tubechallenge.com

Attending: roblo97, GU, RJSRdg, michael_churchill, A2, alexmcmotor + Simon, crypto, xcooler123, tractakid
parkrun: Peckham Rye, GU, crypto?, tractakid
Spoons : The Kentish Drivers: roblo97, GU, crypto, tractakid

Early Warning
At the pub there will be the usual game of darts. But in addition I will be asking for five volunteers to play a new board game that I have designed, based on the Random 15 format. Game should last about 2 hours, so we'll start after the Round 3 results have been read out. I'd like your feedback on the rules on Saturday afternoon. Hopefully you will enjoy the game. In the unlikely event that there are more than five volunteers, I'll choose players from the order that you finish in Saturday's Round 3. See you on Saturday at Farringdon.

tufnellpark wrote: ↑17 Jan 2018, 13:00 Early Warning
At the pub there will be the usual game of darts. But in addition I will be asking for five volunteers to play a new board game that I have designed, based on the Random 15 format. Game should last about 2 hours, so we'll start after the Round 3 results have been read out. I'd like your feedback on the rules on Saturday afternoon. Hopefully you will enjoy the game. In the unlikely event that there are more than five volunteers, I'll choose players from the order that you finish in Saturday's Round 3. See you on Saturday at Farringdon.

By a staggeringly huge coincidence, I was going to test out my recently created set of London Underground Top Trumps... but this sounds much more interesting! I'll save mine for Round 4...

I've had a board game idea in mind for a while too, but it's not ready for trying out yet. Maybe Round 6?

I got a top trumps game where the tube challengers records get set against each other Neil Blake would only be top in one category lol.

Attending: roblo97, GU, RJSRdg, michael_churchill, A2, alexmcmotor + Simon, crypto, xcooler123, tractakid, DrainBrain
parkrun: Peckham Rye, GU, crypto?, tractakid, DrainBrain
Spoons : The Kentish Drivers: roblo97, GU, crypto, tractakid, DrainBrain

Attending: roblo97, GU, RJSRdg, michael_churchill, A2, alexmcmotor + Simon, crypto, xcooler123, tractakid, DrainBrain
parkrun: Peckham Rye, GU, crypto?, tractakid, DrainBrain, hopeless traveller

hopeful traveller wrote: ↑18 Jan 2018, 20:44 Attending: roblo97, GU, RJSRdg, michael_churchill, A2, alexmcmotor + Simon, crypto, xcooler123, tractakid, DrainBrain
parkrun: Peckham Rye, GU, crypto?, tractakid, DrainBrain, hopeless traveller

Afraid I won't be able to make this one, see you all at the Biathlon.

Going Underground wrote: ↑19 Jan 2018, 12:05

hopeful traveller wrote: ↑18 Jan 2018, 20:44 Attending: roblo97, GU, RJSRdg, michael_churchill, A2, alexmcmotor + Simon, crypto, xcooler123, tractakid, DrainBrain
parkrun: Peckham Rye, GU, crypto?, tractakid, DrainBrain, hopeless traveller

What's so surprising?

I think he is shocked u probably turned up at your last one a long time ago like me.

dstock17 wrote: ↑20 Jan 2018, 04:45 I think he is shocked u probably turned up at your last one a long time ago like me.

If by "a long time ago", you mean Round 1...

Rather a nice spread of stations today - all directions, plus a couple in the centre, and no adjacent stations.

I opened the envelope at FARRINGDON at 12:30, and scanned the list quickly. Noticing that there were a number to the east, I decided to knock them off first while I planned a more detailed route. So off to LIVERPOOL STREET with Tangy, Alex, Simon, Rhys & Rhys, Andrew C & ?, where we all caught a stopper calling at CAMBRIDGE FIELDS. Tangy jumped off either there or shortly afterwards, whilst the rest of us headed to Hackney Downs and over to Central (the longest change possible at that location!), where we waited some time for a westbound train to DALSTON KINGSLAND. Andrew & ? jumped off and I followed them to Dalston Junction, though I wasn't able to maintain their pace and just missed the train they caught, settling for a New Cross service five minutes later. Shortly before it was due to depart, Alex and Simon joined me (we were to see a lot of each other today!). Down to Whitechapel, and a long wait for a District to STEPNEY GREEN, during which we were joined by Rhys & Rhys, and to our surprise, Hugo, who had started 10 minutes after the rest of us! Up to SG, back to Whitechapel and back down to the Overground for the next New Cross service. Through WAPPING to Canada Water, where Rhys and Rhys headed for the Jubilee and the rest of us carried on south towards New Cross. As we approached Surrey Quays, Hugo asked "You do know there's no Southeastern Service from New Cross to LEWISHAM today, don't you?" He then said we ought to be able to run or take a bus from New Cross to Deptford Bridge then down the DLR to L'sham. Hugo and I caught the bus, leaving Alex and Simon behind.

