Rouen: BikeGammon day#2

Hopper, starting 3:0 up, never looked back. It may have been the luck or it may have been the skill, but either way he won it (notwithstanding an ill-advised, but well-negotiated 16-cube).

Hopper 3
Biddle 1
Nicolas 0

And - what would you do here? (White to play: 66 in a 17 point match, black leads, 9 - 3.)

The tournament possibilities begin to narrow. Biddle and Nicolas need to make inroads. However, there will be six points to be won on Sunday evening. And tomorrow, it's Biddle flying solo. Can the Nicolas/Hopper consulting pair triumph?

As for the evening - wine was taken, offal was eaten, songs were sung, coffee was drunk. It's France, after all.

On to Valenciennes!

Saved!

Philip's bike was taken to the tyre repairer...

... but while we were waiting we were able to begin match #2 with Hopper as the soloist. Either superior play or good dice propelled him to a 3:0 lead.

Three hours late, the trio set off via country roads, assertive overtaking manourvres and a delicious Petit Boullabaise lunch for an eventual arrival in Rouen where rooms have been taken, bikes secured and a match recommencement time of 20.15 agreed upon.

Can Hopper maintain his slender lead? What is the correct cube strategy when 14-away, 17-away? Will the consultees prevail for a second night? These questions and more beg answers.

Watch this space...

Catastrophe!

On BikeGammon, one must be prepared for the unexpected.

The tour is temporarily on hold.

Suggested cube action?

Escalles: BikeGammon day#1

A concatenation of motorcycles in a French hotel carpark?

Intense late-night competition in a French hotel bedroom?

It must be BikeGammon!

Yes, the show is on the road and - after a short but tantalisingly gorgeous ride along the winding coast road from Calais to Escalles - the competition got under way. Match-day 1 saw Philip 'Newbie' Nicolas as the singleton bravely confronting the twin, consulting schoolyard bullies of Simon 'BGBoy' Hopper and Dicky 'Biddle of the Board' Biddle in a 17-pointer.

Philip's game effort saw him come a dignified second resulting in a first-day match score* of:

Biddle 1
Hopper 1
Nicholas 0

All is to play for as the circus heads south-west along more of that Le Manche-hugging highway to Rouen and match-day 2 on which it's Hopper as the solo player vs Biddle conferring with Nicolas.

Will youthful enthusiasm (eh?) prevail over the  wisdom of the years? Will it rain en route? Will anyone read this blog? Tune in to find the answers to these questions and more!


*See earlier post for details

It's happening...

Founder of BikeGammon: Simon 'BGBoy' Hopper

On Thursday 30th March three Backgammon-playing motorcyclists will leave on the World's First BikeGammon tour/competition.

This ground-breaking event will take place as outlined elsewhere in this blog with the perfect number of rider/players for a three-man tournament.

Details of the event have been finalised with the tournament now filling all four evenings of the trip. It's going to be intense!

Bashful Tournament Director; Dicky 'Biddle of the Board' Biddle

The tournament, in the words of the TD, will operate as follows:

Doubles Singles Round Robin

Players take it in turns to play on their own against the other two consulting players.  Single player gets 2 points for a win, Doubles players get 1 point each for a win.  There will be two rounds of the Round Robin.  The First Round will be five point matches and should take one evening to complete.  The Second Round will be 17 point matches and take three evening sessions to complete.

Highest score at the end of the Round Robin wins the BikeGammon 2017 Trophy.

Philip 'Newbie' Nicolas

Follow the outcome here!

(Those interested in signing up for 2018 should contact Simon Hopper. See more on the UKBGF website.)

Accommodation, routes and pillions

'It's rather a niche event' people are saying to me. They don't understand. It's as clear as day to me that a bike trip to play backgammon is what we are here for. 'S obvious.

Planning is proceeding apace and a great trip with fab riding and backgammon is in prospect.


