Another Z1 challenge...

[Going Underground]

Hey Pete, I am saving my best team name for Z1 2007, not that I have one yet, but 11 months thinking time to go

Yeah please mail me the zip file of spider maps I will scrounge anything I can get my hands on, cheers

And Soup Dragon, thanks for building me up for the sub 3 hours today
Also looks like momentum is gathering for your Z1 - Z2 day

[Soup Dragon]

Sorry to build you up G.U. but I really thought that cunning route had sub 3 hours written all over it. Shame I couldn't have joined you as I reckon you needed pushing a bit harder on the runs between connections
I guess doing the Z1 in sub 3 hours is like trying to run a sub 4 minute mile. Of course I'm sure ******** could achieve both of these tasks quite easily
I would love to do the Z1/2 challenge but we are short staffed at work until at least 9th June, however, I will try and get along to Shoreditch in the evening.

[CrunchySaviour]

I honestly thought we (Chelle and I) would have been beaten by a fair few minutes.

Our route involved leaving Vauxhall station, finding out that Pre Pay doesn't work between there and Waterloo, wondering what to do and then going back down into the Tube and having to double back all the way round to Waterloo via Victoria and Westminster. I reckon we lost 6 minutes or so doing that.

The first part of our route was the worst bit, involving lots of overground runs, which was tiring, but we decided not to d the Russell Square/Goodge St run right at the end, because we couldn't be bothered, so we changed the route to avoid it, and luckily waiting for 2 more trains proved faster than running between the stations would have been - probably!

We finished at Earls Court; our worst changes were Paddington D&C to Paddington H&C (5 minute wait) and a 3 minute wait at Aldgate. ALL the other changes were sub-2 minutes. Most of them were either "walk on" or "train now approaching". It doesn't get any better than that. As far as super-3-hour times go.

Edit: Chelle and I both really enjoyed it. It was lots of fun. Chelle especially enjoyed dodging people at full speed. I especially did not enjoy having to ask EVERYONE to get out of the way!

[tpfkar]

Well done Anthony and Chelle!

I don't think sub 3 hours is impossible for Z1 - but pretty tough for a Lancaster Gate start. Especially considering what happened at Vauxhall, your time was amazing!

had a tough run myself, several annoying connections just missing the previous train, as well as not thinking ahead, so drinking nothing before coming out in jeans and a leather jacket. I also took the first runs too hard, so was exhausted by the end and took a long time to recover afterwards.

But now have a bike again!

[Mrs. Dustmask]

Hellooo!

I did enjoy the challenge very much after a reluctant beginning... I was a bit worried about running so much and slowing Ant down, as I haven't been running for a while and am most probably a tad unfit after being a bit of a couch potatoe at Uni the past few weeks...

Alas, the running was tough! We did about 4 tough inter runs right at the beginning, but just as I was about to die... the nice intra stations began! I enjoyed these as I like dodging people!

I was much amused by two incidents on the journey... At one point, Ant had to shout to people on the escalators to "Stand on the right, please" to which a disgruntled chav replied "whaaaaaa?" in a very "I'm thick" and/or "I don't understand English" manner...by which time we had scarpered anyway... Not long after, we were on a train and I couldn't help but stare at this guy dozing, holding onto a bunch of flowers and proceeding to suck/chew the paper casing like it was comforting... dear me...

Thanks, Ric, for the congrats. I must say I was disappointed at not getting sub-3 hours time, as its likely to be the only time I do a zone 1, so it was a big surprise to find out we had won!

Whats this about a bike? A bicycle or a motorbike? I like motorbikes

P.S Thanks for the name Zeibura

[tc]

Sounds like everyone had a good day, I couldn't make it anyway as I had come down with a nice stomach bug.

[zeibura]

Also, would anyone be interested in a zip file containing all of the spider maps downloaded from the TfL website for your perusal?

yes! that would definitely be of some help for a z1+2 challenge.

I don't think sub 3 hours is impossible for Z1

well you wouldn't, would you..... no no, sub 3 hours is definitely not impossible, although it's becoming more so with all these restrictions and station closures. with queensway closed and a lancaster gate start i thought 3 hours was bloody impressive.

P.S Thanks for the name Zeibura

hah no probs...

[tubeguru]

Mrs Dustmask ... ?

Good God, there's more of them!

[Adham]

Lancaster Gate?

Now THAT is what I call a starting station.

[TheFatBuoy]

Hey Pete, I am saving my best team name for Z1 2007, not that I have one yet, but 11 months thinking time to go

Yeah please mail me the zip file of spider maps I will scrounge anything I can get my hands on, cheers

Well I'll upload it to some form of web-based site. I'm not mailing a file that big - upload speeds are fairly shite....

[TheFatBuoy]

Lancaster Gate?

Now THAT is what I call a starting station.

Can I just suggest a new online game we can all play? It's a bit like Mornington Crescent, but it's not. It's called Zone 1 (sometimes with two). Catchy, I know.

Basically, someone starts a thread by naming a challenge and a starting station (i.e. Zone 1, Lancaster Gate), and people respond with a route. It must be their own, and not based on or copied from any replies already posted, so it involves a bit of trust, but it's just for fun anyway, so no real merit in "cheating".

Then the person with the best route can get told how great they are.

Part of the "game" could include an estimated time based on journey planner, using the entrant's own knowledge of station layouts and their own physical abilities to accurately judge the time taken changing or doing road runs.

Actually, thinking about it, it could be called "Rate my Route"

Basically this stems from me not going to this "Zone 1 round 2", but working out a route for it. Can someone tell me if they think this is shite or any good?

Here goes:

Lancaster Gate
Notting Hill Gate
Bayswater
Earls Court
Kings Cross
Aldgate
(walk)
Aldgate East
Sloane Square
Victoria
Vauxhall
(BR)
Waterloo
London Bridge
Elephant + Castle
Paddington
(walk to H+C)
Euston Square
(walk)
Warren Street
Goodge Street
Euston
Bank
Marble Arch

[tubeguru]

You've been using your brain again, haven't you?

[TheFatBuoy]

You've been using your brain again, haven't you?

<blushes>

Yeah, you got me!

Also - out of interest - am I right in thinking that the walk at Euston from Northbound Charing Cross branch to Southbound City branch is quite a simple cross-platform affair? On Z1 day, ISTR that there was something like that going on there, which I wasn't expecting to be honest.

[CrunchySaviour]

I don't know if I could have saved any ime in that case by not following the signs, but if I'm right, you're completely wrong; you have to go up stairs, along a corridor and down an escalator.

[TheFatBuoy]

I don't know if I could have saved any ime in that case by not following the signs, but if I'm right, you're completely wrong; you have to go up stairs, along a corridor and down an escalator.

Ah right, ok. All I remember from Z1 day is that one of my (crap) plans had involved going from Kings Cross to Euston on the City branch of the Northern Line, then a quick double back and down to Bank, and on our route (which I won't give away, as 9th place [2] is quite desirable [1]) I noticed that the Northbound and Southbound City branch platforms were *not* directly next to each other. I can't remember what was though.

[1] Actually the reason I won't give it away is because it's not *that* good, and probably a waste of pixels. As is this footnote.
[2] Or whatever it was