route/46866
Comment by John | 05.23.2009 | 9:17 pm
This year was just impossible for me, but I’m so very much hoping this turns into a yearly event.
Comment by Bruce Bebow | 05.23.2009 | 9:21 pm
Great video!
I rode a .93 rectangle 120 times. Yes, that’s 111 miles. I got more donations by riding more miles… Got drenched (and my course soaked) after a couple hours, but pedaled through. Click my name above for pictures and more details.
Comment by KanyonKris | 05.23.2009 | 10:17 pm
Bucky The Donkey & The London Lads
(sounds like a good band name)
Excellent video, fantastic ride and location – going nowhere is style.
Comment by UltraRob | 05.23.2009 | 10:33 pm
I got a late start but managed to win the Beacon Street division in Colorado Springs. I’ll spent some photos after I’ve had some sleep. I’ll also have a post on my blog.
Comment by Videographer | 05.23.2009 | 10:43 pm
Had an early-day rainout, will pick it up Sunday AM. Still first in my division, though.
Comment by Philly Jen | 05.23.2009 | 11:04 pm
Chapeau, chaps! Brilliant video.
Kris, somehow your comment made me have a flashback to the 1984 rock-n-roll fairy tale flick, “Streets of Fire,” with a much-younger Diane Lane and Willem Dafoe. As the opening power anthem says:
And even if you don’t have anywhere to go
You go down on the pedal and you’re ready to roll
And your speed
Is all you’ll ever need
All you’ll ever need to know
Darlin’, Darlin’-
You and me we’re goin’ nowhere slowly
And we’ve gotta get away from the past
There’s nothin’ wrong with goin’ nowhere, baby
But we should be goin’ nowhere fast
Everybody’s goin’ nowhere slowly
They’re only fighting for the chance to be last
There’s nothin’ wrong with goin’ nowhere, baby
But we should be goin’ nowhere fast
It’s so much better goin’ nowhere fast
Man, that was one stylized movie, with onstage performance wardrobes provided by none other than Giorgio Armani…
Comment by LuckyLab | 05.23.2009 | 11:12 pm
I rode at .15-mile loop for 176 miles – more miles for more donations. I didn’t keep count, but that should have been around 1174 laps. It took me 11 hours riding – a little less that 14 hours in total, with a stop for dinner and my daughter’s 2nd birthday. My neighbors thought I am nuts. I think they may have been right.
My phone battery died twice, which is my GPS. Even with that, I got a good sense of the futility with the 150+ miles that did get recorded. I’ll post photos, GPS data and a very lame short video later. I’m tired.
Comment by Charisa | 05.23.2009 | 11:20 pm
BuckyTheDonkey and crew rock!!
So my 100 miles to nowhere ended up being 112. I lost my legs at mile 5 (I think riding 150 miles in the week leadin up to the big race might not have been the best idea.) I spent the next 100 miles searching for them in vain. However, I must say it was rather enjoyable. I rode through three swarms of grasshoppers. This was very scary. I was happy to learn they were not bees. I did not crash. It was a successful day!!
Comment by cloud19th | 05.23.2009 | 11:32 pm
that was a fantastic video! thanks, London crew, for the smiles and inspiration. I am so looking forward to doing this ride later today!
Pingback by 100 miles of nowhere « The displaced Kiwi | 05.24.2009 | 2:50 am
[...] I’ve been known to include the Inner Circle of Regent’s Park on my rides but never 160 laps. Well done boys. The video here is worth a look. <link> [...]
Comment by Jo | 05.24.2009 | 2:59 am
Well done all, including my fellow countrymen BtheD & tLL!
Fattyfan, I don’t know if it’s because I’m in the UK, but I can’t open your video/blog – need a login…
Comment by buckythedonkey | 05.24.2009 | 3:43 am
I should mention that Peter did this on a singlespeed and suffered a show-stopping mechanical with something like 25 km to go. He carried his bike home (the rear wheel was fast against the chainstay) fixed it, came back and rode to the finish alone. Good work fella!
Chapeau too to our domestiques Paul, Alex and Roy who came and pulled for us.
