Arts and Science, 2021
A 600km event from London Kings Cross to West of Birmingham and then through the Northern part of the Midlands to South Lincolnshire and on back to London. 2022's event is on Saturday 18th June.
2022's rouesheet and GPS files plus this year's version of this web page have been issued to riders. Most of the information on this page still stands: however some of the route has been revised since last year, principally moving the route between Rugeley to Ashby north via Walton on Trent, simplifying Oundle-Cambridge by going north of Huntingdon and when you join the A1000 you stay on it, rather than detour via South Mimms. The latter two changes were suggested by some of last year’s riders.
This event was originally named the Last Gasp as it was a final chance to get Paris-Brest-Paris qualification. But it had connections with Science and Engineering with Brunel, Darwin and Newton being associated with each of the vertices (South, West, East) of the route.
Given what has happened since 2019, Last Gasp is perhaps best left behind as a name. Hence the new name.
Start, Middle and End
The gathering point for the start is in the open area between Kings Cross and St Pancras, near the Kings Cross "Suburban" entrance, around the bird cage
There is a Cafe Nero kiosk just inside Kings Cross. There are obviously plenty of other facilities in both stations, including toilets. Your brevet cards will be handed out by one or more people in Willesden CC jerseys.
At the time of writing Covid status on the date of the event is not known. This will be addressed in the final release communication to riders. It may mean a staggered start.
You should be able to arrive by 07:00 from most directions. I will be around until at least 07:15 for people slightly late. If it's not possible to arrive by 07:15, email me in advance of the event with the time you expect to be able to start and I will wait for you. Likewise, if you are running substantially late (after 07:15) text me (number to be supplied in final communication). A nearby hotel on Friday night costs £40 or so upwards.
As usual, details of the controls will be in the routesheet. You will need to collect receipts at intermediate controls. All of the controls, excepting the one in Cambridge which is a BP service station on the outskirts, are "free" so you get a receipt as proof of passage from where you want in the locality. (You have huge choice of eats in Cambridge town centre during opening hours, but you must pick up a receipt or ATM slip at BP first) Rugeley and Colsterworth may be limited to service stations at the time of passage.
On a long event like this one you may want to eat and drink between controls. I have selectively listed cafes and other facilities en-route which should be open when the bulk of riders pass. I have also indicated 24 hour services who have told me they will serve from the shop through the night. In most cases they can get you a hot drink.
At the finish, get a receipt or I will accept a photo of a train departure board with the time on it. Email it along with posting the brevet card (please don't text a photo). You will have an sae for the brevet card, enclose your receipts, make sure you have filled out the info control answers and please sign the brevet.
If you want a break at the end, there's plenty of places to eat & drink until around 10pm, most local pubs (e.g. O'Neills on the Euston Rd opposite St Pancras) stay open to 11.00pm. There is a Pret open to 11pm and reopening at midnight by the front of Kings X. St Pancras has a 24hr Costa. It is on the shopping passageway connecting the rail station with the tube(i.e. in the SW).
If you are too late to get home, there is a stack of cheapish hotels, including most chains, nearby. You may have success haggling, as Sunday is quiet.
Hazards
The one exceptional and serious hazard is the St Ives Car Trap. It is a short ditch to prevent cars driving onto the the bus track. If you hit it you will come off your bike, probably with an injury. It is just before traffic lights for the A1096 and is marked by a red road surface that says "guided buses only". The highest risk is you following a bus as it passes the lights at green as it appears the lights only change to green for buses. You cross the A1096 by pedestrian lights just to the left.
The main road sections are listed elsewhere in the document. There is only one right turn off a main road (across the A1 at 613km) that is not at traffic lights or a roundabout. On the other hand, there is limited use made of singletrack and at the time of route checking, only a short section of the alternative to the A44 after the postbox at 116.3km was found to be heavily rubbled. However there are lots of potholes - with the state of Britain's road a route without would be impossible, so please keep an eye open.
Some use is made of all-weather cycle paths. Please make allowance for pedestrians, dogs and wobbly cyclists and keep your speed appropriate to the conditions.
Before the event, I will use the web to try and locate any road works that will totally block the route even for bikes and advise accordingly.
The Route
Most of the route has been revised since I ran the Last Gasp event first in PBP year. The major change is the event now starts and finishes in Kings Cross and the route from Colsterworth (near Grantham) onwards is completely new.
A routesheet and GPX will be given to every entrant.
The leg going west
I had to adjust the ride in the Chilterns due to HS2 works, so I now take you along what I believe is the flattest direct route over them (barring the busy A413). As a result the first control is now Thame. It has more cafes and a posher supermarket than Princes Risborough the previous control, so a win-win.
