Random 15 Challenge - Round 1 - 11th July 2009

[Dr Who]

Can't come now as I start a new job tomrrow, will try and get along for some darts at the pub thought!

[Going Underground]

Can't come now as I start a new job tomrrow, will try and get along for some darts at the pub thought!

Hey good news(on the job not the R15) well done

[al]

I will be slightly sleep deprived but will be attending, all being well

[tubeguru]

I will be driving to the Lake District tomorrow and will be away all week.

[tangy]

Due to other circumstances that have arisen during the week I can no longer get to the start station in time for the start, I will most likely join you afterwards in the usual pub.

[RichieG]

I should also be able to attend this event... short notice I know but hey ho...

[Edgemaster]

Good event today, very close challenge, I'll leave it to the BERC to reveal more...

[Soup Dragon]

Indeed this was a very interesting challenge, we had 10 competitors in 5 teams. After a bit of a nip and tuck start most of the teams bunched together and tried to work out ways of breaking away from the pack towards the end of the challenge. The stations drawn were:
Queensway, Embankment, Elverson Rd., Maida Vale, Lewisham, Mile End, Kennington, Chalk Farm, Fulham Broadway, St Jame's Park, Leicester Sq., Bayswater, Paddington (H&C), Royal Oak, Westminster.

All teams finished at Lewisham in the times listed below (J) indicates Joker played:

1. 3:17:14 Al Brown (J) and Antony Brown
1. 3:17:14 Tom Wood (J) and Phil Young (J)
1. 3:17:14 Steve Karahan (J)
4. 3:23:45 Kevin Brown, Ryan Brown & Matt Scrivin
5. 3:28:25 Hassan Chagani & Richie Graham

So the points table looks like this....

1. 20pts Al Brown, Steve Karahan, Tom Wood & Phil Young
5. 10pts Antony Brown
6. 5pts Kevin Brown, Ryan Brown & Matt Scrivin
9. 4pts Hassan Chagani & Richie Graham

[Edgemaster]

The details of mine and Phil Young's route is over on my blog.

Or, if you can't be bothered to read all the text, a map:


The first four places were together for the middle section of the route until Moorgate, where Al, Antony and Steven decided to get the train to Liverpool Street, and myself and Phil went for a run there, Matt, Kevin and Ryan opted for a Bank interchange.
Those that went to Liverpool St did pull ahead, all arriving on the same train (the runners 30s before the riders). We all then took different routes to the DLR all managing to catch the same train from 3 different stations.

[joy54]

My route consisted of the following:

Queensway
Central to Lancaster Gate (With Kevin, Matt and Ryan)
Central to Queensway (With Kevin, Matt and Ryan)
Run to Bayswater (With Kevin, Matt and Ryan)
Circle to Paddington (With Kevin, Matt and Ryan)
Bakerloo to Maida Vale
Bakerloo to Warwick Avenue
Run to Royal Oak (Met Anthony and Al half way heading in the opposite direction)
Hammersmith & City to Edgware Road
Circle to High Street Kensington (Met Anthony and Al again at HSK)
District to Fulham Broadway (With Kevin, Matt, Ryan, Anthony, Al, Tom and Phil)
District to Earls Court (With Kevin, Matt, Ryan, Anthony, Al, Tom and Phil)
Piccadilly to South Kensington
District to Embankment (With Kevin, Matt, Ryan, Anthony and Al)
Northern to Kennington (With Kevin, Matt, Ryan, Anthony, Al, Tom and Phil)
Northern to Chalk Farm (With Kevin, Matt, Ryan, Anthony, Al, Tom and Phil)
Northern to Moorgate (With Kevin, Matt, Ryan, Anthony, Al, Tom and Phil)
Hammersmith & City to Liverpool Street (With Anthony and Al)
Central to Mile End (With Anthony, Al, Tom and Phil)
323 Bus to Devons Road
DLR to Lewisham (With Tom and Phil and then Anthony and Al from West India Quay)

[Edgemaster]

District to Embankment (With Kevin, Matt, Ryan, Anthony, Al, Tom and Phil)

Myself and Phil were not on this train, due to a cock-up at Earl's Court we stayed on the District line train, and caught the next circle towards City at HSK. We caught up with everyone on the Northern platform at Embankment though.

