Brit Butt Light Rally
Brit Butt Light Rally 2014
This was my first experience of the Brit Butt Light rally. As the name suggests, it is similar in format to the Brit Butt rally, but “only” 12 hours long as opposed to 36. Of course, this means that any errors during the rally are almost impossible to compensate for, a fact I found out to my cost.
As usual, I took a long road down to my hotel for the weekend, in Newcastle under Lyme (about 5 minutes away from the rally start point). I took in several more Round Britain Rally (RBR) locations as well as a few Brit Butt Tour (BBT) ones.
I’d decide to amend my planning technique after the Brit Butt rally. Previously I was scheduling in 5 minutes for every checkpoint and 10 minutes for every fuel stop…which of course meant that I had to determine where I was stopping for fuel. This didn’t make for a very flexible route, so I decided to amend it to a flat 5 minutes stop every hour, and I would fuel up whenever I needed to, hopefully not running out at any point. This weekend would be a good test run to see if I needed to tweak this any.
I set off at 7:31 and the first couple of BBT locations (Kielder Column and Kilhope Cross) where soon under my belt. I’d visited both of these during the Brit Butt rally so I knew what to expect. I was also making good time, at 20 minutes ahead of schedule, so decided
that I could afford to grab a sandwich and stop at the next few locations for a couple of minutes to grab a quick bite.
This was my first experience of the Brit Butt Light rally. As the name suggests, it is similar in format to the Brit Butt rally, but “only” 12 hours long as opposed to 36. Of course, this means that any errors during the rally are almost impossible to compensate for, a fact I found out to my cost.
As usual, I took a long road down to my hotel for the weekend, in Newcastle under Lyme (about 5 minutes away from the rally start point). I took in several more Round Britain Rally (RBR) locations as well as a few Brit Butt Tour (BBT) ones.
I’d decide to amend my planning technique after the Brit Butt rally. Previously I was scheduling in 5 minutes for every checkpoint and 10 minutes for every fuel stop…which of course meant that I had to determine where I was stopping for fuel. This didn’t make for a very flexible route, so I decided to amend it to a flat 5 minutes stop every hour, and I would fuel up whenever I needed to, hopefully not running out at any point. This weekend would be a good test run to see if I needed to tweak this any.
I set off at 7:31 and the first couple of BBT locations (Kielder Column and Kilhope Cross) where soon under my belt. I’d visited both of these during the Brit Butt rally so I knew what to expect. I was also making good time, at 20 minutes ahead of schedule, so decided
that I could afford to grab a sandwich and stop at the next few locations for a couple of minutes to grab a quick bite.
The next two stops were RBR ones and by the second, I was 2 minutes behind schedule, so it just goes to show how a few minutes can make all the difference. Noted for future plans. The next BBT one (Halifax Bomber Memorial) was slightly unusual. It was in the middle of nowhere, in keeping with the rally theme from last year, but what was unusual was that, as I was heading down smaller and smaller lanes, the memorial was clearly signposted for me, which was reassuring.
The next up was a RBR location, then it was on to my final stop for today, a BBT location at the Dovedale Stepping Stones. A few riders had problems with during the rally last year, mostly because you had to get a photo of yourself actually on the stones, which either meant waiting in a queue to get on, or falling in in some cases. However, for me, the problems were only in timing.
First of all the car park attendant decided he wanted to have a long chat, asking about what the rally was all about, telling me about all the riders he’d seen on last year’s rally, then, obviously picking up on my accent, moving on to the independence referendum. I was happy to stand and chat since I wasn’t really on the clock. I don’t know if I would have been quite so polite during the rally. Secondly, it was now a really warm day and the half mile walk to the stones, in full gear, was just a tad uncomfortable…and I still had to come back.
All in all, that stop meant that, whilst I arrived at Dovedale only 5 minutes behind schedule, I arrived at the hotel 22 minutes behind schedule. The new planning seems to have worked OK though . I would find out more tomorrow.
First of all the car park attendant decided he wanted to have a long chat, asking about what the rally was all about, telling me about all the riders he’d seen on last year’s rally, then, obviously picking up on my accent, moving on to the independence referendum. I was happy to stand and chat since I wasn’t really on the clock. I don’t know if I would have been quite so polite during the rally. Secondly, it was now a really warm day and the half mile walk to the stones, in full gear, was just a tad uncomfortable…and I still had to come back.
All in all, that stop meant that, whilst I arrived at Dovedale only 5 minutes behind schedule, I arrived at the hotel 22 minutes behind schedule. The new planning seems to have worked OK though . I would find out more tomorrow.
