2012-08-19 52 -0

Sun 19 Aug 2012 in 52,-0: 52.2624920, -0.0300963 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox

Location

In a field just off a track in Boxworth, a village west of Cambridge. The hash itself should be accessible if the field is not full of crops.

Participants

• Benjw
• Ali0sha

Plans

Ben plans to cycle up from Cambridge in the late afternoon, once the temperature has dropped a bit (it's been 30 degrees this week). Probably route is up the guided busway from north Cambridge to Longstanton, then down the road to the Cambridge graticule hash. Then on to Bar Hill, and up the footpaths and bridleways through Lolworth to Boxworth. Once this hash has been attempted, the return route will probably be through Knapwell and Hardwick and back into Cambridge.

Expedition

Success! Write-up and photos later.

Ali0sha

The Odyssey began the night before, when, cleaning my chain in preparation for an epic cycle rider, I throw a crucial component down the drain. Thus I had to wait until the bike shops opened on Sunday before departing, delaying me by an hour.

However, depart I did, pacing myself to roll along at an average of 22kph through Bicester, Milton Keynes, and Bedford (and about 30 villages). I'm pretty sure I did 100 miles because I turned my GPS off by accident for 15 minutes, and it still read 155km by the time I got to Boxworth, only half an hour or so late. This is the longest cycle ride I've ever done by a decent margin, before I've even finished my journey - although I don't qualify for XKCD-100 because, curses, it wasn't a Saturday.

When I got to Boxworth I met Benjw and we walked to the middle of the appropriate field, where I ate my second egg mayonnaise sandwich of the day and managed valiantly not to throw up. However, this doesn't qualify for a Picnic because I didn't have any of the accoutrements. Curses.

Tracklog: http://app.strava.com/rides/19082700

We proceeded to roll gently to the second hash which was in a rather less harvested field, so we had to leave our bikes and proceed on foot, before I went to Cambridge and caught the train to stay with my cousins.

Photos

• 

  Where the road used to be

• 

  Where the hash is now

• 

  Proof of hash

• 

  Ben's feet at the hashpoint

• 

  One happy hasher

• 

  Lucky it wasn't a few metres west

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  Dragonflies in the long grass

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  Alex arrived and had a lie down

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  Two happy hashers

• 

  A late lunch was taken before moving on

Achievements

Ali0sha earned the Double Cycling Meet-up XKCD-100 (Honourable Mention) Land Achievement by cycling halfway across the country on a whim to meet up with someone from the the internet very close to the prime meridian at the (52, -0) geohash on 2012-08-19.