Anyone fancy a goodbye 2009 challenge?
Posted: 08 Oct 2009, 18:11
At the risk of incurring Neil's wrath by posting this two months early (my original plan was to post this in the middle of November, but a sudden stroke of inspiration means I should post it sooner for discussion - this will become clear towards the end of the post), would anybody be interested in a goodbye 2009 challenge? I was thinking about either Tuesday 29 December or Wednesday 30 December, and seeing as this is the time between Christmas and New Year, I am hoping that more people might be free on these dates.
The only engineering works planned for these two days are between Queen's Park and Stonebridge Park on the Bakerloo line (although this situation might change). This leaves a number of possible challenges that could be attempted.
I was thinking that the Parks Challenge might be a good candidate if we start at either Stonebridge Park or Queen's Park. I know that the Christmas Parks Challenge is typically held before Christmas, but seeing as Christmas Day is the first day of Christmas, why not have it take place on the 5th or 6th day instead?
Another possibility is Points of the Compass, which hasn't been attempted for a long time. We could start at Dagenham East or South Woodford this time.
Alternatively, I have a suggestion for a new challenge, which was inspired in part by Matt's suggestion of the Rotherhithe-Wapping anti-zone 1 challenge (which we should try at some point too!), where windsurfing across the Thames unfortunately is prohibited anywhere East of Tower Bridge. For want of a better name, I call it the Countryside Challenge, where a participant must visit every station containing the words Bois, Elm, Farm, Hill, Moor, Oak, Vale, Valley, Water or Wood. In other words, the following stations, with zones written in brackets:
De nombreux groupes d'arbres (1 station): Theydon BOIS (6)
Elms (1 station): ELM Park (6)
Farms (1 station): Chalk FARM (2)
Hills (10 stations): Buckhurst HILL (5), Dollis HILL (3), Gants HILL (4), Grange HILL (4), Harrow-on-the-HILL (5), Mill HILL East (4), Northwood HILLS (6), Notting HILL Gate (1/2), Sudbury HILL (4), Tower HILL (1)
Moors (1 station): MOOR Park (6/7)
Oaks (2 stations): Burnt OAK (4), Royal OAK (2)
Vales (1 station): Maida VALE (2)
Valleys (1 station): Roding VALLEY (4)
Waters (1 station): Canada WATER (2)
Woods (4 stations): Colliers WOOD (3), St. John's WOOD (2), WOOD Green (3), WOOD Lane (2)
This is a relatively small number of stations (23), so although they are quite well spread out, it might not be such an interesting challenge. So I propose an additional quirk. Tower Hill is the only zone 1 station, which got me thinking that if this is known as the Countryside Challenge, it should be an anti-zone 1 challenge. By this I mean, all participants start at Tower Hill in zone 1. Once you leave zone 1 you may not return. In the case of Notting Hill Gate, this means that should you decide not to visit this station first, you can only arrive at it on an Eastbound Central line train, or depart from it on a Westbound Central line train (or both should you decide to double-back there).
You may use a bus to traverse parts of zone 1, however you cannot use the bus within the congestion charge area. As for cars, this excludes Westway, Edgware Road, Park Lane, Grosvenor Place and Vauxhall Bridge Road. You can, of course, run across it if you feel it will make things easier.
So I thought it best to post earlier than I originally intended to provoke some sort of discussion as to any problems or suggestions, and to generally judge the mood this suggestion induces, whether it be disgust or delight.
The only engineering works planned for these two days are between Queen's Park and Stonebridge Park on the Bakerloo line (although this situation might change). This leaves a number of possible challenges that could be attempted.
I was thinking that the Parks Challenge might be a good candidate if we start at either Stonebridge Park or Queen's Park. I know that the Christmas Parks Challenge is typically held before Christmas, but seeing as Christmas Day is the first day of Christmas, why not have it take place on the 5th or 6th day instead?
Another possibility is Points of the Compass, which hasn't been attempted for a long time. We could start at Dagenham East or South Woodford this time.
Alternatively, I have a suggestion for a new challenge, which was inspired in part by Matt's suggestion of the Rotherhithe-Wapping anti-zone 1 challenge (which we should try at some point too!), where windsurfing across the Thames unfortunately is prohibited anywhere East of Tower Bridge. For want of a better name, I call it the Countryside Challenge, where a participant must visit every station containing the words Bois, Elm, Farm, Hill, Moor, Oak, Vale, Valley, Water or Wood. In other words, the following stations, with zones written in brackets:
De nombreux groupes d'arbres (1 station): Theydon BOIS (6)
Elms (1 station): ELM Park (6)
Farms (1 station): Chalk FARM (2)
Hills (10 stations): Buckhurst HILL (5), Dollis HILL (3), Gants HILL (4), Grange HILL (4), Harrow-on-the-HILL (5), Mill HILL East (4), Northwood HILLS (6), Notting HILL Gate (1/2), Sudbury HILL (4), Tower HILL (1)
Moors (1 station): MOOR Park (6/7)
Oaks (2 stations): Burnt OAK (4), Royal OAK (2)
Vales (1 station): Maida VALE (2)
Valleys (1 station): Roding VALLEY (4)
Waters (1 station): Canada WATER (2)
Woods (4 stations): Colliers WOOD (3), St. John's WOOD (2), WOOD Green (3), WOOD Lane (2)
This is a relatively small number of stations (23), so although they are quite well spread out, it might not be such an interesting challenge. So I propose an additional quirk. Tower Hill is the only zone 1 station, which got me thinking that if this is known as the Countryside Challenge, it should be an anti-zone 1 challenge. By this I mean, all participants start at Tower Hill in zone 1. Once you leave zone 1 you may not return. In the case of Notting Hill Gate, this means that should you decide not to visit this station first, you can only arrive at it on an Eastbound Central line train, or depart from it on a Westbound Central line train (or both should you decide to double-back there).
You may use a bus to traverse parts of zone 1, however you cannot use the bus within the congestion charge area. As for cars, this excludes Westway, Edgware Road, Park Lane, Grosvenor Place and Vauxhall Bridge Road. You can, of course, run across it if you feel it will make things easier.
So I thought it best to post earlier than I originally intended to provoke some sort of discussion as to any problems or suggestions, and to generally judge the mood this suggestion induces, whether it be disgust or delight.