Rally
One of the main differences between the light version of the Brit Butt rally and its “big brother” is that you get the locations a week in advance. That meant that I already had my route planned, with several back up options. It would seem that the forecast for Saturday was for thunderstorms developing in the south and moving north during the afternoon. My first choice of route took me down to
London, West for a bit, then back up. I decided to stick with this one, hoping that I would get to London before the storms developed, then running ahead of them on the way back to the finish.
The morning of the rally saw a steady downpour on the way to the start, and everyone was nicely damp before we’d even started and
even had a loud clap of thunder during the riders meeting for effect. There were a couple of additional twists to the rally, that were
announced at the riders meeting. First was a text in bonus (50 points) that you could get between 13:00 – 13:15 by texting your rider number, current location and where you were heading. The second was a compulsory bonus location, but that was already on my route as the second stop , so no problems there. You also had the option of bringing back a suitably titled bottle of beer (with receipt) for 200
points. The theme of the rally was space, so anything space related would do. You got double points if you bought it from the brewery itself.
So I set off at 8:05 (already 5 minutes behind!) and off to my first stop at the Keele Observatory. I had taken a quick look at this on Google maps the night before and had identified the right road to take to get there (it was on a University campus). On arrival, I
found out that the last part of the road was actually a footpath, but you had to get your bike in the photo, so off I went.
One of the main differences between the light version of the Brit Butt rally and its “big brother” is that you get the locations a week in advance. That meant that I already had my route planned, with several back up options. It would seem that the forecast for Saturday was for thunderstorms developing in the south and moving north during the afternoon. My first choice of route took me down to
London, West for a bit, then back up. I decided to stick with this one, hoping that I would get to London before the storms developed, then running ahead of them on the way back to the finish.
The morning of the rally saw a steady downpour on the way to the start, and everyone was nicely damp before we’d even started and
even had a loud clap of thunder during the riders meeting for effect. There were a couple of additional twists to the rally, that were
announced at the riders meeting. First was a text in bonus (50 points) that you could get between 13:00 – 13:15 by texting your rider number, current location and where you were heading. The second was a compulsory bonus location, but that was already on my route as the second stop , so no problems there. You also had the option of bringing back a suitably titled bottle of beer (with receipt) for 200
points. The theme of the rally was space, so anything space related would do. You got double points if you bought it from the brewery itself.
So I set off at 8:05 (already 5 minutes behind!) and off to my first stop at the Keele Observatory. I had taken a quick look at this on Google maps the night before and had identified the right road to take to get there (it was on a University campus). On arrival, I
found out that the last part of the road was actually a footpath, but you had to get your bike in the photo, so off I went.
Second up was the mandatory bonus at the Man In Space pub. I met with John Young, the only time during the whole rally I was at a bonus at the same time as someone else, then it was off to my next bonus, at the William Herschel Telescope. William Herschel (1738 – 1822) was a British astronomer. He became famous for his discovery of the planet Uranus. In 2012 the BBC Stargazing Live programme
built a replica of his telescope, which stands on the campus of Derby University. It was a timed bonus (8:00 – 17:00) but I was well within the window. It was still raining, so I was concentrating on keeping the rally book as dry as possible, and duly took my picture, packed everything away and moved off. This would cause me problems later on.
built a replica of his telescope, which stands on the campus of Derby University. It was a timed bonus (8:00 – 17:00) but I was well within the window. It was still raining, so I was concentrating on keeping the rally book as dry as possible, and duly took my picture, packed everything away and moved off. This would cause me problems later on.
My next stop was also a timed bonus, but it wasn’t available until 10:00 and I was scheduled to get there at 9:50. I decided that, rather than hang about, I would make a fuel stop now, and hopefully not need one of the ones towards the end.
So at 10:03, I got my picture at the National Space Centre. Established in June 2001, the NSC is dedicated to educating the public on all things “space”, having hosted a number of prominent astronauts. After getting my photo of the astronaut statue at the main entrance,
I headed off to my next stop at the Red Arrow pub. The pub was formerly called“The Flying Saucer” for its unusual shape, and has also been described as a Star Destroyer from the Star Wars films. (Check out Google maps satelliteview of the junction of Woodway Rd and Coventry Rd in Lutterworth to see what I mean…). I left there only 5 minutes behind schedule so it was looking good so far.
So at 10:03, I got my picture at the National Space Centre. Established in June 2001, the NSC is dedicated to educating the public on all things “space”, having hosted a number of prominent astronauts. After getting my photo of the astronaut statue at the main entrance,
I headed off to my next stop at the Red Arrow pub. The pub was formerly called“The Flying Saucer” for its unusual shape, and has also been described as a Star Destroyer from the Star Wars films. (Check out Google maps satelliteview of the junction of Woodway Rd and Coventry Rd in Lutterworth to see what I mean…). I left there only 5 minutes behind schedule so it was looking good so far.