Gregg: the audio in the Lap 1 puncture scene contains words that Elden does not permit on his blog…
Comment by Big Mike In Oz | 05.24.2009 | 4:20 am
That’s a powerful display of barely-better-than-a-wind-trainer level boredom. Kinda kicks my aborted 100 miles motorpaced on a velodrome idea in the nuts though.
In abandoning my attempt I’d like to call attention to the 20 inches of rain we had across Tuesday to Thursday turning my local outdoor velodrome into a beautiful oval shaped swimming pool… 2 feet deep at the shallow end and a touch under 4 feet deep at the the deep end… proving my long held theory that my velodrome has an uphill finishing straight.
However in abandoning my attempt I would like to not call attention to my single digit percentage likelihood of successfully completing 100 miles in any given 24 hour period at my current state of fitness (or absence thereof).
So instead of embarassing myself publicly with another DNF I gave my entry fee to another avenue of LiveStrong fiscal inflow… http://pistolsandpopcorn.com/2009/05/21/these-are-my-fighting-words.aspx .
Comment by Tom | 05.24.2009 | 4:21 am
The video makes it look a lot more fun than it felt at the time! Really well done, thank you.
Comment by Pedalpink | 05.24.2009 | 10:38 am
We think we won the tandem division … we definitely won the captain has a broken collarbone so riding the trainer is the only option division. We completed the 100 Miles of Nowhere in a local metropark. We didn’t realize until the first rest stop at the 33 mile mark that things had been easy due to low resistance on the trainer AND a flat tire. The next 67 miles were a little tougher. For the stoker, there wasn’t much difference in the view going nowhere as going somewhere. The stoker was a little disappointed that after drafting 99.9 miles she didn’t have enough kick to overtake the captain for a stage win. Our prize – a spectator gave us a half dozen fresh picked grapefruit he’d brought north from Florida.
See photo’s at http://twitpic.com/5ru3t
Win Susan! And looking forward to riding with Team Fatty in Austin, Texas.
Comment by bikerchick | 05.24.2009 | 10:59 am
Wow! London Lads rawk the house! *That* was even more fun to watch than I bet it was to ride. WIN, Susan!!!
Comment by Heidi | 05.24.2009 | 10:59 am
This ia a fantastic video! And when one of the rider pointed to WIN on his sleeve, tears came to my eyes. You guys rock.
Comment by Doug | 05.24.2009 | 11:57 am
That was a good couple minutes of smiles for me. Loved the single speed in the bunch and the few helmetless riders sprinkled in. Really enjoyed the video. Linky to the soundtrack? Sure beats the 500 (auto) miles of nowhere going on in the U.S. right now.
Comment by jt | 05.24.2009 | 12:45 pm
Fatty,
We held the First Annual 100 Miles to Nowhere (Dobson Ranch edition) yesterday (Saturday). 23 laps of a 2.2 mile stretch of local road. We had 10 riders, and a bunch of fun. Pictures are at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=22156&id=1465746207&l=383e78a051
Comment by Jenn | 05.24.2009 | 1:14 pm
OMG that video is sooooooooo awesome! Well done London lads!
Comment by buckythedonkey | 05.24.2009 | 1:30 pm
Doug, the song is the title track of “Parklife” by Blur, featuring the voice of Phil Daniels. Classic mid-’90s Britpop! It’s a good album.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKCoBt43HWE
Comment by BamaJim | 05.24.2009 | 2:52 pm
My 1.75 mile neighborhood loop (way more mundane than the video, and lots of the other routes) is here:
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/al/owens-cross-roads/652124319734071675
I did just barely over 100 miles – about all my current conditioning would allow. Started at 4 am, and rode by myself other than a couple of laps with my wife (her first ride in about 10 years). All in all, pretty fun, and not as tedious as expected. A good reminder of how lots of endurance events get started – someone has a crazy idea and others join in. And – a great cause.
Win Susan
Comment by Bisso | 05.24.2009 | 4:36 pm
Hey Big Mike.