[joy54]

District to Embankment (With Kevin, Matt, Ryan, Anthony, Al, Tom and Phil)

Myself and Phil were not on this train, due to a cock-up at Earl's Court we stayed on the District line train, and caught the next circle towards City at HSK. We caught up with everyone on the Northern platform at Embankment though.

Ah ok, edited now!

[mps247]

Before I give a report on our route, I just wanted to apologise for my late arrival. I think I will aim to be at the meeting point half-an-hour early in future to prevent repeating this. I hope I didn't cause anybody any problems. Thanks for waiting!

Richie and I started out separately, but met up at Paddington (Bakerloo), where we found out that we had very similar routes and hence decided to team-up. We left Queensway (0:00:00) on a Westbound Central line service with Al and Antony. Al and Antony got out at Notting Hill Gate, Richie stayed in his seat, and I was torn between whom to follow. I ended up following Al and Antony, leaving Richie. Richie had a change of heart at Holland Park and caught a train back to Notting Hill Gate. This didn't cost him any time as we both took the same Clockwise Circle line train (albeit in different carriages) to Paddington (Bakerloo), passing through Bayswater (0:13:51) - just goes to show how much quicker it is to walk between Queensway and Bayswater! I saw a famliar figure in front of me as I made my way to the Bakerloo platforms - it was Richie, and as we started discussing our thoughts, we decided to team-up.

We took the Westbound Bakerloo line to Maida Vale (0:22:25), returned to Paddington (Bakerloo) and ran to Paddington (Hammersmith & City) (0:37:55), where we caught a Westbound Hammersmith & City line to Hammersmith (Hammersmith & City), passing through Royal Oak (0:38:56). It was at Royal Oak where we saw Kevin, Ryan and Matt, who must have run from Warwick Avenue and were waiting for the Eastbound service.

I suggested that catching the bus from Hammersmith to Fulham Broadway would be better than having to change at Earl's Court. This was a decision that cost us dearly, as we waited for at least 15 minutes for the No. 295. We left Fulham Boradway (1:26:46) on an Edgware Road service, changed at Earl's Court, and took an Eastbound District line train through St. James's Park (1:40:26) and Westminster (1:42:13) to Embankment (1:43:53).

Here we changed onto a Southbound Northern line service to Kennington (1:55:59). We toyed with the idea of staying on the same train as it went round the Kennington loop, but decided to run to the other platform instead, where we got lucky as an Edgware service was waiting to take us North! We talk it via Leicester Square (2:04:33) to Chalk Farm (2:16:42). A turn-around at Chalk Farm for a service back to Camden Town, where we changed for a City service. We debated whether to change at King's Cross St. Pancras or Moorgate. We settled on Moorgate, as it was an easier interchange, and if worst came to worst, we could run between Moorgate and Liverpool Street.

We didn't have to run, as we comfortably made an Eastbound Hammersmith & City line service to Liverpool Street, where we changed onto an Eastbound Central line train to Mile End (2:47:33). We ran out of the station, across the road, and waited at the bus stop. We were in luck - we caught the rail replacement service to Bow Road almost immediately! After a brisk walk to Bow Church, we ended up on the DLR and passed through Elverson Road (3:26:30) to Lewisham (3:28:25).

I think we could have got a much better time had we taken the train to Fulham Broadway from Hammersmith. It was my idea to take the bus, so my apologies to Richie about that. On the last R15, I used the same route to connect Hammersmith with East Putney. However, the FA cup final meant there were a lot of Chelsea fans in that area, and traffic was heavy. I thought traffic would be much better today, but it wasn't - probably due to the single-lane roads between Hammersmith and Fulham. I think it is time to give up trying to make this route work and take the train in future!

It occurred to me at some point during our journey that one of the teams may try to finish in Elverson Road instead, taking the Southeastern service from Cannon Street to Lewisham. Having said that, the drawing of Mile End must have put everybody off. I wonder if things would have been different had London Bridge, or any zone 1 District line stations East of Embankment, been drawn instead of Mile End.

[joy54]

Richie and I started out separately, but met up at Paddington (Bakerloo), where we found out that we had very similar routes and hence decided to team-up. We left Queensway (0:00:00) on a Westbound Central line service with Al and Antony. Al and Antony got out at Notting Hill Gate, Richie stayed in his seat, and I was torn between whom to follow. I ended up following Al and Antony, leaving Richie. Richie had a change of heart at Holland Park and caught a train back to Notting Hill Gate. This didn't cost him any time as we both took the same Clockwise Circle line train (albeit in different carriages) to Paddington (Bakerloo), passing through Bayswater (0:13:51) - just goes to show how much quicker it is to walk between Queensway and Bayswater! I saw a famliar figure in front of me as I made my way to the Bakerloo platforms - it was Richie, and as we started discussing our thoughts, we decided to team-up.

We took the Westbound Bakerloo line to Maida Vale (0:22:25), returned to Paddington (Bakerloo) and ran to Paddington (Hammersmith & City) (0:37:55), where we caught a Westbound Hammersmith & City line to Hammersmith (Hammersmith & City), passing through Royal Oak (0:38:56). It was at Royal Oak where we saw Kevin, Ryan and Matt, who must have run from Warwick Avenue and were waiting for the Eastbound service.

I think You, Richie, Al and Antony must have been on the same Circle Line train as Me, Kevin, Ryan, which we boarded at Bayswater after doubling back and running from Queensway. But then you did the same as me at Paddington going to the Bakerloo, but I didn't see you catch the train, did you just miss one, as I sprinted and only just caught one?

[mps247]

Richie and I started out separately, but met up at Paddington (Bakerloo), where we found out that we had very similar routes and hence decided to team-up. We left Queensway (0:00:00) on a Westbound Central line service with Al and Antony. Al and Antony got out at Notting Hill Gate, Richie stayed in his seat, and I was torn between whom to follow. I ended up following Al and Antony, leaving Richie. Richie had a change of heart at Holland Park and caught a train back to Notting Hill Gate. This didn't cost him any time as we both took the same Clockwise Circle line train (albeit in different carriages) to Paddington (Bakerloo), passing through Bayswater (0:13:51) - just goes to show how much quicker it is to walk between Queensway and Bayswater! I saw a famliar figure in front of me as I made my way to the Bakerloo platforms - it was Richie, and as we started discussing our thoughts, we decided to team-up.

We took the Westbound Bakerloo line to Maida Vale (0:22:25), returned to Paddington (Bakerloo) and ran to Paddington (Hammersmith & City) (0:37:55), where we caught a Westbound Hammersmith & City line to Hammersmith (Hammersmith & City), passing through Royal Oak (0:38:56). It was at Royal Oak where we saw Kevin, Ryan and Matt, who must have run from Warwick Avenue and were waiting for the Eastbound service.

I think You, Richie, Al and Antony must have been on the same Circle Line train as Me, Kevin, Ryan, which we boarded at Bayswater after doubling back and running from Queensway. But then you did the same as me at Paddington going to the Bakerloo, but I didn't see you catch the train, did you just miss one, as I sprinted and only just caught one?

Yes, I must have, as I was completely out of place for the interchange onto the Bakerloo line! I had a sea of people in front of me, and when they cleared, I noticed Richie heading towards the escalators. I'm pretty sure we caught the next one as it pulled into the platform as we got there.

We also had a beautiful cross-platform interchange to get us back to Paddington (Bakerloo). How long were you waiting at Maida Vale? We might have caught up with you.