The up was Reaction Engines. Based at the Culham Science Centre, Reaction Engines Ltd has made a breakthrough in aerospace technology that is now allowing the development of engines that will propel aircraft at speeds of up to five times the speed of
sound or directly into Earth orbit. We simply had to take a photograph of the sign, whcih was just as well as they were on heightened alert and got a bit twitchy with bikers stopping and taking photos...I can't think why?
sound or directly into Earth orbit. We simply had to take a photograph of the sign, whcih was just as well as they were on heightened alert and got a bit twitchy with bikers stopping and taking photos...I can't think why?
Next up was the Whistle Stop Café in the Wescott Venture Park. The sat nav co-ordinates took me to a closed wooden gate, but after heading through to the other end of the village, I found the new entrance and duly photographed the café.
The next stop on my plan was listed as No 9 on my crib sheet in the clear pocket of my tank bag. In fact all of the stops were just
written down as numbers, but the reason for mentioning this one in particular will become clear at the end of the report…have patience.
As I approached the location, I spotted the street sign for Jupiter Drive, pulled up and took the photo, then it was off to Pinewood Studios, which is where I made my first mistake that cost me time. As I came off the M40 onto the roundabout, the sat nav said take the 6th exit…but I lost count, glanced at the screen, and followed the arrow…to the 7th exit which promptly took me back onto the M40. It was another 5 miles before I could come off. So I decided to top up with fuel anyway since there was a service station right at the exit, then head back along the M40 and come off at the 6th exit this time. I finally arrived at the studio gates and took my photo. That little mistake had just cost me 25 minutes in total (although I had topped up my tank)! I did think about missing out the next location, but it was my highest scoring one, so I decided to keep with it and see if I could steal back a few minutes on the way.
It got worse.
written down as numbers, but the reason for mentioning this one in particular will become clear at the end of the report…have patience.
As I approached the location, I spotted the street sign for Jupiter Drive, pulled up and took the photo, then it was off to Pinewood Studios, which is where I made my first mistake that cost me time. As I came off the M40 onto the roundabout, the sat nav said take the 6th exit…but I lost count, glanced at the screen, and followed the arrow…to the 7th exit which promptly took me back onto the M40. It was another 5 miles before I could come off. So I decided to top up with fuel anyway since there was a service station right at the exit, then head back along the M40 and come off at the 6th exit this time. I finally arrived at the studio gates and took my photo. That little mistake had just cost me 25 minutes in total (although I had topped up my tank)! I did think about missing out the next location, but it was my highest scoring one, so I decided to keep with it and see if I could steal back a few minutes on the way.
It got worse.
Next up was the dreaded M25. Coming from Edinburgh, it’s not a road I travel very often, so I had no idea what to expect. Crawling (or filtering) along at 30-40 mph in 70+ degrees heat was not my idea of fun. After finally getting off the M25 and getting to the next checkpoint, at Surrey Satellite Technology. The M25 had cost me another 18 minutes, meaning that I was now 52 minutes behind schedule. I only had three more planned stops, so not a lot of wriggle room.
What I've been doing lately is, once I’ve got a route planned and a time calculated in Autoroute, I take out each stop in turn and recalculate, which gives me an idea of how much time I can save by missing out a stop. Before starting I was anticipating that I would probably have to drop one of my checkpoints (the last one was the most likely as it would save me 17 minutes and was relatively low scoring), but I now had to take out another one and, given how far behind I was, it could only be the one worth 1560 points which would get me 28 minutes back. I’d still have to make up some time, but it would now be all motorway after my final stop, which was Polaris House in Swindon. I arrived there no problem, but then proceeded to go round in circles looking for the sign that was in the rally book. Eventually, I gave up looking and decided to take a photo of a sign that showed Polaris House Campus and hope that I could convince the scorers that it was at least in the vicinity. I was now 13 minutes behind schedule and with 2 minutes to spare, so I had to make up 11 minutes. I had 100 miles of almost total motorway to do it in, so I thought I’d be fine.
I pulled into the finishing line 4 minutes ahead of schedule and after logging my final mileage (there was a 600 mile maximum), I went inside to write up my claim sheet and head for scoring. In my three Brit Butt rallies, I’d been fortunate at the scoring table and hadn’t lost any points…not so today. My first problem came at the third stop, the William Herschel Telescope. Remember that I was making sure that my paperwork stayed dry? Well I should have read it as well, because I was supposed to be in this photo as well. That was 371 points down the drain. There was then a bit of confusion over my 7th stop. This was my No 9 on the sheet. I had the photo of Jupiter
drive, but No. 9 was actually Uranus Road. Obviously, I’d written the wrong number down, but since I had a photo with the Jupiter Drive
sign the scorers were in a good mood and gave me the points (there’s more on this later). My final stop passed scrutiny as well as, more by luck than anything else, I had actually taken a photo of the right location, they’d just changed the sign.
