The Orange One wrote:I'm planning to attempt the Roads, Streets and Lanes on Saturday - taking advantage of a Tube service through Rayners Lane during the weekend, which there hardly ever is these days.
It's been over 4 months, and I've finally got round to an attempt at this!! Technically, two attempts, with the first one aborted around 8 minutes in.
I started at Bow Road, which looked to be the most badly connected station of the lot, where I hoped to throw in an NR train, which failed the first time round. 28-30 minutes later...
I started at
Bow Road AGAIN, this time crossing my fingers for a better time. The fastest way to Stratford from the Bow Road area is actually by DLR, but a tube visit was necessary for Bow Road, so a District Line train to Mile End and a Central Line (Hainault terminator, nothing interesting) to Stratford where I made the 0804 GA to Bishops Stortford (my interesting gambit). Off at Tottenham Hale and straight onto the Victoria Line. Sexy change across at
Blackhorse Road, down to Finsbury Park. Train pulling into the Piccadilly Northbound, and an easy reversal at
Turnpike Lane onto a packed Rayners Lane terminator. Through
Holloway Road and
Caledonian Road down to KCSP, and it was painful (apart from Finsbury Park where the Victoria Line eases things). Change for the Northern Line at KCSP, and a packed train that I wouldn't have been able to catch if I tried pulled out.
Wait 1 minute for the next one (that's Northern Line luxury - it's usually about 5). Through
Old Street to Bank, and the pain to plan for that is Cannon Street. I ran through to Monument, hopped on a Circle to
Cannon Street, and back to Bank. Central Line to
Liverpool Street, cross-platform and we're off to the newly reopened Central Line platforms, (which look exactly the same) at
Bond Street, via
Chancery Lane and
Tottenham Court Road. This week is the lucky week with the Bond Street interchange an available option, and the Jubilee Line platform direction signs were already covered up, but I followed them regardless. Down to Green Park, down the corridor which I'm pretty sure gets shorter every time I run it to the Piccadilly Line. South Kensington and I let an Ealing Broadway District train go because of different platforms at Gloucester Road for the Circle immediately behind. This turns out to be the right idea, as we arrived at
Gloucester Road at the same time.
Round the Circle, via
High Street Kensington to
Edgware Road (SSL). The Edgware Road run (which I've never actually done before, despite knowing the area well), and straight onto a train at
Edgware Road (Bakerloo). So far, apart from the first train (and that was purged with a restart), every change has been more or less perfect (I suppose I might have made that Northern Line train, but 1 minute was good enough for me). Then the
Warwick Avenue to Royal Oak run, during which I had to tie my shoelaces. Had to wait an undeterminted number of minutes (which was probably about 3) for the H&C down to
Goldhawk Road via
Latimer Road and
Wood Lane. Reverse and the best Wood Lane to White City run I have ever done, and I arrive on the Westbound platforms to see two trains, both apparently terminators - but a helpful man on the train in Platform 1 shouts that it's the West Ruislip train, so I make that. This is the first time I've ever run from Wood Lane to White City and found that a train isn't pulling out.
I'm in completely the wrong carriage for
Hanger Lane. I leave the station tentatively (not having a clue where I am going), but I'm on the north side of the eastbound A40, which is good. I start running, but I have somehow got a stitch, so I walk back to the bus stop. This is a good thing, as a number 95 turns up within seconds of my return there so I get on that non-stop to Park Royal (and the stitch is gone by the time I get there! The God of Bus and Tube Challenging must be smiling on me - that was a 4 minute connection). 5 minutes for an Uxbridge train, and I get off at
Rayners Lane and walk over the bridge to see an S Stock coming up the line. 1 minute later, I'm on the eastbound platform and it's still not arrived, but is making its way slowly along the line. Finally, it limps into the platform, and it's the long haul down to Great Portland Street.
The train crawls through Harrow,
Preston Road, Wembley Park, calls at Neasden though doesn't open its doors, crawls all the way down to
Finchley Road, down to
Baker Street (it was particularly painful as it inched over the Regent's Canal) and finally to
Great Portland Street. An A Stock wouldn't have done that. I've never run GPS to
Warren Street, though I've walked it. Somehow, it's a lot closer when you're running. Down to the Northern Line platforms and a train is there to take me to
Goodge Street. There's no time for a Geoff Marshall photo at Goodge Street and it's back up to the finish line at
Mornington Crescent.
Somehow, the good changes throughout the challenge balance out the evil Uxbridge Met Line train (I don't know how Rhys B or Myles can bear Uxbridge terminating Met Line trains) and I achieved a time of
03:47:50. Next time I use the Metropolitan Line, I shall be using Chesham or Watford terminators. They tend to work properly.