LondonSkaters Speed Team - Speed Skating & Rollerblading Club in London

Rick · Joined: 25 Feb 2004 Posts: 5914

http://www.raps24kika.nl

Briefly in the start of the video on the homepage. Mainly George. I thought Andy was interviewed but perhaps that was for someone else.

This is the thread for 2011. Conditions were perfect last year so maybe don't expect the same this year but it is just about the most friendly 24 hour race going with a small number of teams.

It's maximum 6 people in a team. As you can see from the video the there are not many teams on the track so it would be great if we could take 2 equally balanced teams to work together as pairs all the time. It saves 30 secs or more a lap and could push us up the leader board. I think we were 5th last year. 2 teams could push for a podium, though that would mean hanging around for the whole of the auction at the end which was all in Dutch so not particularly interesting to most of us. So maybe 4th is a good target Smile

Travelwise it's pretty easy. The race starts on Friday so it's leisurely coming back but you need to leave on Thursday to be comfortable if doing it by car. Don't need to take Thursday off though. We stayed in a nice hotel near Schipol on Thursday night. The small rental car was really good with 3 of us in it last year. Could do 4 easily with a bigger car or 6 in an MPV, but the logistics can get sorted once we have people sign up.

For those that like 24 hours but not the hill at Le Mans then this course is for you. It's nearly flat with a tiny undulation with perhaps 1.5m difference between the lowest and highest parts. It's next to a 5km ice track which is completely flat so the opportunity to put in a hill was a bit limited Smile

It's very smooth. It you want to see the track, I posted [url=http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=432394184113]a video of a lap on Facebook[/url] from last year. This was after most people had finished so the track is even more empty. If you can't see it then I'll change the permissions but I think it is open to everyone, even people not on facebook. Rather wobbly, filmed with a handheld iPhone.

I haven't seen the dates for 2011 yet but assuming for now that it's about the same time then that would put it on Friday 2nd September to Saturday 3rd.

Anyone interested? George is, I am.

Interested (but not necessarily definate) People
Skating
Rick
George
Barrie
Van
Ed!
EdP
Merten
Dave
Garan
Kuzzy
Hannah
William
Sparky
Glenn
Peter van den Broek

Decorative Pit Babe
Michi

ed! · Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 11:40 am Subject:

Interested

EdP · Joined: 05 Aug 2009 Posts: 481

Definitely interested

Barrie · Joined: 21 May 2006 Posts: 1380 Location: Putney

Probably, but it'll depend on cost & finances nearer the time.

merten · Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 12:28 pm Subject:

Yep, if our house building project allows time and cost wise.

Van · Joined: 10 Nov 2008 Posts: 227 Location: London

Interested too.
Depends on time and money (more so the latter).

ed! · Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 3:29 pm Subject:

Given that "cost" seems to be a recurring factor, can anyone that went provide a high-level summary of costs please?

Rick · Joined: 25 Feb 2004 Posts: 5914

Money really depends. The more of us there are pooling transport the cheaper it gets. Entry worked out at 50€ each I think last time. Might have been because we had a full team. It's a charity event so it's nice to make a donation too. That might have been part of it?

Car hire for travelling broad was the most expensive single item that of course really means the more the cheaper and if anyone has their own car brings it and gives lifts then it works out very cheap indeed. Hotel rooms are pooled so it depends what we get and camping is included at the race.

Suspect the whole weekend could be done for about £200 or perhaps a little less but it really depends on lots of factors. We did a swanky hotel on the way back last year and didn't really make use of it's facilities so I'd be happy to forego that this year and jsut have a group meal and then go on somewhere cheaper. It means washing at the track but they have excellent facilities.

Speedy Dave · Joined: 07 Jun 2008 Posts: 251 Location: Derby

I'm in!

Michi · Joined: 11 Jun 2005 Posts: 658 Location: Hamburg

As Merten said - if this is going to fit in our schedule we are there.
I am hereby volunteering as pit crew Smile

_gj3000_ · Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 11:41 pm Subject:

I like the idea, especially as I wanted to do it last year then had a date clash...

Rick · Joined: 25 Feb 2004 Posts: 5914

Nice to get that many names interested already. I have updated the top post with people interested. It's not a commitment at this point as we don't even have a confirmed date for the event yet. If anyone finds anything then it would be cool to update this thread.

I don't know if Andy or AJ are interested in coming. Would be quite beneficial to have a native Dutch speaker even if it is just in a team management capacity.

malspeedster · Joined: 19 Oct 2007 Posts: 259 Location: Crossharbour

Rick · Joined: 25 Feb 2004 Posts: 5914

Well spotted. I didn't see it in the text and never bothered to look at the graphic. Excellent. We have a date for your diaries. Have updated the title.

kuzzy · Joined: 24 Apr 2009 Posts: 38

I'm interested. Please keep me in mind.

Cheers