Enter the tube challenge, or as I'll try to call it, the tubeathon.
This tubeathon basically involves getting to every station of the London Underground in the fastest time possible, using only the tube itself, other public transportation, and running. I certainly don't plan to be mounting a record attempt; my goal is for completion.
Of course, whether I can or can't do this challenge revolves around a slew of factors - a major one of them being whether TfL (Transport for London) can actually run a decent train service for the better part of a day.
The attempt is nowhere near set in stone yet, but almost a month's work of preparation has gone into finding a route that I can complete without having to pay for private transportation to and from possible lodging locations. Other criteria that were strong factors in the planning of the route (easier said than done!) include adequate restroom stops, finding a spot and break for lunch and dinner (which no challenger to my knowledge has done yet) and limiting the number of connections I had to make by foot or bus.
Many different schemes, starting points and endpoints were attempted, much paper was wasted, the TfL website and other guides were heavily consulted, but I think I finally have a route that is doable, even for a tube beginner like me (even put in extra time for changes at complex stations!). Hopefully I can actually make this happen sometime early on this summer. Definitely not trying to do this in July/August heat, so June is the aim. I've even got preliminary airfare and lodging ideas.
Until then, here's a quick overview of the work I've put into getting the 270 stations checked off, both on paper and on the computer.
Special shoutout to Geoff Marshall (@geofftech on Twitter) for introducing me to this crazy endeavor through the research I've done (he's done it 26, yes, 26 times). I've definitely taken in a bit of advice on getting through the day from his website, geofftech.co.uk/tube.
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| This project has ruined my desk. |
Here's a map, edited with the order of the tube stops. Note that the map is slightly outdated, so the Central Line is currently not serving Tottenham Court Road (thus why the stop is later in the order). Also, Hammersmith and Paddington have two separate stations for different tube lines, which is why they count twice when run through on different lines. And yes, I know the route is inefficient, but it's what works best for what I have planned altogether.
Of course, I have some backup routes if tube service doesn't go as usual, which is more than likely to happen. Here's what's planned:
