Part of the 2027 Willesden SR and a PBP qualifier. The Last Gasp passes varied landscapes and historic places. Sunday is easier than Saturday. Plenty of motel options between 300 and 400 km. The start at Kings Cross is very public transport friendly. e-brevets supported. All the Info controls are very close to food and drink during the hours all but extremely fast riders will pass them. The ride information pack will pick out 24 hour services which are not controls for the very fast.

The start is at 7am, meaning most entrants can get a train into London on time. However we can be handing out brevets till later. You will see some marvellous engineering like Ironbridge, pass near the birthplace of Isaac Newton, and drop in on the village of the great poet John Clare. You return to Kings Cross-St Pancras to a fascinating pub away from the Eurostar crush. A Briefing, GPXs and Route Sheet will be given out to entered riders, when available, ahead of time.

The ride runs in an arc from London through the Chilterns and Cotswolds. Across the Vale of Evesham and along minor roads almost all the way to Ironbridge. Next, north of Birmingham over wooded Cannock Chase to Rugeley. A stretch in the Trent Valley is followed by the National Forest. Through Loughborough, with several motels and hotels at 360km and then the Wolds to Colsterworth, South of Grantham. Very quiet Lincolnshire roads take you to Helpston, home of John Clare, then onto quiet roads paralleling the A1. From historic St Ives you take a high quality cycle path alongside the Cambridge - St Ives Busway to Cambridge. Its mainly B-Roads to the edge of London, with Highgate being the routes final flourish.

As its midsummer you should get halfway or more in the light. The climbing lessens as the event goes on: it splits between first and second half 60:40. A revised route through the Cotswolds avoids most of the duplication with London-Wales-London and Windsor-Chester-Windsor.

Brevets return after validation is included in the price. The event is a BRM which means the cards have to be sent away for validation. They will be validated in time for PBP.

The surplus from this event will go to Wheels For All, a nationwide charity that helps disabled people and those with long-term health conditions feel the exhilaration, joy, and empowerment of cycling.

Why is it called Last Gasp The event was first run with that name in 2019 as the last qualifying event in Southern England for that years PBP. Covid made the name a tad tasteless, so it was changes to Arts and Sciences, but back to Last Gasp in 2026. It is planned to be amongst the last qualifying event in 2027 before PBP. If the heat is too much on the planned weekend, it will be run the following weekend, still as a BRM, in time for PBP qualification.

Changes may need to be made due to closed roads, adjustments to controls and for minor route improvements. Please note that there are no refunds. Transfers are not allowed. The routefile GPX shown is only for your information, it is for the shortest walked route using Google mapping and is therefore not legal for bikes.

Photos The Ironbridge, The female Tour of Britain briefly joing a route check.

All event material Copyright Ian Oliver 2026