2013-07-20 52 0

Sat 20 Jul 2013 in Cambridge, UK: 52.1243548, 0.1804745 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox

Location

On the corner of a residential road in Sawston, a large village south of Cambridge.

Participants

• Benjw
• PaintedJaguar

Plans

Ben is intending to cycle from north Cambridge, arriving in good time for the canonical 4pm meetup time. He hopes the weather will be a little cooler than it has been for the past two weeks.

PaintedJaguar will be taking the lazy option, getting the Citi 7 bus from Cambridge to Sawston, and also aiming to arrive just before 4pm.

Expedition

PaintedJaguar was enjoying a Saturday afternoon in front of the TV watching the cricket, when he suddenly realised that if he wanted to catch the bus that would get him to the hashpoint for 4pm, he'd have to leave now. He quickly threw everything he needed (camera, GPS, Hammersmith the hashscot and chalk for the marker) into a bag, and hurried to the bus stop. He arrived a minute late, but fortunately the bus was later.

Meanwhile, Benjw was enjoying a Saturday afternoon surfing the net and listening to the cricket on the radio, when he suddenly realised that it was already 3:05pm, and he had been planning to leave at 3:00. He threw a few bits and pieces into a bag, and then discovered that he needed to make a choice of bicycle -- one with the GPS mount on the handlebars, or one with fully-inflated tyres. He chose the GPS mount, and found a pump. Finally, at 3:17pm, he set off, with just enough time to make it to the hashpoint for 4pm without having to cycle at a silly speed.

Ben had planned two different routes to and from this hashpoint, aiming for the Tron achievement. These started easily and familiarly; Ben took his usual route into the city centre, round it and out on Hills Road (which, happily, goes to the hills and not over them, at least not until well out of the city). Halfway to the hospital he turned right into a residential road and then along the back of the hospital campus, in order to leave the road junctions at the front free for use on the return journey. Then he turned onto a stripy cycle path across fields and into Shelford village.

On arrival in Shelford, Ben found that the level crossing barrier was down; in order to save time, he opted not to wait, but to take a detour down a residential road, rejoining the planned route further through the village. Unfortunately his memory of this road was slightly faulty, and he made a wrong turning. Not wanting to spoil the Tron route, he continued up a hill, aiming for a track at the top which would lead to a footpath. He then turned off onto the wrong track, and ended up in a field. Tron achievement abandoned, he then cycled back down the hill and rejoined the planned route, ten minutes late and rather warm.

Meanwhile, PaintedJaguar had arrived in Sawston. After getting off the bus, he walked the short distance to the hashpoint, where his GPS promptly started being awkward, and he spent a long time walking round in circles in the middle of a road junction trying to find the exact hashpoint. Eventually he settled on the pavement at the side of the junction being the correct point (or at least the closest his GPS was going to tell him he was to the correct point), and left a chalk marker on the pavement.

He then sat down on a grass verge to wait for Benjw to arrive. 4pm came and went, with no sign of Benjw. About 10 minutes later Benjw did arrive, apologising for being late and looking rather pink. The two chatted briefly, and Benjw took a photo of them together using the bike as a tripod, before they walked back to the bus stop. PaintedJaguar got a bus home after a few minutes, and Benjw set off on his bike for the relatively uneventful return journey. Before long, PaintedJaguar was sat back at home in front of the TV, watching the cricket again.

This was a very uneventful expedition for PaintedJaguar, but notable for being his first ever Saturday meetup! It was also the first actual Saturday meetup (i.e. with more than one person) in this graticule since February 2009.

Photographic documentation

Benjw

• 

  The hashpoint on Plantation Road, Sawston.

• 

  The first Saturday meetup in 52,0 for four years!

• 

  PaintedJaguar leaves on his bus.

• 

  Benjw takes a stripy cycle path home.

• 

  Information on the stripy path.

PaintedJaguar

• 

  Found the right road!

• 

  View from the hashpoint

• 

  At the hashpoint, at 4pm!

• 

  XKCD marker and Hammersmith the hashscot

• 

  Proof of public transport achievement

Tracklog

http://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=4964330 shows PaintedJaguar's bus journey from Addenbrooke's to Sawston, and his walk through Sawston to the hashpoint.

Shiny ribbons earned

PaintedJaguar and Benjw earned the Land geohash achievement by reaching the (52, 0) geohash on 2013-07-20.

PaintedJaguar earned the Public transport geohash achievement by reaching the (52, 0) geohash on 2013-07-20 via the Citi 7 bus from Cambridge to Sawston.

Benjw earned the Bicycle geohash achievement by cycling 35.8 km to and from the (52, 0) geohash on 2013-07-20.

PaintedJaguar earned the Earliest geohasher achievement by arriving first at the (52, 0) geohash on 2013-07-20.

PaintedJaguar earned the xkcd Nullaturion achievement by attending 1 Saturday meetup.

Benjw earned the xkcd Nullaturion achievement by attending 4 Saturday meetups.