Thame to Bidford-on-Avon is nearly unchanged, except a steep hill is bypassed. It roughly follows the route taken by the venerable Windsor-Chester-Windsor Audax. Moreton remains as a control. Onwards from Bidford to Kinver the route has been substantially revised. It's just better, and quite hilly.
The event no longer goes to Shrewsbury. It went there because Charles Darwin came from there. However he never used the out of town shopping plaza, where the control was, very much, so I have moved the route's west vertex to Ironbridge. It's only an info control, but has several places that will serve supper. Also the kms saved in and out of Shrewsbury are reallocated elsewhere on the route.
The leg going east
Going east, it's a shorter route through Telford ( a plus!) and less "laney" to Penkridge. From Rugely east to Ashby-de-la-Zouch it's a largely new route using the A513, based on local advice from last time. Ashby to Colsterworth on the A1 (the Newton pivot) is almost unchanged. Overnight hotel stops are along this leg. The routesheet details 24 hour services in Ashby and Loughborough (I did not check the Loughborough services on the A512 during route checking, nor would they answer the phone, so I cannot vouch that they will supply you during the night).
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The leg going south
After Colsterworth it is all change. You get taken to the fringes of the Fens (flat, but you're not in the hardcore bit with carrot fields to the horizon) , so that you pass Helpston, the village of the Poet John Clare. From there you go up the Nene Valley to Oundle. Apart from a service station on the A47 and some pubs, I don't think there is a shop or cafe directly on the route from Colsterworth to Oundle. Most people will hit Oundle when things are open.
Oundle to Cambridge is fairly easy. From St Ives you take a very good cycle route (good surface, wide, empty) to near the outskirts of Cambridge which goes alongside a guided busway. You will need to avoid the St Ives Car Trap at the start. The control in Cambridge is a 24 Hour Service Station on the way in.
After negotiating your way out of Cambridge, it's almost a straight line to Hertford which has pit stops. The info at Flint Cross where the route crosses the A505 has 24 hour services if you are running early. I have tried to keep the route here as flat as possible, but some late hilliness creeps in after Hertford.
It is back roads to the hamlet of Ridge (busy pub) and then once the A1 is crossed, it's essentially straight to Kings Cross with just two right-left turns to add complexity.
Overnight breaks
If you want a chain hotel with 24 hour access, the locations to recommend are Rugeley at just under 300km (Travelodge at the control point, Premier Inn 1.5km off route) , Ashby-de-la-Zouch (Premier Inn 335km - just off route, directions on Routesheet) , Loughborough 360km(Travelodge, Premier, Ramada all in centre). Colsterworth at 405km has a Travelodge.
The Six Hills Hotel in Six Hills is now a Christian retreat so I guess you could ask if there is any room at the inn.
I have no suggestions for bivviing. I checked out with a couple of campsites the first time I ran the event, but they were not interested, so I am not bothering to check any this time.
I did not survey bus shelters - next time maybe.
Cycle paths
There are a few sections of cycle path. All are all-weather surfaced. Leaving aside small short cuts, they are:
- The Grand Union Canal towpath from near Paddington (at 4km) to Horsenden Hill Lane Bridge (16km). This is narrow in places and quite busy with joggers and boat owners even at around 7a.m. so care!
- The A512 has cycle tracks and service roads almost to Loughborough town centre from where you join it (353km) . The tracks were being rebuilt when I route checked and the new ones will be very good. Your choice: track or road.
- A 500m section between Alcolnbury Weston (483km) and Alconbury. It's a bit bumpy.
- From Wyton (496km) to St Ives along a pedestrianised old road. It is popular with walkers so please take care.
- From St Ives (501km) to the turn to Girton, near Cambridge, a high quality cycleway that runs 14km alongside the guided bus track. Beware the Car Trap (have I mentioned it already?) by the start.
Busy main roads
The route aims to avoid busy roads whilst minimising its length. This section lists the busiest roads. Many of the A-roads used by the route have little traffic, so this section lists the exceptions. Short sections that are in effect staggered crossings are not listed, nor are urban roads (except for London)
Euston Road at the start. Bus lanes almost all the way and you can easily avoid the Euston underpass.
A404 (43.1km) into Amersham, speed limited and only moderate traffic levels on that section.
A4129 (66.9km) into Thame. Wide road, gentle curves and well used by cyclists. The Phoenix Cycle Trail is a slower, off-road alternative. The routesheet does not give details of the trail.
