Today's attempt.

[CrunchySaviour]

Here's how it went. This made me consider why I ever bothered getting into this insane sport. (copied from http://boltzmann.wordpress.com )

Bear with me. This is long and may not make sense in parts.

Last night, I had a lift into Chesham to stay with Ollie on the eve of a Tube Challenge, in which Adham and I would attempt to visit all the Tube stations and break the World Record, with Ollie being our support team, all for Cancer Research UK. As we drove to Chesham, I felt like an astronaut walking out to the Shuttle - the atmosphere was one of bizarre trepidation, nerves and fear.

We reached Chesham and I entered Ollie’s flat, which is a lovely place. Adham turned up later on, we had an Underground Masker acoustic singalong, and made final preparations of the route. We eventually tried to get to sleep and ended up with 2-3 hours each before the alarm at 0415 signalled time to wake up, and so we did.

Taxi into Amersham cost £7 between us, and we arrived there in good time for Adham and me to buy a day travelcard, zones A-D.
Photos: 1 2

The first train pulled up, the driver signed the witness form for us and we were away.

A series of good connections in the beginning, including a good one at Harrow, saw me feeling exhausted (photo 3)and quite ill, but I soon recovered from that, as we continued into central London to make some more reasonable connections.

Legendary bus connections at the ends of the Northern line (photos 4 5) and the Piccadilly and Jubilee lines saw us make up time, and at one point we were 20 minutes ahead of plans. However, that soon changed, with a long wait at one end-of-line station due to a defective train, and an assortment of other delays. Things were looking very grim when the ENTIRE District line was completely suspended, so we decided to do all the other lines first before the District. We were dropping further and further behind schedule and it became clear that a world record was going to be impossible today. Ollie lost his week’s Zones 1-D travelcard on the Piccadilly line and Chris Presswell brought us lunch. It was the best of times and it was the worst of times. The SEVERELY THE WORST of the times, in fact.

A swift change at Piccadilly Circus saw us heading for Baker Street, where the fun began.

After that escapade at Baker Street, which is not really the sort of thing I ought to have posted before consulting the others about first, Ollie retired because he felt drained and low following the loss of his travelcard and the general crapness of the day so far, and the remaining three of us walked to Great Portland Street and went up to Epping and back.

Steven left us; Adham and I then did the East London Line.

On arrival at Canning Town on the Jubilee, the heavens opened. When we exited the tunnel at Surrey Quays (ELL), the rain was so torrential (a thunderstorm, see) that the windows of the train had become like glass waterfall features. I took a short video of this.

Then, eventually, after pondering the New Cross run, we did it.

The rainwater at New Cross was flowing down the platforms in wide rivers from overflowing drains. At the top of the road, near the bridge, there was a huge deluge across the width of the road and pavement, effectivel blocking access to New Cross Gate. I took a couple of photographs:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

We decided to go back to New Cross and continue from there. The train departed just before we got to it. Next one, 11 minutes. New Cross Gate it was, then.

It was raining inside the ticket hall at New Cross Gate - I thought it wouldn’t be long before the station was closed due to health and safety as the ceiling, and electric lights, were literally dripping with all the water that had collected on the roof. We went to the Tube platform, whereupon service was withdrawn from New Cross Gate.

“Let’s BR it to London bridge, then!” I said, in faux-enthusiasm. We got to the BR platform, whereupon services were also suspended.

New Cross again, then, via the flood, where pedestrians had formed an impromptu problem-solving task force and laid out blocks of newspapers and a plastic barrier as stepping stones, so that some brave folk could get across at least as far as the shallow water and make it to New Cross. Photos soon.

By this time, I’d absolutely had enough. I was chafing painfully in two uncomfortable places, my trainers were soaking wet, the police had harassed me unnecessarily, the route was ruined and we were probably an hour and a half behind if not more, loads of the Tube was suspended and we had barely done half the network for charity. The situation was absolutely soul-destroying.

I decided to go home to Dunstable there and then (I ended up back at the House of Steel, since Luton is apparently not in any travelcard Zone, although I could have sworn you could get to it on a zone D travelcard). Adham went to meet Ric since Ollie had gone to Brighton in total dejection (same feeling as I had, although I could argue with him over whose situation was the worse) and Adham couldn’t stay there.

Adham, I’m sorry for leaving you like that, and I do feel awful for it. I am officially a Bad Person.

I’m going home tonight, then, to gie Chelle a hug and have a bath and relax after wha could be one of the worst Tube Challenges ever attempted.

PS. Thanks to the lovely folks on the day who helped us by being witnesses or taking an interest and cheering us up, thanks to the man on the Jubilee train who spontaneously donated about a pound’s worth of spare change there and then to Cancer Research, thanks to Chris Presswell, Steven karahan and Ollie Lewisohn who did sterling work helping us out on the way, including a few AWESOME bus connections, and thanks to the driver of the Picc train at Cockfosters who knew just what we were doing and gave us the train number and even some line closure advice. You are the people who make the Tube Challenge world go around.