At Deptford Bridge, a DLR train arrived, with Andrew C & ? (who had been a train up on us!) on board and we travelled together to Lewisham. We had a little bit of a wait there, during which Alex and Simon caught us up again. At Peckham Rye, I caught a Southern service to North Dulwich (why is this south of East Dulwich?) while everyone else continued to Denmark Hill. I ran/walked to HERNE HILL, where I discovered I had missed a Victoria train and the next northbound was a Thameslink, which I realised made for a better route. As I was waiting, Alex and Simon arrived, and told me that Hugo, Andrew & ? were ahead of me and had probably caught an earlier train. Up to Elephant and Castle, where I thought I had lost Alex and Simon in the mad rush through the shopping centre and through the maze of tunnels to the Bakerloo, but just as the train was about to depart, I spotted a familiar orange jacket reflected in the carriage windows....

Up to CHARING CROSS, nice quick change to a southbound Bakerloo to EMbankment, where I took a wrong turning and went down an escalator to the Northern Line platforms, then discovered there wasn't an up escalator! But I found the emergency stairs, up those and on to the westbound Subsurface platform. We let a Circle go by, then caught the following Wimbledon train to knock off VICTORIA and FULHAM BROADWAY, where we had a lengthy wait for a northbound service. Nice neat change at West Brompton though to get through to Shepherd's Bush, then west to WHITE CITY and back to MARBLE ARCH and BOND STREET. During this spell, I dug out my trusty A to Z to check the proximity of Brondesbury and Queens Park, but they didn't seem to be on the map. Then I discovered the left-hand page was page 64 and the right hand page was 67! Fortunately, 65 and 66 turned up in the bottom of my bag.

Up to West Hampstead, where we all changed to an Overground to BRONDESBURY. I heard Alex and Simon discussing door position for Willesdan Junction, but as they moved towards the front of the train, I remained at the rear for a quick exit at Brondesbury Park and down the hill for the quick run to QUEEN'S PARK (the last of the 15 stations). I'd just missed one southbound Bakerloo, but another was hot on its heels from the carriage sidings and I finished at Kilburn Park in 4:10:50.

Loved the challenge yesterday and was delighted to come 2nd. I was with Hugo and David at West Brompton and was feeling a little left behind while waiting 11 minutes for the Overground. Then when David rejoined us, at Shepherds Bush he did what he had done a couple of times previously on the challenge and make an earlier train, leaving me on the platform. Thankfully on every occasion the following train was only about a minute behind. So as he was also a station up I had sort of resigned myself to him beating me.

Never let thinking that affect the rest of your challenge- I carried on at what I considered full effort despite feeling like it was in vain.

Turns out that the plan I had made (or more like it- what plan?! making decisions on the spot!!) yielded a faster finishing time.

The most bizarre part of the challenge for me was alighting the Overground train at Brondesbury after about 30 seconds research, and then having to leg it to Kilburn... Park. Yes, not Kilburn, as some may have assumed in the pub. Further than I thought but it was actually signposted at Brondesbury station- which makes me think about what the longest walk between two stations is that has signage at a station?

Once at Kilburn Park a Bakerloo turned up and took me one stop to Queens Park, where both it and my challenge terminated.

hopeful traveller wrote: ↑19 Jan 2018, 23:44

Going Underground wrote: ↑19 Jan 2018, 12:05

hopeful traveller wrote: ↑18 Jan 2018, 20:44 Attending: roblo97, GU, RJSRdg, michael_churchill, A2, alexmcmotor + Simon, crypto, xcooler123, tractakid, DrainBrain
parkrun: Peckham Rye, GU, crypto?, tractakid, DrainBrain, hopeless traveller

What's so surprising?

You signed up for parkrun and parkrun only