A418 (78.6km) after Thame. OK too, but busier. There is a cycle path for the short stretch taken by the event
A44 (turn to it at 112km) after Wootton. This road was routechecked on a holiday weekend and it was a good deal busier than the dozen or so times I have taken the A44 before. The event is on a holiday weekend. The road is however wide and with good sightlines. The routesheet and GPX take the alternative which is longer, quiet, scenic and "laney". Your choice.
A449 (216.6km) busy and twisty, but you are mostly going downhill.
B4136 and A442 (233.2km) from Upper Aston to near Telford are fairly busy. Both roads are wide and straight enough that drivers should pass easily.
A512 (353.7km) is a main road, but you will probably be tackling it late evening. Cycle track and service roads.
A47 (446.6km) North West of Peterborough. A trunk road and busy, even on a Sunday, though it's the quietest day of the week. Unfortunately geography leaves other trunk roads as the only alternatives. There is width for lorries to overtake OK.
Alcolnbury. (484.5km) The roundabouts around the A1 junction. These were checked during business hours and had heavy truck traffic.
A1000 (604.2km) High Barnet to Highgate. This is a simple direct route to Central London. Speed limit seems to be mostly 20mph, the road is wide and the second half has bus and bike lanes. The right turn across the A1 where the A1000 joins it(613.8km), lets you move right just after a green for you, has a limit of 30mph and will be fine if you hold your line.
Artists and Scientists (and Engineers)
In geographical order, artist and scientists with connections along the route:
Union Canal, Brunel. He is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery which is more or less on the opposite side of the canal from the historic gasometers you pass. Paddington Station, which you pass close to, but don't see, was his design. Charles Babbage, Freddie Mercury and Alan Rickman are among many famous people cremated or buried there. The cemetery is well worth a visit on open days.
Harefield, Alexander Fleming. He worked at Harefield Hospital (later famous as a centre for transplants) as well as St Mary's in Paddington.
Great Missenden, Roald Dahl.
Adlestrop, Poetry - the famous poem Adlestrop by Edward Thomas. The memorial is mentioned in the route sheet. It is easy to miss as it faces the wrong way. It has a bench if you fancy a brief sit-down.Kinver, Led Zeppelin. Robert Plant, lead vocalist, was born in Kinver and still lives locally.
Coalbrookdale, JM Turner extensively sketched and painted its furnaces and foundries.
Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Adrian Mole, diarist,
Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth, Isaac Newton. His birthplace is a National Trust place signed from the route. My photograph of the property is through bushes as it was Covid-closed when I passed by.
Helpston, John Clare, 19th Century Poet. His cottage is a museum in the centre of the village to the left of the route
Fotheringay. No artists or scientists, but Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned and then executed in Fotheringay Castle. Little remains of the castle and it's off-route, but the very impressive parish church you pass is a clue to Fotheringay's past importance.
Oundle, Richard Dawkins, biologist
Cambridge. Countless artists and, especially, scientists including Newton. Stephen Hawking had the same tenure, Lucasian Professor of Maths, as Newton and Paul Dirac.
British Cycle Quest (BCQ)
BCQ is a Cycling UK administered scheme where you visit checkpoints and answer a question about them. There are just over 400 clues scattered across the UK and you register the answers with Cycling UK, so a bit like DIY/Perm Audaxes. There are three checkpoints en-route if you wish to collect answers:
- Kinver
- Fotheringay
- Cambridge
The Prestwood one (BCQ155) is around 500m off-route, if you are very keen.
I started doing it to relieve lockdown boredom and found it makes me take roads I have never been on before.
For pricing info and to enter visit https://audax.uk/event-details?eventId=8901 The organiser's email address is there or in a side panel here if you have any questions.
Road closures, 2021 event
Three detected on the Roadworks database. The first is probably not a closure, but I cannot rule it out. The other two you can probably wheel your bike around. Just in case they are needed, I have given diversions, which may be different from the one given on the ground for cars.
| Km | Where? | Directions to get on track |
|---|---|---|
| 330.0 | 1st R Hallcroft Ave by Sports Ground (Possibly not closed, it it is, take diversion as you will lose almost no time) | Take next R into Slackley L & L at T |
| 346.0 | Just after Info control by right fork, probably walkable | Take L fork instead & R into Broughton St, $Newbridge High School |
| 487.5 | Approx 2km after the series of Rbts at Alconbury. Has footpath and wide verge so should be passable. | * If not retrace to last large Rbt |
| * Take 1E $1307 to Huntingdon, | ||
| * At the A141 Rbt Left, | ||
| * At the next Rbt 3E (R) and you are at the service station at 590.1 | ||
| Despite being dual carriageways these are not specially busy roads, the New A14 supercedes them, | ||
