Random 15 Championship 11/12 - Round 1 - 23rd July

[Going Underground]

I look forward to meeting you all tomorrow at london bridge. I'll be wearing a New England Patriots Baseball cap (for any of you that know your amercian football)

Booo go Packers

[Garion]

Hello

[dudey]

Hello! Since I seem to the first home after an interesting day, I shall engorge you all with todays Random 15 stations:

London Bridge (start)
Maida Vale
Regent's Park
Highbury & Islington
Chancery Lane
Covent Garden
Lambeth North
North Acton
Canada Water
Bank
Finsbury Park
Archway
Angel
Clapham North
Manor House

A very good spread, I'm sure you'll agree, and with multiple options from the start the result was surprisingly close. I'll let the BERC return the full results, but I will reveal the winning time was 3h00m25s, and was shared by not 2, but 3(!) teams all on different routes, although 2 were very similar. And to add to that, the winners finished at East Acton, which you'll notice is not on the list.

P.S. Let's always go to The Rising Sun post-R15, yeah?

[krollo]

Had a go at planning and my route ended in Canada Water. Is that good?

[MylesHSG]

What a great day I have just had. All the lads and Sam very welcoming. Big thanks to The Raven for offering to partner me!

As the stations have been listed I shall refrain from repeating them.

We started at London Bridge at took the Jubilee line to Canada Water. Next we went along the ELL to Highbury and Islington. From there onto Finsbury Park and changed onto the Picadilly to Manor House. Back down to Holloway road where we took a 43 bus to Archway. From Archway we got a City branch Northern Line and changed at Bank onto the Central, Glen ran ahead 'literally through' people only to be standing at the Eastbound platform whilst I sauntered along to the Westbound I hear "RUN! HURRY!" I shouted "Im here" only to see Glen sheepishly running back from the Eastbound platform! We then changed at Holburn onto a packed Picadilly down to Green Park. Then from there to Stockwell, doubled back to Clapham North and up to Elephant and Castle and changed onto a Bakerloo and stayed on it untill Willesden Junction. Then a 'nice' run to North Acton and then a Eastbound Central Line to East Acton where we finished when the doors opened.

Notable Points of Interest:

Raven sprinted down to the Jubilee line at London Bridge whist I had half the contents of my Rucksack out!
Canada Water, missed an Overground by about 15 seconds.
Highbury and Islington, was the wrong end of the train (thanks to Glen's Iphone App) and then the mystery of vanishing Kev at the Victoria line platforms!
We were a Bakerloo line train ahead of Andi and the other group (sorry forgot names), but after not seeing a single other challenger since Kev vanished at Highbury and Islington Andi sprints past us on the run to North Acton, but we all 5 of us got the same train out of North Acton, finishing with the same time.

In conclusion I would say that without Glen, my time would have been at least 30 minutes longer, his knowledge of buses (also known as an iphone :p) saved us a heap of time getting to Archway and his train doors app did prove itself usfull on more than one occasion! Also having someone to chase after during station interchanges, even though I did nearly give up at Green Park running to the Victoria platforms and in a Saving Private Ryan moment shouted "GO WITHOUT ME!" during our final run to North Acton. It can only go downhill from here, played 1 won 1. I can't see this lasting for ever.

Had a great time playing darts and having a couple too many vodka and cokes! Thanks for Soup Dragon for showing me the way to St. Pauls (I had no idea where we were!).

[Going Underground]

Agree with Matt, Rising Sun post R15 is the way to go

As for me plonker of the year award for a truly awful amount of cock ups

All my research at Canada Water last year would and should have paid dividends if only I had read my one notes correctly on the carriage and door position to go North
I was in the perfect door and carriage to go South, absolutely useless And of course missed a train by a few seconds...
A complete nightmare at Highbury & Islington being at the wrong end of the overground platform and then trying to be smart running against the crowd ignoring the "Victoria lines this way signs" and arriving at the Southbound platform when I wanted to go North
By the time I got to the right platform I just missed the train Glen and Myles departed on and had 3 mins wait here and at Finsbury Park and to double back at Manor House... Back at Finsbury Park I ran for the number 4 bus to Archway getting lost and coming out of the wrong side of station.. Running back through after wasting several minutes I get a route 4 quickly only for it to be terminating at Holloway Road
It went from bad to worse long waits for trains and just missing trains a fraction when unable to get past people at busy interchanges....
And then the final stupid error instead or running from Willesden Junction to North Acton and finishing a stop down the line I can't resist the due Overground service to Shepherds Bush and central line westbound from there, where again I cant get past the crowd miss a train by a gnats cock and another 5 minute wait... All this messing about from Willesden took over 20 mins, I could have walked backwards to North Acton in half that time...