Time for the results. I came in 8th (from 14) and was happy enough with that, although I thought that I had just over 10,000 points, not the 9111 that was announced. Either way, it wouldn’t have made a difference to my position so no worries. My planned route would have only been good enough for 4thplace but then again others would have been in the same position I’m sure.
Congratulations to Robert Koeber for the win and to Michiel Kerkhof and John Young for 2nd and 3rd respectively, all experienced riders.
All very close on points, with the only difference being that John didn’t buy a bottle of beer (worth 200 points) and although Michiel did, he forgot to get a receipt so only got half points. Robert got the beer and a receipt and won by 46 points.
Huge thanks to Rick and the other volunteers for running another enjoyable rally and I look forward to taking part next year.
PS: Back to that location No 9 (sounds more like Beatles song…). Once I got home, I was curious to see why my points estimate differed from my awarded points. It took a while but I finally realised what I’d done. I had written down No 9 on my sheet ,and that’s the location that was on my sat nav. Problem was, it was Uranus Road. I had approached the sat nav location, saw Jupiter Drive and pulled over to take my photo. Uranus Road was actually 100 yards further on. The Jupiter Drive checkpoint in the rally book was actually in Chester, I’d just managed to find one close to another checkpoint! Since it didn’t make any difference to the positions even if I’d scored
zero for that location, the rally master let the result stand.
I pulled into the finishing line 4 minutes ahead of schedule and after logging my final mileage (there was a 600 mile maximum), I went inside to write up my claim sheet and head for scoring. In my three Brit Butt rallies, I’d been fortunate at the scoring table and hadn’t lost any points…not so today. My first problem came at the third stop, the William Herschel Telescope. Remember that I was making sure that my paperwork stayed dry? Well I should have read it as well, because I was supposed to be in this photo as well. That was 371 points down the drain. There was then a bit of confusion over my 7th stop. This was my No 9 on the sheet. I had the photo of Jupiter
drive, but No. 9 was actually Uranus Road. Obviously, I’d written the wrong number down, but since I had a photo with the Jupiter Drive
sign the scorers were in a good mood and gave me the points (there’s more on this later). My final stop passed scrutiny as well as, more by luck than anything else, I had actually taken a photo of the right location, they’d just changed the sign.
Time for the results. I came in 8th (from 14) and was happy enough with that, although I thought that I had just over 10,000 points, not the 9111 that was announced. Either way, it wouldn’t have made a difference to my position so no worries. My planned route would have only been good enough for 4thplace but then again others would have been in the same position I’m sure.
Congratulations to Robert Koeber for the win and to Michiel Kerkhof and John Young for 2nd and 3rd respectively, all experienced riders.
All very close on points, with the only difference being that John didn’t buy a bottle of beer (worth 200 points) and although Michiel did, he forgot to get a receipt so only got half points. Robert got the beer and a receipt and won by 46 points.
Huge thanks to Rick and the other volunteers for running another enjoyable rally and I look forward to taking part next year.
PS: Back to that location No 9 (sounds more like Beatles song…). Once I got home, I was curious to see why my points estimate differed from my awarded points. It took a while but I finally realised what I’d done. I had written down No 9 on my sheet ,and that’s the location that was on my sat nav. Problem was, it was Uranus Road. I had approached the sat nav location, saw Jupiter Drive and pulled over to take my photo. Uranus Road was actually 100 yards further on. The Jupiter Drive checkpoint in the rally book was actually in Chester, I’d just managed to find one close to another checkpoint! Since it didn’t make any difference to the positions even if I’d scored
zero for that location, the rally master let the result stand.
Route Home
After a relaxing night and a few beers with those competitors staying in the same hotel, it was back up the road to Edinburgh, taking in some BBT and RBR locations as usual. I knew that I’d have problems sticking to my schedule today, as some of the locations were up and over the Wrynose and Hardknott passes, not exactly built for riding at a good pace! I was also planning to have a stop at the Filling Station Café in Keswick, somewhere I knew about but had never been. Well worth a stop if your ever in the vicinity.
After a relaxing night and a few beers with those competitors staying in the same hotel, it was back up the road to Edinburgh, taking in some BBT and RBR locations as usual. I knew that I’d have problems sticking to my schedule today, as some of the locations were up and over the Wrynose and Hardknott passes, not exactly built for riding at a good pace! I was also planning to have a stop at the Filling Station Café in Keswick, somewhere I knew about but had never been. Well worth a stop if your ever in the vicinity.