Finally, thanks to LUL and Metronet for running an A1, tip-top, first class service today. It doesn’t get any better than that. Here, have all my money for that ticket price hike. Put your feet up, have another tea break and go on strike again - you deserve it!

Oh, by the way, this is my fave photo.

All photos except flood ones by Adham, except the ones by Ollie featuring both Adham and me, except ones by Steven featuring all three of us.

[PFW]

Oh - hard luck.

If it is any consolation, I think that you must be the first Tube Challenge team to get a caution from the Police.

[Root]

Anthony, you have my sympathies - your situation was considerably more painful than mine. All I lost was the value of five days out of seven on the travelcard and my Young Persons' Railcard... you were trying to do something great for charity and just had your parade well and truly rained on, in literal and metaphorical senses. You had exactly the same idea as I did when feeling that low - scarper to significant other.

Adham, I'm sorry that I couldn't put you up for the night. Low as I was feeling, I would have stuck around to give you accomodation had I known you would be needing it (I assumed you would try to complete as much as possible and then go to Anthony's house).

Same again on Friday anyone?

[Steeevooo]

Guys,

It's pretty hard to know how to react to something like that, I mean, there are days that go against you, and then there are days like you have had today.

I thought that it was pretty gloomy for you when I checked the live travel info from the TfL website and saw all of the delays, but full credit to you for carrying on as far as you did.

I got stopped by the British Transport Police while ambling though my local NR station a while back, I think I was the only one that was stopped, I'm sure that it had nothing to do with my age and the fact that I had two bags on me They did exactly the same procedure to me as they did in your description for you and Steven. Unfortunately, the fact that Adham was going the wrong way up the escalator would have put them in a very negative frame of mind. Still the question has to be asked - if you were businessmen in suits with briefcases, would all of this still have happened? I doubt it somehow!

When me and Sam did our record attempt, when had a somewhat confusing New Cross Gate - New Cross, but to hear the number of times that you appear to have done this section in the horrendous rain that we had today defies belief.

Heads up though, for every bad day, there is a good day and I hope that, in time (probably lots of it), you will be able to look back on this day and laugh at how possibly the most annoying, sapping, infuriating and frustrating day of your life may now have passed you by!

Heads up guys!

[tubeguru]

Be careful out there on challenges people ...

[Steeevooo]

I agree, in fact, I think that no-one should even contemplate doing a challenge for the next few years

[Sam]

That is a pretty shit tube challenge, sorry to hear that guys! As much as I didn't want you to get the record, I wouldn't wish that on anybody! (BTW the British Transport Police aren't all bad! )

[Soup Dragon]

Bad luck Anthony, it just goes to show it doesnt matter how much you prepare on the day you do need a huge slice of luck. All the good weather we've had recently and the heavens had to open today, better luck next time.

[tpfkar]

Very very sorry to hear about today guys. I heard it all a few hours ago from Adham, who's staying here tonight.

I only checked TFL for the first time late in the afternoon, and watched in horror the number of line difficulties going on.

The police incident sounded awful, however it was due I believe to a mistake on Adham's part - not realising which direction the escalator was going before getting on it, and it is not something that would normally be part of a challenge. Had someone received a caution for holding doors, diving for a train, or running in a station, then tube challenging itself would be in doubt.

It does mean that I've been able to chat through stuff about Friday with someone though, which I wasn't expecting to be able to do! Hope today hasn't put you off too much, it just was a day that didn't work out sadly.

[Nutteronabus]

Bloody hell- it really kicked off after I left!

Hope you're feeling better about it all today, and don't feel swayed from the noble sport that is tube challenging.

[tubeguru]

It goes to show, we have to use common sense when we're out and about.

You can't go running up the down escalators in the current climate, and I know that Adham is a bit of a loose cannon when it comes to running (I've witnessed it first hand!)

[spoogie37]

Sorry about yor run-in with the police: Christ some of them are jobsworths. Surely they would realise that it was a mistake rather than anything malicious.

One thing springs to mind - perhaps LUL could be a bit more consistent about escalator orientation: if the one on the left ALWAS goes up and the one on the right ALWAYS goes down in the case of two escalators (some other rule would be needed for more than two); then this sort of thing would be rather less likely. So which way round are they at Baker Street?

[tubeguru]

Without wishing to sound facetious ...

When approaching a set of escalators, I use my eyes to see which way they are moving before boarding one, even when running.

The people facing me and moving downwards would usually be a huge giveaway and would alert me to the fact that attempting to ascend this moving stairway may well be hazardous.

Carry on

[Going Underground]

Hard luck Anthony a brilliant account of the day which made fascinating reading and hopefully may have inspired some new song lyrics, if nothing else

Are you still making your second attempt this week after all this

[CrunchySaviour]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. I'm not condoning running up escalators; I don't think anyone is. I do apologise for seeming to condemn Adham so much in a couple of those paragraphs. I'm not going to defend his actions, but I'm sorry for having a go at him so much (he hardly needs it, let's face it).

Now, let me see about those photographs...