You’re on the Sunshine coast? I’m on the Goldy so i share your pain about any chance of an outdoor attempt after the floods of the past week. When i was inside in relative comfort watching the terminator series i was imagining i was one of the few people in the neighbourhood who actually got a training ride in. 40mph winds and rain meant noone was on the roads.
so if you didnt make the ride i guess i am the winner of the Queensland division. woo hoo!
Comment by Weiland | 05.24.2009 | 7:36 pm
On my effort I not only won my division, but I won the KOM sprints (6) for a total of 3364.8 feet of climbing on my 1 mile loop. Some pictures and full race report:
http://www.weiland.net/post.cfm/100-miles-of-nowhere
Comment by Margaret | 05.24.2009 | 7:55 pm
I’m not sure if I only won the “my rooftop” division or that of Santiago, or possibly the whole Chile division, but in either case I definitely went nowhere! I took the stationary trainer for a spin, and with no computer I just guessed at a decent time and spun for 4 hours. Embarrassingly low resistance, of course! Armed with a pile of DVDs, this was surprisingly fun. Here’s to the 3rd 100MON!
cheers,
Margaret
photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2368476&l=b5b2673dee&id=511432095
and
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2368475&l=26ac0ab1d9&id=511432095
Comment by fattyfan | 05.24.2009 | 8:59 pm
Take 2 – Atlanta Motor Speedway – 50 x 2.2-mile laps:http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/kml/episode.kml?episodePkValues=8289255
Comment by Steve Lacey | 05.24.2009 | 9:05 pm
Many of the comments look to have some great stories or at least one told over and over. Kudos to the tadem riders.
Comment by Clydesteve | 05.24.2009 | 9:27 pm
Jeremy! – I cannot believe you did 176 miles on that small of a course! Well done!
Bucky & lads – well done, good video! And a midride rest stop! I should have done that.
Fortunately for me folks, I was ahead of Jeremy aka Luckylab, when I stopped at 100.11 miles on the mag trainer next to the stage a Farmers Market in downtown Brownsville, Oregon.
track: http://www.plus3network.com/routes/route/47379
At least I assume I was ahead, since I was pointed south on my trainer, and Jeremy is about 50 miles to the north of me! I did 70 miles to the tunes of a local Delta Blues recording artist, playing at the Market, and the last 30 miles in a frenzy to Green Day. Do You Know You Enemy?
Well after that long (4hr 9 min 45 sec) on a trainer, yes. The enemy is me.
We did raise some funds and spoke with many about cancer, however.
Comment by LuckyLab | 05.25.2009 | 1:06 am
I did it and put up a post about it. <a href=http://lafchallenge.blogspot.com/2009/05/100-and-76-miles-of-nowhere.html
I am certain I am not the fastest in the race, but I am curious as to how my distance stacks up. Either way, I’m sure I won the Keizer, Oregon riding-on-your-daughter’s-birthday division. :-)
Comment by LuckyLab | 05.25.2009 | 1:07 am
I did it and put up a post about it. <a href=http://lafchallenge.blogspot.com/2009/05/100-and-76-miles-of-nowhere.html
I am certain I am not the fastest in the race, but I am curious as to how my distance stacks up. Either way, I’m sure I won the Keizer, Oregon riding-on-your-daughter’s-birthday division. :
Comment by fattyfan | 05.25.2009 | 1:38 pm
Here’s our route around the speedway – 110 miles of fun!
I think I won the ride-in-the-rain in Hampton, GA, female division!
Pingback by Half 100 Miles of Nowhere « two wheels. one love. no rush. | 05.25.2009 | 2:15 pm
[...] special events of it; filmed it; went to restaurants as breaks from riding circles around a park. Many people looked like they had fun. As for myself, I got on the bike, alone, and had to face a window framing a beautiful, blue [...]
Comment by John H. | 05.26.2009 | 4:06 pm
Very nice! I think next year we should all make a pilgrimage to London and get like 3,000 fat cyclists riding around Regent Park! Or not. Nice work lads!
Pingback by The 2nd Annual 100 Miles of Nowhere Race | 06.4.2009 | 1:02 am
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