THE PLACES
The tour/backgammon/acommodation centres are as follows:

Escalles - Rouen - Valenciennes - Ghent

We'll travel cross-channel on the Thursday evening. Escalles is less than 30 minutes from the Chunnel terminal. The idea is to give us a good head start on the Friday riding without having to set off at stupid-o-clock that day, whilst allowing competitors time to complete a day's work on Thursday. Anyone who needs a little more time in Blighty can leave later and catch us up in the hotel that evening as and when.

I'm proposing that the group meets at the Folkestone Chunnel terminal at 18.30 hrs. That will give us time to get to the hotel, shower, eat and play a little backgammon.


THE BACKGAMMON
On the first night I'll run a €10.00 Swiss (with optional pool) or a knock-out or some such. I'll decide the details nearer the time. However, Thursday evening's play will not be part of the main competition.

The competition proper will begin on the Friday evening - as curated by a guy called Richard - or 'Biddle of the Board', as he's known in these parts. More on that format, too, in due course.


THE ROUTES
Peruse the routes in France on bestbikingroads,com (and those in Belgium) and you'll get an idea of which roads we'll be riding on. (I'll settle on the precise routes nearer to the event.)

The direct-route-Googlemap distances between our venues are: Escalles-Rouen, 130 miles; Rouen-Valenciennes, 151; Valenciennes-Ghent, 76. Of course, we'll be travelling the scenic routes and stopping for lunch, etc, so the journeys will take longer than these mileages suggest. The leg from Valenciennes to Ghent will take a detour to visit some historic sites on the Western Front from WW1. On the last day, the trip from Ghent to Calais is 92 miles.

It's gonna be fab.


THE ACCOMMODATION

I've booked four twin rooms for the four consecutive nights of the event. Assuming eight entrants, we'll shack up with a tour buddy (any non-snorer please contact me soonest). If there's less than eight, we'll adjust accordingly. If that's the case, I can cancel without charge with just a few days notice. I'll be asking for payment in full four weeks prior to the trip.

The hotels are: Escalles, Hotel L'Escale; Rouen, Hotel Rouen Saint Sever; Valenciennes, Mercure Centre Valenciennes Hotel; Ghent, Hotel NH Gent Belfort.

If we are eight it will average about £41.00 per head per night. If we don't have our full complement it could be more. I'll let you know the final amount in good time.


PILLION RIDERS

The essential criteria for joining the trip is 'you must be able to play backgammon and travel by motorbike' and I'm now throwing the thing open to pillion riders. Provided all tour members can hold their own on the board and have a love of travelling by motorcycle, they will fit right in. So - put the word out. We have several players expressing interest - and I wouldn't be surprised to have a full roster soon. (Please note: both rider and pillion must be players.)


As previously, anyone who is interested needs to pay me £50.00 deposit. They should email me on simon@simonhopper.co.uk and I'll send them the payment details.


And remember; rollin's better when you're ridin'.

Welcome to BikeGammon 2017

BikeGammon is a backgammon tournament played in a series of venues over one weekend. The mode of travel between the venues is motorbike.

To be eligible to enter, you must be able to play backgammon and travel by motorbike!

When: Thursday 30th March - Monday 3rd April 2017

Where: Northern France

We'll leave by channel tunnel train from Folkestone early evening on Thursday 30th and return by late afternoon on Monday 3rd.

We'll travel in France on carefully selected, biking-friendly roads, never overreaching ourselves in terms of distance, and play our matches on the evenings of Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The backgammon will be organised by Dicky Biddle of North London Backgammon renown. The rest will be organised by me - Simon Hopper.

There will be a trophy.

We might do it annually. Let's see.

NUMBERS: Entrants are limited to 8. First come first served.

PRIZE MONEY: There will be optional side-pools arranged at the time.

ROUTES, VENUES, TOURNAMENT DETAILS: will be finalised in good time - watch this space. Accommodation will tend towards the budget end of the spectrum.

DEPOSIT: A deposit of £50.00 secures a place: send your contact details to simon@simonhopper.co.uk and I'll let you have payment info. Deposits are refundable if the event does not take place or if a replacement is found in an otherwise fully subscribed event.

Well, you're only young once!

Simon Hopper