tubechallenge.com

just a quick note to say that we didn't complete the full 268!

I guess that with the luck that we had, or lack of it, we were never going to complete the challenge but some of the connections missed were cruel to say the least. Looking back at the log that i kept, i can't believe the amount of times i've written, train in station, but pulled out, or bus passing on exit to station. I guess i should have realised it wasn't going to be our day, when the driver of the bus between Feltham and Hatton Cross pulled up at a bus stop in front of a parade of shops, got out of his cab and went into the Post Office there for some supplies!! The lowest point was to run the full length of the slope next to Olympia, run onto the platform and watch as the train pulled out.
Ultimately, a defective train at St James Park and taking 45 mins from Kings Cross to Walthamstow due to congestion, cost us the full run, but so many missed connections early on had really done the damage.

What did i learn from the expeariance?
a) Big respect to anyone that has done the full Challenge b) Even bigger respect to those who did it in 17.30 hours c) the route could still work with a bit of tweaking d) You do need help at certain points of the day e) Travelling down to London and back again on top of a full day on the system is not advisable! f) You do need a lot of luck.

Well done for going out there and giving it a go........ Yes it can be a very cruel game as I have experienced on more than one occasion..... I wish you better luck should you decide to have another crack sometime ther is great satisfaction to be gleamed in getting around the whole network and never underestimate the power of lady luck....

Going Underground wrote:Well done for going out there and giving it a go........ Yes it can be a very cruel game as I have experienced on more than one occasion..... I wish you better luck should you decide to have another crack sometime ther is great satisfaction to be gleamed in getting around the whole network and never underestimate the power of lady luck....

Perhaps i should also have added g) It's very addictive and i can't wait to have another pop at doing it!!

More importantly, we hope to have raised a fair bit of money for my son's Cricket Club, we both had a really enjoyable day together, and i learn't alot about the system that i hope to put good use next time.

well done anyway as you say it can be addictive i should know im still amazed that i dragged a rookie round with me and we still have the 2nd fastest time.

Well it sounds like you had quite a frustrating day but still managed to enjoy yourselves. Did you get much interest from people on the day? If you post details of how many stations visited and the time taken then Jonny can add this to the list of full network attempts.