[MylesHSG]

Booo go Packers

Glory Hunter

[The Raven]

- Next time I will not use my phone for London Overground changes.
- My brain just left me at Bank. Thank you Myles or I would have ended up at Liverpool Street!
- And go Packers!!!!

The results
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q01eejcd_yM

The Darts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZDr9voOiyo

[Going Underground]

What a great day I have just had. All the lads and Sam very welcoming. Big thanks to The Raven for offering to partner me!
Had a great time playing darts and having a couple too many vodka and cokes! Thanks for Soup Dragon for showing me the way to St. Pauls (I had no idea where we were!).

Glad you enjoyed it, was great to meet you and that is the really good thing about the Alternative challenges/R15 championship and pub & darts afterwards... If gives us a chance to get together as a forum and socialise

[Soup Dragon]

I'll let the BERC return the full results, but I will reveal the winning time was 3h00m25s, and was shared by not 2, but 3(!) teams all on different routes, although 2 were very similar. And to add to that, the winners finished at East Acton, which you'll notice is not on the list.

Matt Scrivin has the full results so I will leave it for him to publish, cheers Matt
I teamed up with James & Sam and we did fairly well apart from some slow changes in central London. I took on three new runs which I'd never previously attempted on R15's and certainly will use those again if the need arises. Apologies once again to Sam for elbowing her in the face (honest Matt it was an accident). With a bit more luck we could have gone sub three hours, but eventually we ended up 10 minutes off the pace for 5th place out of 7 teams.

[MylesHSG]

No bounus points for using the ELL then?

[Going Underground]

No bounus points for using the ELL then?

And passing Matt's train just outside H & I

[Sam]

I actually travelled on Matts train* so if anyone should get bonus points then I should

*not on the challenge I admit

[jamesthegill]

I bet you travel on his train...

[tangy]

Well, better post up the route my team took.

Seeing Bank and Angel on the list made for a good start, so it was northwards on the Northern line staying on to Camden Town to swap branches, though Jay mistakenly ran down to one of the southbound platforms! Back on the correct platform it was up to Archway and back double to Tuffnell Park.

The next target was FPK and again this transfer comes into play. Unlike last time where I had to run it all the way, a route 4 bus was waiting at the traffic lights just as we exited the station. Result!!! Not such a good result was just missing a n/b Picc and waiting 4 minutes for the next- all for one stop to Manor House!

Back double at Manor House back to FPK and a perfect cross platform down to H&I. Just we reached the the concourse level I noted Andi and Matt N (and thier teams) run the other way down the escalator. Good two minute wait for an ELL southwards to ZCW (Jay's first trip on the ELL since it became part of the Overground). Transfer to the JLE for the few stops to Southwark.

Exit at Southwark to do the run (or should I say a more sedate pace) to Lambeth North. The only problem with the i/change at WAT from the JLE is that annoying travelator link which links the JLE to the other lines to which I don't particulary like and thus cutting the corner off by running direct seemed like a good idea (though is only a good idea at my pace)!!!!

Got onto the platform at Lambeth N with train due, but was at wrong end of the platform so had to quickly run down to gain the correct coach for the exit at Elephant. Same thing happened at Elephant when getting the s/b Northern line, so two good (but frantic) changes in succession.

Down to Clapham Common asking myself why is one of the Clapham station nearly always generated? Here again, one of the regular random 15 transfers- the bus across to CLJ! This time, not one but two buses arrived, both route 37s. Got on the second one which as precdicted overtook the first one and left it for dust.

At CLJ, unusually noted the NLL departing from platform 17 and it was onwards to Shep Bush NLL to run across to the Central line station. Train wauiting to whisk us to North Acton. Two minute wait for bus 266 up to Willesden Junction. Here followed a bit of back luck as we just missed an NLL (due to ticket barrier problems- no such thing with Oyster) and 5 minutes for the next Bakerloo, which then sat in the shed just outside QPW whilst a terminating train (from the sidings) departed first! Drat!

Down to OXC and transfer to the Central line even I couldn't get any speed here due to the sheer number of people, we headed e/b to Chancery Lane then back double to Holborn to transfer to the Picc for the last station at Covent Garden. At last....