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Yeah, good summary. It manages to be both not very consumer friendly and lacking in actual technical detail.

Andrew from Igaro and the Velogical guys have been in communication with each other. I asked them both but neither is actually sure that it would work. I don't understand why, but I asked if it was likely to work or anyone's guess. If it had been the former, if have gone for it out of curiosity, but Andrew said the latter, so no point in risking it.
Having been round and round in circles with dynamos, learned loads of stuff I never wanted to know, I think I'll stick with batteries. The clincher is that, if a dynamo on all the time gives 6w of drag, and I ride at 60% of threshold, which is about what I did on the TCR, not having a dynamo basically gives me the equivalent of an extra 10 w of threshold power.

I'm willing to carry a good few batteries to get that, and save all the faffing I'd need to set it up.

Thanks @Vince, very kind. I may take you up on that.
I need to do some subtle persuasion of my wife as, for some reason, she's not keen on the idea; she tends to say, things like 'yes, that would be a good idea if we were to move to Amsterdam'.
Any one got any tips on how to win over partner's with London traffic safety concerns?

Smalldean was as step as ever this morning on the hemel h RR. Last time I did it they put on a picnic at the top of it, but not this year. Austerity strikes again! Nice day to be out though, and my legs went reasonably well

There was good cake at the end

Igaro D1 (prototype)

Thanks. Spent about an hour researching it this afternoon. Looks like it is the best thing going. Annoying thing is that they are just starting to talk to the guys who make the dynamo I want (Velogical) so while they think it should be compatible, no-one has actually tried it yet.

So, either give in and get a hub dynamo, or stock up with more battery packs...

It could happen, but isn't that going to be the supported, RAAM-type stuff? If I wanted to make money, I'd put on that type of event because people will pay more if they get a little bit more, and if they are paying for a crew, won't notice a big entry ticket. Obviously we wouldn't go for that because we are all a bit weird and revel in the hardship of unsupported, but most people are not like that! So I reckon the unsupported ultra segment should be safe. I hope!

There is the Race Across Europe, which is trying to be that kind of thing, with some high entry fees as well, but it's not really caught on.

Im in the market from May.
Bullitt was my first choice. I met a guy on the TCR who has one and he loves it. Also saw a French guy using one to haul a massive picnic including lots of beer up a mountain.

The other one I am thinking of is Douze

They also sound like they are good to ride and the advantage of them is that the frame can split in two so we could potentially take it on holiday, which could be fun. But I've not met anyone who has actually ridden one.

Yes, that is annoying. Patronising bastards, stopping when they have right of way. Doesn't help because you have to assume they will carry on as normal.

A bit of that. I remember in Graeme Obree's book he said how he was going for a comp record and he just pulled out onto a roundabout without looking. Justification being that if he didn't get the record he would rather not live.

I've never felt quite so strongly about any TT but you'll find you get a lot better at judging how to get out of junctions effectively - use the width of the road to get in the best place to avoid both having to stop and being splattered by a car, judge how much time you actually need to cross a road, what gaps you can squeeze through, etc.

Dynamo questions:

What do you use as a charger - eg e-werk Luxos U light, usb-werk, etc?

It looks to me like the e-werk would give the most current of the options I've looked at, so better use of pedalling energy (although it looks a bit complicated). Does it need to be run with its own (expensive) caching battery or can it be used to charge normal lithium battery packs?

Good day out on the Harp Hilly Hundred. Lots of fast people - must have had about 50 riders overtake me. Decent day: quite mild and the rain held off until half way through the ride back.
Only entered this once before, five years ago. Then, I rode out too fast, didn't take enough food with me, and blew up so DNF'd - was good to make it round the full route this time!

That was a spoiler

Yes, sorry! I assumed everyone would drop everything and read them straight away like I was doing.

Janie Hayes started blogging from TABR 2016:

This was a really good read, especially her day 19, when it all started falling apart.

https://www.indianpacificwheelrace.com/

I seem to be on the verge of entering this. Is anyone else doing it?

It's more a case of wanting to do it in a normal weekend and finding a quite route so if I have any dramas I still get it done and this appeared on a thread of long rides and started/finished in London. Saves me having to map something out myself.

How about the southern half of LEL? Would be a lot less lump than going to Lands End, and it's all mapped out

HTH
I think we use MyLaps, but I can dust off my notes.

Mille du Sud in Provence in September.
It's only 1000km but it's in the Alps. Always wanted to do it and this might be the year.

Also there's a 1300 or similar (might be 1600) in March, doing a lap of Denmark from Hamburg.

Yes, you do need a backup plan. We had very few failures for the first few years (average of one missed pass per season, for riders doing 11 laps, so 12 passes per rider per night x 50 riders x 10 events). But then a couple of the batteries started to run down and there were a few more, so we always kept a watch running.
The circuit is set up as a strava segment which provides a useful backup as well.
For the most part though, the system is much more reliable than a human timekeeper. We found that when we hosted some competitions with a very experienced timekeeper in charge, he went with what the computer said, rather than his watch presses.
The biggest problem is human error: sometimes new riders have not realised they had to put a transponder on, done 11 laps flat out and expected to get a time by magic!

no spectacular cake

That was true.

Beautiful day to be out riding. Cold but sunny all day. I left the house about 6:30 (it wasn't sunny then!) and I wore my down gilet under my jacket so that kept me warm. Plus winter boots and overshoes, and three pairs of gloves.
Big turnout for the Willy Warmer, about 150 cards were out on the table.
After the start I caught the fast group in Gerrards Cross. No-one was going mega-fast so I stayed with them until the hill out of Marlow where the group splintered - as it always does.
After about 70km Chris Herbert and Paul Buckley (don't think they're on here) caught me so I speeded up to chat with them. First time I'd seen Paul since the TCR so swapped stories. I waved them goodbye on the hill out of Lambourn, but caught them again at the control. Then at Kintbury they were off again.
So I rode the rest of the way on my own.
Got back just as the light was fading. Temperature was really dropping. Put my down gilet back on for the ride home.
There was one bit of ice right across the road on a downhill which was a bit scary, but no-one fell off (from my group). Otherwise lots of ice in the side of the road but nothing to worry about.

I couldn't walk after I finished the 100 there. It was bad!

I couldn't walk after I did my first 12 hour there but I wasn't too bothered about that as I thought that was normal. So I did it again the following year. I think I could walk at the end of that one, but I didn't go as far...

Is the technology different from the big sportives?

Yes, apparently it is. We went through all these discussions at great length in our committee. The sportive ones are just an RFID chip that they stick on their helmets. These ones are reusable and they record multiple laps, etc. Plus other stuff that I have forgotten.

We were starting from having the system (which we got a grant from Sport England to buy originally) so it wasn't worth going a different way for us. I suppose if we hadn't had that kit then another option might have been better.

It's great that Chris does all this stuff, but I just don't know where he finds the time!

Those joints are brutal, after a few times round.

IME you don't get any sorer after the first 4 or 5 times. And you learn where the least bad line is.

Yes, we use them for the 10s at Hillingdon.
They are expensive, something like £80 each, plus the software.
We needed to get a few new ones a couple of years ago and researched the alternatives but, surprisingly, there wasn't anything cheaper. After we'd got the new ones we did find someone who could fix our old ones, opening them up to put a new battery in. We had to post them to Australia to have it done.
The system works very well: very few missed passes.

Hi guys,
I'll be on a black bike with aerobars. Probably wear a red jacket as it will be chilly.
If you've not done it before it's a nice winter ride with no major climbs and some pretty bits. My favourite bit is just after Hungerford on the common, wether it undulates gently.
My ankle has been playing up so I might not ride if I'm feeling unsure of it. But I probably will!