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I loved the variety of routes used.

Leicester Square -> King's Cross St Pancras -> Sloane Square -> Victoria -> Oxford Circus -> Queensway -> Lancaster Gate -> Paddington (run) -> Earl's Court -> Piccadilly Circus -> Charing Cross -> Edgware Road -> Edgware Road (run) -> Euston Square -> Warren Street (run)-> Tottenham Court Road -> Bank

Lots of short waits all added up. Didn't like the idea of doubling back Paddington from Bayswater as the waits on that section of the line can be horrific (in challenge terms). If the waits had been short I reckon it'd have been quicker to go that way. But there's no way of knowing.

I watched trains depart at a good few stations and while no waits were as long as 3 minutes there were a good number of two minutes. I chose a change heavy route instead of long doublebacks. Not sure I got the balance between the two quite right as I was a way behind Peter in first place & Clive in second.

Only just realised there was no need for me to go to Padd (HCL) at all! Might (or might not) have saved myself a few minutes if I hadn't!

Almost certainly my first attempt at the Bottle earlier this year (which is currently the all-time third best) would have been better had I changed to the Bakerloo at Edgware Road rather than running the length of Paddington - maybe enough for second place at any rate.

Guess what I'll be doing when the Bakerloo reopens...

The TOSA here with the results of the 2016 Tube Olympics Bottle Challenge held on Friday 8th July.

The start station was Leicester Square- 6 challengers attended this challenge, all of which did the challenge solo.

6th: Kevin Brown: 02:28:12 at Cannon Street
5th: Richard Standing: 02:24:29 at Aldgate
4th: Tangy: 02:16:54 at Queensway
3rd: Andrew Chilcraft: 02:14:15 at Bank
2nd: Clive Burgess: 02:09:16 at Queensway
1st: Peter Smyth: 02:06:50 at Bank

Well done to Clive Burgess for his second silver medal, Andrew Chilcraft taking bronze (to add to his gold) and Peter for his first medal of the 2016 Olympics.

Event 3 in the 2016 Tube Olympics is on Wednesday 13th July and will be a Zone 1 Challenge starting at Hyde Park Corner (see separate conversation). Hope to see you there.

Tangy
the TOSA.

tangy wrote:
Event 3 in the 2016 Tube Olympics is on Wednesday 13th July and will be a Zone 1 Challenge starting at Notting Hill Gate. Hope to see you there.

Tangy
the TOSA.

NHG is the R15, HPK is the start for Zone 1

Bet you loads of people will double back to Bayswater and then finish in the Paddington/Edgware Road area!

Tube Geek wrote:Bet you loads of people will double back to Bayswater and then finish in the Paddington/Edgware Road area!

NHG is NOT the start station.....

Going Underground wrote:

Tube Geek wrote:Bet you loads of people will double back to Bayswater and then finish in the Paddington/Edgware Road area!

NHG is NOT the start station.....

Knightsbridge then. Can't say the end points now, though

Another Olympic day, another Central line delay. The good thing about the Bottle is that if you get your route right you can sit on the Circle Line for 45 mins reading the Evening Standard. And that is exactly what I was planning to do.

The Leicester Square start saw two opt for the Piccadilly and four head southbound on the Northern to Charing Cross. After a swift turn back, Peter, Kevin and myself went our separate ways at Warren Street. For me it was a short run to Euston Square, tube to Great Portland Street, another short run to Regents Park and Bakerloo to Edgware Road. From there I could relax on the Circle. That only left the stations inside the Bottle to tick off. All was going well until five stops from the end, when my Central Line train was held at Chancery Lane for a frustrating 6 mins, due to a passenger incident. And that meant I had to settle for silver again.

My Bottle report:

Started south on the Northern line to Charing X, got my door position well wrong for the long corridor run to the Bakerloo line but no train missed. Up to Edgware Road Bakerloo and run across to Edgware Road Circle. Upon arrival on the concourse the first HSK train was indicated as Circle line on platform 2, so hurried and got on, 30 seconds later the train pulled away. Lovely!

I then stayed on this Circle line train (anti-clockwise) right round to Great Portland Street. Nice one minute double back to Euston Square then ran across to Warren Street. One stop on the Northern line to Goodge Street. Bailed at Goodge Street for the run to Russell Square, however I haven't done this in a while I thus was a bit rusty and initially ran down the wrong road! I had to stop and think what way to turn at the university buildings and even got that wrong... very unlike me!!!

This I believe cost me a train, as I reached the platform at Russell Square with 3 minutes on the board (turned out to be about 5) down to Covent Garden and double back to Holborn. Onto a waiting Central line train eastwards to Bank. At Bank I headed back west, my plan was to do the whole westbound Central line (to Queensway) in one hit but upon stopping at Oxford Circus the driver came over the tannoy saying we would be held due to an incident at Marble Arch.

As soon as I heard that, I bailed off the train like a rocket and headed to Knightsbridge via Green Park then doubled back to Green Park and up to Bond Street. Transferring back to the Central, whatever had happened cleared up with a westbound train approaching, to finish at Queensway.

My initial plan was to head to Queensway first, double back to Bond Street, then down to Green Park to finish at Knightsbridge.

Tangy.